Pa Daly
Kerry · Sinn Féin · Ireland
“I thank the Minister of State for coming in to deal with this issue when other colleagues were not available. She will be able to bring her experience of this area to this debate. I am slightly caught for time, so I will try to parse it a little bit. I wish to ask the Minister of State about the harmful content on social media platforms.”
“While we know violence against women is a crisis and femicide in Ireland is a crisis, it is overwhelmingly men who carry out these acts. These are men of all cultures, races and ethnicities. However, social media giants have a responsibility and are clearly not stepping up to the plate. They are not complying with their obligations.”
“The Digital Services Act was introduced. It was to ensure a safe, predictable and trusted online environment and to prioritise greater activity and online safety. There is the Online Safety and Media Regulation Act 2022 to protect children and the public from harmful and illegal content. There is a danger.”
“We are running over time but I will make one more point. If, as it provides in the Online Safety and Media Regulation Act, we are to protect children and adults from online conduct, how does it look as an example to younger people in particular when this content is still allowed to be there?”
“Somebody even said that they hope these comments are not going to be deleted to suit one's ideology, which they misspelt. That is the kind of narrative that is going on. They are mocking her beliefs and her. It is similar to what is being investigated by the police in Britain.”
“Bhíos ag caint le healaíontóir i gCiarraí níos luaithe um thráthnóna. Labhair sé liom mar gheall ar na mothúcháin a bhaineann le AI. Dúirt sé liom it could help to generate ideas, layouts and content more quickly, leaving more time to focus on strategy and working with clients.”
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“Will the Tánaiste look at this and maybe relax the strict interpretation that is being made so that he can give some comfort to people? Pupils need to feel safe and parents need to know their children are safe in schools, and with help.”
“Tá a fhios ag gach duine atá anseo ó Ghaelcholáiste Chiarraí an tacaíocht agus an chabhair a thugann SNAs do dhaltaí agus don phobal iomlán sna scoileanna. I have been contacted by many schools, in particular, Fossa National School outside Killarney, which has lost four SNAs in that one school in the analysis provided to date. A review is coming up, but there seems to be an overly strict application of the meaning of "significant needs". I have also been contacted about this issue by schools in Glenflesk, Listowel and Portmagee, as well as schools in Donegal and Cork. I ask the Tánaiste to consider this issue and pass on that clarity is needed by SNAs and school communities. In Fossa National School, for example, there will be two SNAs left for 236 pupils after the proposal to cut four SNAs.”
“Nature-based solution like they have in the Netherlands and Germany or what they have done in Yorkshire have not been taken into account. Has there been much investment in wetlands, afforestation plans or peatland restoration? No. We await the long-term plan for the Listowel area. Kerry County Council has told us that it has not been dealt with yet. No consideration has been given to upland tributaries and rivers. We still do not have a national flood warning system in place. This is an outrageous oversight in the face of worsening storms because they are going to continue. Our policy seems to have been more payments and then blaming judicial reviews and the pearl mussels. That is not good enough.”
“The forestry is not only causing a biodiversity crisis and cleaning out the rivers literally and metaphorically with the absence of brown trout in the rivers up around the Knocknagoshel area, the Lyracrumpane area, the River Awbeg and other tributaries of the River Feale. The water that is going in there has not been addressed and there is no long-term plan in place. Over the past few weeks other communities around the country have been devastated and homes have been destroyed, but the fallout have not been unforeseeable or unavoidable. It exposes how unprepared this Government has been. Flooding is not simply a matter of heavy rain; it is years of underinvestment, inadequate infrastructure and lack of long-term planning. Has river restoration been taken into account? No.”
“I, too, welcome the school community from the convent in Listowel. It is entirely appropriate that there is a school delegation here from the town of Listowel because anyone in this House will remember the flooding that took place two or three weeks before the election of November 2024. Unfortunately, while work has been done in Listowel, which the Minister visited recently, where banks have put in, we remember what happened in Killacrim and off the Bridge Road. However, the long-term plan, which we recently met with Kerry County Council about, has not been put in place to address the issue of flooding and forestry upriver.”
