Éamon Ó Cuív presses for date to restore Wildlife Amendment Bill

I have to say it is with deep regret that I have to raise this issue again with my colleague Deputy Miss Morris because we raised it some time ago and we were given assurances that work was ongoing. I didn't put down a parliamentary question and to say the reply was opaque and less than satisfactory would be to put on my leg. Now we are now talking about a bill that had passed the Dáil, passed the Shannads, there were some amendments made in the Shannads and fell because the election was called in the beginning of 2020 and this is basically an Aladdin's lamp bill, in other words what was in question here is that bogs that were degraded and had been cut were being swapped for pristine bogs that would be designated as NHAs and unlike the Aladdin's lamp story, this one really was new for old and there was no genie that you had to rub to actually find the old one was better and it's hard to understand how it has taken the department three years to come to the point, well not to come to the point which is really the whole issue why we're here tonight, three years and we still haven't seen sight of a recommitted bill. Now either the amendments in the Shannads were satisfactory or they weren't. One would have thought that if they weren't satisfactory that you would have gone right back to the original bill passed by Dáil-Aidan and recommitted that to the Dáil or reintroduced the new bill, the Wildlife Amendment Bill 2022. Minister, I suppose what we really need tonight is a certain date by which this bill will be introduced into the Dáil so that it can get a swift passage through and become law as was promised before the Government was formed back in 2016. I just want to offer an apology to both deputies. I didn't expect we would be back here again to discuss this. I really thought we would have advanced it but it has been complex. The principal purpose of the Wildlife Amendment Bill as initiated was to provide for review of the raised bog habitats, the making amendment and revocation of natural heritage areas in orders for these purposes of the Wildlife Amendment Act of 2000. As the deputies will be aware, the bill was originally presented to Dáil-Aaron with a very constructive debate on the bill in both houses, including in relation to extending its scope to provide for review of blanket bog natural heritage areas and later in the Shannads in relation to placing a duty on public bodies to promote the conservation of biodiversity. The bill had completed all stages in the Dáil and the Shannads and had been returned to the Dáil for consideration of the various amendments made in the Shannads. That is to say that the bill was at what was colloquially known as the creamless stage when the bill lapsed with the dissolution of the 32nd Dáil on 14 January 2020. Standing orders DSO 227 provides that where a bill passed by the Dáil is subsequently amended and passed by the Shannads, those amendments are then returned to the Dáil for its consideration. DSO 228 provides that the Dáil may accept, amend or reject the Shannads amendments. Amendments in the Dáil to the Shannads amendments may only be moved where they are consequential upon the acceptance, amendment or rejection of the Shannads amendment. There is no mechanism understanding orders to move amendments to a bill returned to the Dáil under DSO 227 other than those set out in DSO 228. As discussed when I met the deputies in December last, the restoration of the bill in the order paper is not straightforward. However, once the complexities have been resolved and the amendments in the Shannads are re-examined in consultation with the OPC to ensure that they are worded correctly and legally robust, it will be Minister O'Brien's intention to bring a memorandum to government to seek approval to have the bill restored to the order paper. At the same time, the Minister will also bring a memo for government to obtain approval to the amendments to the bill made in the Shannads. This process is at a very advanced stage and expected to be completed shortly. I cannot give an accurate date on it, but I met with officials this morning just in relation to it to try and get an advance as quickly as possible. My hope is that it will be completed before the summer recess. Thank you, Minister Wiener. confirm here tonight. Are we getting the bill recommenced in the soil or are we going to get a new bill with the same information in it just to go through the procedure starting ab initio? Because it seems to me if there was this much difficulty with standing orders the best thing would have been just to reprint the bill out, call it the Wildlife Amendment Bill 2020, well we would have hoped it would have been 2020, it is not 2022, and bring it back in with whatever examination of amendments. Now I cannot believe that it has taken three years in the system to examine a number of amendments made in the Shanna that no doubt were well debated there. I do accept the thing about the wording and that is always an issue, but when a bill is going through the dialogue the opposition bring in an amendment and you know you think the amendment is a good idea. The normal process that happens every day of the week, and you can be very familiar with this, is that the minister comes back with a properly worded amendment from the parliamentary council and that happens every day of the week. So I find it awfully strange that the parliamentary council couldn't give you new wording for any amendments that you accepted the substance of but did not accept the wording of. I just find it difficult, but I do welcome that it will be for the summer, if it is for the summer, but I would also say that someday I will start writing a new dictionary of things said in the House like shortly, what does it define? One year, five years or ten years? Yes, I know it is frustrating and it has been complex and I appreciate the frustration of both deputies and the communities that you represent and I will endeavour to try and get a definite date for both of you and give certainty to this and again I take on board the points in relation to shortly and when that means, but you know it has been frustrating from our perspective as well. It won't be a new bill, we are in a separate process of reviewing the Wildlife Act but that is for another day, but it is our intention to try and get this completed. It is frustrating from our point of view as well, so we do appreciate that. We will raise it tomorrow at the business committee and we will raise it at each business committee until we get a date for it to be returned. I would welcome that. Thank you.