Maritime Jurisdiction Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages
Seanad Éireann — 2021-06-01
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Alice-Mary Higgins (IND), National University of Ireland

I understand that the Government might not be in a position to accept the amendment today but would ask it to revert to the Parliamentary Counsel on it in the context of future-proofing the legislation. There are other conventions, including for example, the convention on biodiversity which is likely, when it is negotiated in November, to have a very strong marine component. Indeed, that is one of the key points of focus for the negotiations on a new convention on biodiversity at the UN. Much has been said about consolidating different bits of law. This amendment aims to future-proof the legislation so that other relevant items of law might be incorporated in the future. The Minister of State has said that the Government cannot accept this amendment but I ask him to ensure that a question is put to the Parliamentary Counsel as to whether a slight change in wording would potentially allow for greater incorporation of other legal responsibilities in the future and a more efficient legislative process. I understand that the amendment cannot be accepted at the moment but there may be a real concern here. The Parliamentary Counsel may not have looked to those future obligations in its drafting process.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2021-06-01/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:49:21+00:00
Sitting date: 2021-06-01