“Despite repeated promises to get this in order, there are barely any more than there were in 2024 and 406 fewer gardaí than there were in 2009. These are more empty promises at a time when road deaths have been increasing. There has been a decrease in road policing numbers. The deaths are increasing. The Minister of State needs to step up and give us the reason for this and the excuse. There was also another independent review of a system that was defined by a culture of poor performance in An Garda Síochána. What steps has the Minister of State taken to address gardaí parking up for shifts, turning off automatic number plate recognition, ANPR, systems and operating without supervision? The number of deaths demands an answer to that.”
“The Minister of State has already rowed back on a commitment to disband the RSA, as had been recommended by an independent review commissioned by the Government. It was announced at the time when the review was published with much fanfare but it has resulted in no meaningful change - change that is much needed. Did it really have to take another tragedy on our roads to bring about legislation that Sinn Féin has been calling for for over a decade and a half? Unless the legislation is actually enforced, of course, it means very little to the people it is supposed to protect. Let us be clear: road policing is at crisis point. It has been for some time. In September 2025, there were only 640 gardaí in roads policing units across the entire State.”
“The Minister of State's colleague in government mentioned earlier that statistics had been brought down in 2021 to a low point but did not say that this was in the middle of the Covid pandemic when there were fewer people on the road. Using that as a statistic is not painting the full picture, to put it mildly. This is a failure of responsibility, a failure of investment and a failure of leadership, not only by this Government but by the last Government. While Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and their supporters Deputies Healy-Rae and the regional Independents will point to the fact that there are flashy announcements, reports and new legislation, it does not really amount to anything meaningful.”
“Helmets and hi-vis gear must be mandated and proper enforcement needs to be used by An Garda Síochána against those who are using e-scooters at over 20 km/h. The serious injuries, including the massive increase percentage-wise of horrific brain injuries to mostly young men, demand that stricter action be taken by using the powers that are already there, and that is clearly not being done. In 2020, as the Minister of State mentioned, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael committed to Vision Zero to drastically reduce fatalities by 2050. Not only have they failed to reduce road deaths, however, but deaths have increased, whereby we had 190 deaths last year, the highest level in more than a decade.”
“I understand that in all the circumstances where such scramblers were seized by the Garda in the Limerick area, not one protest or court case was brought by families trying to get them back. It is simply not correct, or else it is disingenuous, to say the powers are being used because they are clearly not being used enough around the State. Of course we need trained Garda scrambler units, and drones and other technology that already exists but has not been used, but we need the Garda to use the powers it has, go into homes and take those scramblers off our streets because that clearly has not been happening. We also need accountability for the adults who are providing these scramblers to the mostly young men who are using them. We need stricter regulation of e-scooters also, not just keeping up with what is there.”
“At the outset, I wish to sympathise with the family of Grace Lynch and also with anyone who was affected by the collision on North Earl Street this morning. In the light of all of this, and the increase in the roads deaths in 2025 - 190 people died on our roads last year, that is, 190 families shattered, 190 chairs empty at kitchen tables and 190 sets of hopes and dreams suddenly cut short - I want to pick the Minister of State up on what he said about whether the powers An Garda Síochána has are being used. Is he seriously saying the Garda is using those powers enough? We have seen certain pockets around the country, such as in Limerick, where gardaí know who are using these scramblers illegally and have the powers to go in and seize them. The Minister of State mentioned that they can enter the curtilage of homes and take the scramblers.”
“Do its members call on the Minister, Deputy Heydon, to remove the chair of Bord Bia? Whose side are they on? It is astonishing that the Taoiseach did not even know the powers that he had to remove the chair. It is not good enough. The way the situation has been handled is a mess. It proves the Government is not on the side of Irish farmers. We all know it is not on the side of Irish people. Farmers have made it clear that they are not giving up, leanann siad ar aghaidh, and neither are we.”
