I echo Deputy O'Callaghan's concerns about this. We obviously want to see infrastructure delivered quickly in this country. Our biggest concern with the Bill in general is the disapplication of the climate action Acts. Given that is a power that will be given to the Minister, it is important that the Dáil and Seanad have a say in any project that is designated. Our amendment would essentially flip the burden. Rather than something being annulled requiring a resolution from the Dáil, we would say it will not take effect until a positive resolution is passed by both Houses.

Sentiment score: 0.07

We are all agreed that there are delays and problems in delivering infrastructure in this country. The problem is that the Government and the Minister have come to the wrong conclusion about why this is a problem and why this is happening. He is determined to blame judicial reviews and environmental laws and to dump on environmentalists. These are people who are just trying to ensure that the law is upheld as it is and that decisions of our public bodies are made in the appropriate manner. The reason we want transparency and accountability and why we are pushing this amendment is that the Government is giving Ministers, essentially, the powers of monarchs. It is a power to essentially suspend or disapply a law for their favourites. The monarchs' power to suspend or dispense with the operation of law in a way that favoured their favourites was actually outlawed by a bill of rights in 1689. Deputy O'Gorman talked about judicial reviews increasing as a result of this legislation. I think this legislation is potentially open to a constitutional challenge on the basis that we had Supreme Court cases before where Ministers have given themselves power to disapply laws for whoever they want and that has been struck down. I refer the Minister to the case of East Donegal Co-operative Livestock Mart Ltd. v. Attorney General from 1970. The issue at the heart of this is not in relation to the planning process; the issue is the allocation of resources to our public bodies. The national children's hospital has been delayed 17 or 18 times. That is not to do with environmental law; that is to do with a lack of strategic planning and a lack of controls in our procurement processes. We know we are still four or five years away from any offshore wind infrastructure being built. That should be through planning in the next couple of years but the reason it is not going to be built is because our ports are not ready to construct the offshore wind platforms. This is not to do with planning or objections; it is to do with the resourcing and the expertise needed in our public bodies.

Sentiment score: -0.09