Bewilderment
as the Green Party blocks all amendments to the Climate
Bill that would legally ban fracked gas imports
The
Green
Party leader, Minister Eamon Ryan and the Green Party chairman of the
Climate
Committee, Deputy Brian Leddin, moved unilaterally this week to block
all amendments
banning fracked
gas imports from being introduced in the Climate Bill and from being
voted on
in the Dáil.
Brian
Leddin, the only Green Deputy representing an area west of the
River Shannon in Limerick city, as chairman of the Climate Committee
had
previously signed in December the pre-legislative scrutiny report on
the
Climate Bill which
recommended
"that the Minister address in the Bill and/or
revert to the Committee with a comprehensive plan to ban the
importation of
fracked gas and specifically to ban LNG terminals in Ireland within the
year
2021”.
However,
on June 2nd Deputy Leddin completely reversed
this position when he wrote
to TDs that the proposed amendments banning fracked gas imports and
support for
a global ban on fracking “are not relevant to the
provisions
of the Bill and
must be ruled out of order in accordance with Standing Order
187(1).”
In
an obviously-coordinated move, at the same time,
Green Climate Action Minister Eamon Ryan was in the Dáil using
a
procedural
trick that allowed him, as Minister, under the same standing order 187,
to lay
out a motion
without debate giving a direct order to the Select Committee dealing
with the Climate Bill that it could consider all amendments outside the
provisions of the Bill, except for the amendments on fracking. This
meant that
Brian Leddin was able to declare all the fracking amendments to be out
of order
and to be quashed without debate and unable to proceed to the floor of
the Dáil
for a vote.
By
using procedural tricks to rule amendments for a
legislative ban on fracking out of order, Brian Leddin and Eamon Ryan
have
decided for the entire parliament that this question cannot be brought
to the
Dáil floor for a vote. This is very strange considering that
Eamon
Ryan, while
in opposition in October 2019, had described fracked gas imports as "a climate
change issue of the first order".
In
addition, the provisions of the bill
are very clear as they are “to provide for
the
approval of plans by
the Government in relation to climate change for the purpose of
pursuing the
transition to a low carbon, climate resilient and environmentally
sustainable
economy”. Ruling a climate-mitigation initiative of
banning
fracked gas
imports as “not relevant to the provisions of the
Climate Bill”
would
therefore seem to have been done on very questionable legal grounds and
is
being interpreted by activists as grasping at straws. 'Plans' (and
other words in the bill such as "climate-resilient", "sustainable"
and "climate justice") are not defined in the Act or the Bill
and are therefore clearly open to interpretation. Brian
Leddin and Eamon Ryan used those words for their own political
advantage to stop amendments on climate justice, climate mitigation and
a ban fracked gas imports from being debated in the Dáil.
The
actions of the Green Party are now raising
grave concerns among activists following the realisation that the
Greens are now voting
systematically in the Climate Committee against
all proposed amendments by the opposition TDs to improve climate
justice and just transition measures within the Climate Bill. It is an
abuse of
procedures to systematically waste taxpayers’ money in
committee
meetings in
which all amendments proposed are going to be rejected. That is not
correctly
engaging in the process and is clearly acting in bad faith to avoid
producing a
fair and honest climate bill. The Amendment second stage in the Climate
Committee is there for a purpose, which is to fix loopholes in the
bill. Refusing to allow any amendments whatsoever is a clear abuse of
procedure by the Green Party and has left climate activists bewildered
as to the real motivation behind their actions.
Sinn
Féin Senator Lynn Boylan informed
a Dáil Committee on May 26th that information she had
“from
the
European Parliament's research service states Article 194 of the Treaty
on the
Functioning of the European Union indicates that member states choose
the
conditions for exploiting their energy resources and which energy
sources they
use so they can, therefore, ban particular fossil fuels and structures
if they
so decide to”.
In
February, the Irish Centre for Human
Rights’
Human Rights Law Clinic had already
called on the Government to implement a ban on the importation of
fracked gas
by inserting into the Climate Bill a section that amends the Petroleum
and
Other Minerals Development
Act 1960 in order to prohibit the
importation or sale of fracked gas into Ireland. The Statement
included a legal opinion
demonstrating that the proposed statutory ban was compatible
with EU, EFTA and WTO trade rules.
In
addition, the Human Rights Law Clinic published a further report on May
24th on
the adverse International Human Rights
Implications
of unconventional oil and gas extraction
(fracking). This report importantly highlighted that fracking has
wide-ranging
impacts on many human rights including the right to water, the right to
food,
the right to housing, the right to access to information, the right to
public
participation and the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable
environment,
with violations of these rights having disproportionate impacts on
marginalised
and vulnerable communities and groups. The NUIG report notes that a
significant
body of scientific evidence now exists to demonstrate that fracking
is
dangerous to public health, water, air, climate stability, farming,
property,
and economic vitality in ways that cannot be mitigated through
regulation.