“It is not credible to have a State agency demanding the highest production standards from Irish farmers while at the same time its chair is importing substandard beef from Brazil. Those are double standards and a two-tier system. Why am I not surprised? We heard the concern over Mercosur and Brazilian beef. This controversy has raged for two weeks and still the Government has not done what is required. How little it has done is astonishing. Does the Minister think that farmers are being a little too emotional? Is the IFA in Kerry being too emotional? Are farm families in Kerry too emotional? An bhfuil daoine cosúil le John Joe Mac Gearailt ón INHFA ró-mhothúchánach? What about the people in Gortatlea Mart? Are they too emotional? The people of Kerry are watching. The people of Ireland are watching. Does the Government stand with farmers?”
“What is at stake here is fundamental, and that is trust. It is trust that our food is safe, that our high standards are upheld and that those at the top are bound by the same rules as those at the bottom. This trust and leadership is earned. We need to know that the State's own agency to promote and develop the Irish food industry has the best interests of the Irish people at heart, is 100% beside Irish farmers and stands with them, and will not throw Irish farmers under the bus as soon as there is extra profit to be made. As long as the current chair stays, we cannot have such confidence. It is hard to see why the Minister has not acted already. Bord Bia is not just another agency. It is the voice of Ireland on the world stage, carrying the hopes of rural communities and family farms, and the ambitions of exporters.”
“What does this plan say to the people waiting for wastewater in Ballyduff, Duagh, Castlegregory and Fenit in County Kerry, where all there is, in essence, is a hole in the ground and an Imhoff tank within metres of blue flag beaches? Without that critical infrastructure, no more than one or two houses can be built. These inexcusable delays are slowing the delivery of homes, choking off renewable energy, pushing up bills and contributing to a lower quality of life. There is nothing in the plan about North-South infrastructure. We have areas of co-operation under the Good Friday Agreement but that is not enough. Cross-Border communities that rely on integrated road and rail networks, like the Belfast-Dublin economic corridor, require joint planning for road safety, port access and freight movement. The Government needs to catch up on that.”
“For too long, successive Governments have outsourced essential infrastructure to the private sector and left its delivery subject to the whims of market forces. We saw what happened in housing estates all over Kerry when their management was left in the hands of private companies. That approach did not work and the result is what we see today, namely, a seismic deficit in critical infrastructure. The Government's plan acknowledges that project timelines for essential infrastructure for energy, transport and water have doubled over the past two decades. Electricity substations now take eight and a half years to construct, a small wastewater plant takes up to ten years and a major road project up to 15 years, and the costs are way higher.”
“This is a do-nothing Government scrambling to fix the problems of its own making. In 2007, planning was deregulated by the then Government. In 2017, it was deregulated again with the introduction of the strategic housing development scheme, which slowed down planning, failed to increase supply and led to smaller and darker apartments. Now, once again, we have an action plan that bows to the interests of major developers rather than empowering local government and communities. It talks about a cultural shift but we need more than that. We need a transformation in our approach and a Government that is willing to step up and deliver for the people rather than being beholden to the corporate balance sheet.”
“I take this opportunity to acknowledge the 60th anniversary of the death of Mike Quill, the great union leader in New York who worked in that city's subway system for many years. He always preached an anti-racist message. He was involved in the struggle for the country of his birth, fighting in the War of Independence, and the struggle for his fellow workers in New York. Everywhere we turn, we see infrastructure that is undersupplied, overloaded and crumbling. Our creaking infrastructure, a deepening housing crisis, a broken planning system and critical deficits in water and energy are the direct result of a decade and a half of Government inaction, outsourcing and short-termism. What is the Government's answer? It produces another announcement accompanied by a glossy document but without any real action.”
