Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I note it is different from saying we are completely compliant.We now know the Attorney General is looking at the matter in respect of the finding of non-compliance and the report on the continued non-compliance under this legislation. It is important to note that is quite different from saying the Bill is compliant.

I am a little concerned about the timelines. The Minister of State mentioned he is required to reply to the Aarhus committee by September. We have been told this Bill will also be pushed through Report Stage in September. Indeed, the deadline for amendments has been placed quite early in September. I would therefore like assurances that the Government's response, including any legislative response to address the concerns of the Aarhus committee in relation to this chapter, will be circulated and made available to all members of the Opposition who were right about this while the Government was wrong in the other House. Let us be clear about that. I ask that they be made available in good time to allow any Government response to the non-compliance issues to be reflected in the Report Stage debate. That is important. We need to have those assurances. That may mean the Bill needs to be taken in October rather than September, depending on the Government's timeline.

Crucially, the last thing I will ask of the Minister of State - it is important, even if he does not take on board my amendment - is to learn from the fact that the only piece sent to the compliance committee for testing, where concerns were flagged, failed. Based on that, the summer should be used to look at and have a full review of other areas where both civil society and Members of both Houses of the Oireachtas have signalled there are significant Aarhus-related concerns. This is part of the poor decision to hold Committee Stage when a clear issue is still up in the air and still to be solved. There is a danger of how these will be addressed on Report Stage. Given the Government was wrong about the original issue, where the Bill was found not to be compliant, and about the remedy it proposed to the Aarhus compliance committee, which rejected it as being inadequate, it would appropriate for the Attorney General not simply to look at the report on that one Chapter. He should thoroughly review the many other areas where serious red flags have been raised around the Aarhus Convention, not least in the area of access to justice, which is a hugely problematic area of the Bill.

Will the Minister of State clarify how he plans to engage with the Opposition in advance of Report Stage? He mentioned that the deadline for replying to the committee is September. I would also like to know the plans for using this as an opportunity to reflect on the other areas where potential Aarhus non-compliance has been signalled.