On
May 18th, the government published a
world’s-first policy
against fracked gas imports. The policy statement
declared:
"the
placing of a legal prohibition on the importation of fracked gas in
national
legislation has been considered and legal advice has been
provided by the
Attorney General. In the context of European Union Treaties
and the laws
governing the internal energy market, it is considered that a legal ban
on the
importation of fracked gas could not be put in place at this time".
However,
Tanáiste Leo Varadkar stated
on May 26th:
“I
have not read the legal advice from the Attorney General on that
matter. I have
only read the memorandum brought to Cabinet by the Minister for the
Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan. The best
thing to
do is take it up with him. The
issues around LNG and the Energy Charter
Treaty
are matters for him, as Minister.”
By
preventing any consideration of a fracked gas
import ban, advice from the Attorney General against such a ban cannot
now be
examined by the Committee.
Ultimately,
the true motivation behind the Green Party’s move against a
legislative ban on fracked gas imports remains a mystery and has left
local
activists baffled and disappointed. The fear is that keeping the door
open for
Shannon LNG may still be the motivating factor.
Urgency
of Stopping the Shannon LNG fracked gas
import project
On
March 1st, Shannon LNG confirmed to the
Department for the Environment that it is in "pre-application
consultation with An Bord Pleanála"
and that it would "launch a
public information event shortly, and subject to ABP's guidance, submit
the
application quickly thereafter".
The
policy statement only states "it would
not be appropriate for the development of any LNG terminals in Ireland
to be
permitted or proceeded with" but this will not be enough to
stop
Shannon LNG from launching a full planning application with the status
of ''overriding
public interest" because the Department successfully argued
in the High Court
that Shannon LNG should be kept on the 4th PCI List. Shannon LNG holds
the status of EU Project of Common Interest until early 2022 due to its
4th-PCI-listed status. If the written policy against fracked gas
imports and
LNG terminals is not acted upon immediately then the company risks
succeeding
in getting planning permission as it is still a project currently
deemed to be
in the overriding public interest.
As
highlighted by us on April
14th,
the Minister for
Planning could formally move to implement the new policy and issue the
published policy against fracked gas imports and LNG terminals as
guidelines to
both An Bord Pleanala and all Planning Authorities
under Section 28
of the Planning and Development
Act, 2000
which states “The Minister may, at any
time, issue guidelines to planning authorities regarding any of their
functions
under this Act and planning authorities shall have regard to those
guidelines
in the performance of their functions”. By law,
these
guidelines must then
be laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas. This has not been done to
date.
Legislation
to ban fracked gas imports is a clear option open to the Eamon Ryan to
close
off the fracked gas import Shannon LNG project 4th PCI List loophole
but this week the Green Minister and his party colleague Brian Leddin,
in his powerful position of chairman of the Climate Committee, resisted
doing so and
instead both proactively
worked against a fracking import ban being proposed as an
amendment to the Climate Bill.
The
bill continues at Committee stage next
Tuesday.
NOTES TO EDITORS
1.
View our tweet here on the issue:
https://twitter.com/SafetyBeforeLng/status/1401460242848886792
2.
A full list of all the proposed amendments to the Climate Bill can be
found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lDkB_3kRvVlscp0-_fH1OSp7ny07kojF/view?usp=sharing
3.
The amendments ruled out of order can be seen here:
From:
Public Bills
<[email protected]>
Sent:
Wednesday 2 June
2021 21:14
GROUPING
LIST
Climate
Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021
COMMITTEE
STAGE
Note
for the information of Members:
It
is proposed to group the following amendments
for the purpose of debate:
1,
153 and 167;
2
to 4, inclusive, 230, 231 and 239;
7,
8, 41, 50, 52, 64, 65, 70, 71, 90, 95, 100 to 102, inclusive, 211 and
237;
10
to 15, inclusive;
20
to 23, inclusive;
28
and 29;
30
to 32, inclusive;
39
and 40;
44,
51, 57, 58, 67, 68, 142, 143, 149;
45
to 47, inclusive, 86 and 203;
61
to 63, inclusive;
73
to 85, inclusive;
88
and 89;
91,
92 and 96;
93,
204, 212;
103
and 104;
107,
108, 111 and 112;
113
to 116, inclusive;
117,
118 and 121 to 140, inclusive;
155
to 161, inclusive, 163 and 164;
165
and 166;
169
to 172, inclusive, and 174 to 180, inclusive;
182
to 191, inclusive;
205
to 208, inclusive;
213
and 214;
219,
220 and 229;
221
to 223, inclusive; and
224
to 228, inclusive.
The
following amendments are out of order: 35, 36,
38, 53, 56, 59, 87, 97, 105, 106, 109, 110, 119, 120, 144 to 147,
inclusive,
150, 151, 162, 193, 201, 215 to 217, inclusive, and 232 to 234,
inclusive.
All
other amendments which are not grouped will be
discussed individually.
Beartas
ríomhphoist an Oireachtais agus séanadh. oireachtas.ie/ga/email-policy/
Oireachtas
email policy and disclaimer. oireachtas.ie/en/email-policy/
Contact:
John McElligott
Safety Before LNG
(087-2804474)
[email protected]