“There is a danger that this may be cancelled because of an ultra-conservative approach being taken where even someone who stands there for 15 minutes on a Sunday morning would have to be Garda vetted. A register of general consent would avoid this, make it simpler and encourage people to volunteer because a lot of people are put off and groan when they hear they have to be revetted for the second, third or fourth time in a year.”
“What we proposed almost four years ago was that the chief bureau officer would establish what we call a register of general consents. The Office of Parliamentary Legal Advisers,OPLA, gave great assistance so that people would remain on the register for three years, give their permission and, under section 6, give a general consent to the disclosure of vetting information to any organisation that might require it. At the time, the Minister said the Department must investigate any revetting impact upon constitutional rights, employment law and the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977. That is all fine. However, we have a situation with junior parkruns for example, which take place all over the country, where volunteers stand in and keep an eye on the route to make sure children run around in the correct way.”
“What I want to know, and the Minister will forgive me for asking the question, is, given it has known about it for so long: when is this legislation going to be produced?”
“I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I agree with him that the system was designed to protect young people and vulnerable adults and I appreciate that must be robust. However, as he has said, it has been segmented and we need a portable system. He mentioned that steps have to be taken. We produced a Bill in 2022 and we were told by the Minister standing in at the time that a body had been investigating the practicalities for some time. We all know that people are getting vetted three, four, five, maybe even six times in the one year for their employment, the Teaching Council or the rowing, football or soccer club. All of this has to be done, to use the Minister of State's word, in a "segmented" way. The Government has known about this for years now. It knows the administrative burden is far too much. It can be made simpler.”
“The National Vetting Bureau and the Garda vetting Act have been in place for about 14 years. Has the Minister any plans to simplify the administrative burden placed on volunteers and employees through Garda vetting and the bureau itself? Will he make a statement on that given the length of time it has been in place?”
“Since Covid, the age profile has totally changed based on my conversations with people who are working in mental crisis. There have been 87 deaths between 2022 and 2024 in Kerry alone. We all know the history of the CAMHS fiasco scandal in Kerry and three years later, we are still waiting for the north Kerry report. I know it has been completed but has not hit the Minister of State's desk. It is there but we do not know what is happening with it. Kerry is one of 11 counties without a suicide crisis assessment nurse. If we could achieve one thing through this, it would be that every county should have that nursing service so that it is timely as was set out in Sláintecare - right treatment, right time and right place. That is what is needed.”
“I spoke to the Minister of State last week about the passing of Stephen McCarthy who took his own life in August 2024. Over the weekend, I received a text from his brother Shane who lives in London. He said that: If you have a family member yourself and people that you care about, no matter what community you're from, as everyone probably knows I'm from the Traveller community, my brother Stephen was also but at the end of the day, it doesn't matter where you're from or who you are, nobody deserves to die through suicide. We're all meant to die when we're old and live our life to the fullest with lots of achievements along the way and it aches my heart that my brother Stephen won't have that chance. There are serious problems among Travellers. The suicide rate for Traveller males is nine times the rate in the overall community.”
“We all saw what happened with the flood just before the last general election. There is a problem in the Smearlagh and Awbeg Rivers because there have been a lot of plantations of forestry with vertical drainage. After a flood, it used to take two to three days to fill up, and the anglers would look for that. Now it is two to three hours. It is coming down in a flood and is scouring the banks. We saw the catastrophic effects near the town of Listowel in Killacrim after the flood 16 months ago. That is something which has not been taken into account at all in the OPW's analysis of what happened. It must be looked at. Not only is it affecting those communities but it is wiping out stocks of brown trout and salmon in those tributaries. I am asking the Minister to have a look at that in the programmes he is announcing.”
“It is also affecting the rights of people to build and construct housing and be close to their own villages. Over the past 20 or 25 years in particular, there has been an emphasis from planners to make it more difficult to live in one-off houses and to cluster them in villages. In places like Fenit and Abbeydorney, you cannot build more than two houses together because the wastewater treatment system is not even in place. There have been proposals to construct facilities which would benefit the community in those places but they have not been able to proceed with them because the infrastructure is not there to take any additional wastewater. That is something that needs to be addressed. I also want to address the Minister about water quality in the rivers, particularly in the catchment area or the upriver of the Feale.”
“The first thing I wish to speak about are the ancient wastewater systems in parts of County Kerry. I could list six or seven villages, such as Ballyduff, Fenit, Glenbeigh, Kilcummin, Abbeydorney and Castlegregory in particular, where, in effect, although some progress has been made in Kilcummin, we have a hole in the ground. In Castlegregory, it is within 40 yd of a school building. In Fenit and Castlegregory, it is within 100 yd or so of a Blue Flag beach. The wastewater from those villages is pouring out into a hole. There is an overflow tank dug into the ground which has been there for decades. I do not see anything in the national development plan. I do not see anything in any of the programmes that is going to address the needs of the places like Ballyduff and Duagh, where this system has to be upgraded in a hurry.”
“In Kerry, I meet people who are losing hours of their lives stuck in traffic, particularly in Killarney where it is very bad, or waiting on bus services that are oversubscribed and do not have enough capacity, and the buses are passing them by. The Government is telling people to get out of their cars but that is not an option in places like Kerry. When students cannot get to college and people cannot get to work and when workers are left at the side of the road and are late to work, that is not an option. The cost of it is staggering and I applaud the Labour Party for bringing forward this motion.”
“Dublin is the only large European capital without a metro and with each passing year, the failure to deliver that demonstrates how little concern this Government has for public money. In another hallmark move, both the Government and Regional Independents have decided not to prioritise the DART+ South West and the Finglas Luas. The situation on the M50 is at crisis point but the only thing the Government has done is to heap further pressure on drivers by increasing petrol and diesel prices through the carbon tax. DART+ South West has been pushed beyond 2030 and the Finglas Luas is delayed until 2029.”
“Workers and families across the State are being failed on public transport and worker flexibility. These failures are not abstract; they are the lived reality of people across the island. There are commuters wasting hours of their lives in traffic chaos, waiting for buses or sitting in cars as they inch through gridlocked traffic. It is having a tangible, real life impact on the quality of life for people. Despite years of promises, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have created a system that is defined by delay and stagnation. Major projects that could have transformed connectivity and mobility have been stalled for years. The MetroLink is a symbol of everything that is wrong with transport planning. It has been decades in development with projected costs of over €20 billion and we still have not broken ground.”
“I am told it is completed. I do not know what is holding it up. We were told it was imminent last July but it still is not there I ask the Minister of State to publish it as soon as possible.”
“I ask the Minister of State to deal with it as a matter of urgency. There is also what they call a black escalation in the emergency department in UHK, so they are under enough pressure. If a SCAN system were put in place, it would take some pressure away from the ED. It is important for us in the House to say there is help there. People need to have, as Donal Walsh said, the courage to go out and seek it. I encourage anybody to look at the HSE video Donal did, which is only five or six minutes long, or the 19-minute interview he did on Brendan O'Connor's show before he died. The Minister of State mentioned CAMHS. We are still waiting for the report. There are still people excluded from the scheme. I have been saying for three years it is inevitable there will be a wider review of the system. Over €2 million has been spent on it.”
“I should mention the name of the boy because I have his family's permission. It is Clancylee Casey, who was known as John. He is the boy who is going to be buried. I appreciate the crisis resolution team the Minister of State has put in place in the solace cafés and that there has been an 18% reduction, but the fact remains a lot of people are slow to go to the emergency department. While what she said is welcome, I ask her to review the situation and have a look at putting a SCAN system in place in Kerry. She is correct that we do not spend enough time talking about it and I am not the first and certainly will not be the last to raise the issue but because of the extent of the crisis. Suicidal ideation, in the words of someone on the community mental health team, "cannot wait".”
“Travellers, according to the experts I spoke to, will not go to the accident and emergency department. They are slow to say it to people within their community. Talking to women, they might find that difficult - there are culturally different experiences for them. However, something needs to be done. I spoke to Elma Walsh from the Donal Walsh #Livelife Foundation. She visits schools all over the country. There is a video the HSE prepared and Donal Walsh did great work just before he died asking people to have the courage to reach out. A HSE video was prepared but because of some battle, I understand with the Department of education, it has never been shown in schools. Elma Walsh is going to Derry this week and was in Dublin last week visiting schools.”
“There is a scheme, which I have mentioned, for suicide crisis assessment nurses, SCANs. The Minister of State is aware of it. It is in Cork and in Dublin. The HSE states it "aims to provide a timely response to appropriate requests for assessment of patients in suicidal crisis from named GP practices". It goes back to Sláintecare and the right care in the right place at the right time. This would be timely and it is necessary. Having spoken to people in the community mental health service in Kerry, they see the massive demand for it. It is particularly high in the Traveller community. I do not know why. Is it because of social exclusion? Is it discrimination? Is it a low sense of self-esteem? Is it unemployment? Are there other factors? Stephen's brother told me that as a young Traveller he would feel ashamed seeking help.”
“I am not an expert on people taking their own lives but I know we have the fourth-highest rate in Europe for males aged between 15 and 25 and experts say that is underestimated by 20% to 25%. On Friday, a 14-year-old boy will be buried in Tralee. I spoke to his mother and his grandmother last night. Obviously they are devastated. Their lives have been ruined forever. Stephen McCarthy's father said he is scarred for life. Recently I passed all the graves in Rath graveyard in Tralee and the number of people I knew who had taken their own lives was staggering. In County Kerry alone it was 25 people in 2022, 24 in 2023 and 38 in 2024. That is in one county alone. We do not have the statistics yet for 2025 but in those three years there were 87 deaths, which is phenomenal.”
“I thank the Ceann Comhairle for giving me the opportunity to raise the issue of the need, or demand, for a suicide crisis assessment nurse. A few years ago, I was speaking to a young man, Stephen McCarthy, who lived about 300 yd from where I live. A woman had seen us speaking, and she asked if she could have a word with him because her son was in school with Stephen. She said she remembered him as a smart intelligent boy and that he seemed to have a deep sense of fairness, because life had not been fair to Stephen. His mother was killed at an early age and his father brought him and his two siblings up. Stephen hanged himself the summer before last. He killed himself about 50 yd from where another member of his family killed themselves in the local GAA club.”
“I move amendment No. 14: In page 24, between lines 16 and 17, to insert the following: “(d) ensure that information published under this section is accessible, written in plain language, and includes non-technical summaries of likely significant effects and mitigation measures.”.”
“I move amendment No. 13: In page 24, to delete lines 4 to 7 and substitute the following: “(b) publish, prior to deciding the application to which the exemption relates, a notice of the exemption, any requirements referred to in paragraph (a), a summary of public and authority submissions, and the Agency’s reasoned conclusions on the main issues raised— (i) on a website maintained by it or on its behalf, and (ii) in a national newspaper,”.”
“(4B) The Agency shall not grant an exemption unless, having regard to subsection (4A), it is satisfied on the basis of clear and convincing evidence that— (a) the exemption is proportionate to the risk or necessity identified, (b) no reasonable alternative exists that would allow compliance with the EIA Directive. (4C) An exemption granted under this section shall specify: (a) the reasons and evidence relied upon; (b) the alternative assessment method and minimum content requirements; (c) a maximum duration; (d) any conditions, monitoring and reporting obligations necessary to avoid, prevent, reduce or offset significant adverse effects.”.”
“I move amendment No. 12: In page 23, between lines 31 and 32, to insert the following: “(4A) In this section, ‘exceptional circumstances’ means circumstances that— (a) arise from a unique and unforeseeable event, or a specific and demonstrable public necessity, (b) cannot reasonably be addressed by compliance with the requirements of the EIA Directive within the timeframe necessary to avert serious risk to human health, safety, the environment or essential public services, and (c) are strictly limited in scope, duration and geographic extent.”
“I move amendment No. 11: In page 23, between lines 19 and 20, to insert the following: “(d) publish a notice of the request for an exemption, accompanied by the information provided under subsection (1), on a website maintained by it or on its behalf and in a national newspaper, inviting submissions from the public within a period of not less than 30 days, and (e) consider all submissions or observations received under paragraph (d) and publish a reasoned report addressing the material issues raised.”.”
“These amendments are designed to amend the EPA Act and Waste Management Act by mandating that the EPA should include details of missed deadlines in its annual report.”
“I move amendment No. 9: In page 19, between lines 15 and 16, to insert the following: “(4) The Minister may by regulations prescribe periods under subsection (2), having consulted the Agency, and may prescribe different periods for different classes of activity. (5) The Agency shall include in its annual report under section 51(3) the number of cases in which the period under this section was exceeded, the reasons, and corrective actions taken.”.”. Mar gheall ar na leasuithe sin, ar leathanach 19, idir líne 15 agus 16, molaim go gcuirfí isteach “The Minister may by regulations prescribe periods under subsection (2), having consulted the Agency, and may prescribe different periods for different classes of activity.” and that “The Agency shall include in its annual report under section 51(3)”.”
“By being so technical in nature, these decisions are inaccessible to many members of the general public. Our amendments mandate that the information that will be published in line with the provisions of this section will be accessible, written in plain language and include non-technical summaries of likely significant effects and mitigation measures. By increasing transparency, public participation and oversight, we will increase public buy-in and reduce the likelihood of objections.”
“I move amendment No. 7: In page 15, between lines 4 and 5, to insert the following: “(d) ensure that information published under this section is accessible, written in plain language, and includes non-technical summaries of likely significant effects and mitigation measures.”. Mar gheall ar leasú Uimh. 7 agus 14, ar leathanach 15, idir líne 4 agus 5, molaim go gcuirfí isteach “to ensure that information published under this section is accessible, written in plain language, and includes non-technical summaries of likely significant effects and mitigation measures.”. This is designed to amend the EPA Act and the Waste Management Act, both of which deal with the fact that many decisions are communicated in a way that is extremely technical due to the complexity of the issues being addressed.”
“This is to increase public participation and transparency, to amend the EPA Act and the Waste Management Act to ensure that views of the public are taken into account, and to help with public buy-in and reduce the likelihood of objections.”
“I move amendment No. 6: In page 14, to delete lines 31 to 34 and substitute the following: "(b) publish, prior to deciding the application to which the exemption relates, a notice of the exemption, any requirements referred to in paragraph (a), a summary of public and authority submissions, and the Agency’s reasoned conclusions on the main issues raised— (i) on a website maintained by it or on its behalf, and (ii) in a national newspaper,". Mar gheall ar leasaithe a 6, it is to delete lines 31 to 34 and substitute that it would publish, prior to deciding the application to which the exemption relates, a notice of the exemption, any requirements referred to in the paragraph, a summary of public and authority submissions, and the agency’s reasoned conclusions on the main issues raised, on a website or in a national newspaper.”
“(4B) The Agency shall not grant an exemption unless, having regard to subsection (4A), it is satisfied on the basis of clear and convincing evidence that— (a) the exemption is proportionate to the risk or necessity identified, and (b) no reasonable alternative exists that would allow compliance with the EIA Directive. (4C) An exemption granted under this section shall specify: (a) the reasons and evidence relied upon; (b) the alternative assessment method and minimum content requirements; (c) a maximum duration; (d) any conditions, monitoring and reporting obligations necessary to avoid, prevent, reduce or offset significant adverse effects. (4D) An exemption which has expired under paragraph (c) of subsection (4C) may may be renewed.". Níl mé ag brú na leasaithe sin. I am withdrawing those two.”