I first brought discussion on CETA and investor courts to the Seanad exactly a decade ago. It was my very first Private Member's business as a new Senator. A majority of Senators at that time had the courage to support me and the motion was successful. The concern we were raising in that motion was the fact that the trade component and these investor courts were separate and should not be considered together. We noted that a European Court of Justice ruling on the Singapore deal was pending and that Ireland should …

No, it said you "may".

It is not the same thing.

It is also only a possibility.

It states "fair and equitable treatment"-----

A point of clarification.

We were just told-----

References were made to suggest that our points had been contradicted by what had been read. Our points were very clear-----

-----this is not around the right to regulate, it is the fact that the compensation which may be accorded if companies say they are being unfairly treated-----

It was specifically said.

I am but there was a direct reference to comments we made.

I am looking forward to it.

Factually incorrect.

I sit on the climate and energy committee and we discuss energy security all the time, or rather we discuss energy policy all the time. It is interesting that energy security gets invoked at certain points, and then at other points in the conversation it is missing as a topic. We heard a lot about energy security when the Government was pushing to introduce the LNG reserves and the floating storage regasification unit, FSRU. That was being cited again and again. The committee looked at it and it was clear that ther…

I find the Minister of State's opening statement surprising because some of the language used speaks to and seems to respond to an argument and discussion that I have been highlighting and moving forward for almost a decade in these Houses - the fact that under European procurement rules, value for money does not necessarily mean lowest price. Value for money can be lowest price, it can be the best balance of price and quality, and it can be life-cycle costing. The Minister of State spoke about the extraordinary am…

I am very glad to support the motion. There are a few different words in Irish for the environment but one of the nicest is comhshaol, the idea of coexistence and living together. We share this space. Wildlife in its essence is the idea of life that is not utilitarian. It is not a product. It is not farming. It exists simply as a fellow traveller on our planet and in our country. At the same time, its magic is in its existence that is separate from us. It is also part of healthy biodiversity, which is crucial to al…

I move amendment 1: In page 3, between lines 20 and 21, to insert the following: " "authorised person" means— (a) a person, or a person belonging to a class of persons, authorised in writing by the Minister to exercise the powers conferred to an authorised person under this Act, or (b) a member of An Garda Síochána;".

Amendment No. 1 and the related amendments, which are consequential amendments that flow from it, insert the definition of an "authorised person" into the Bill. This is the same wording as is in the Air Navigation and Transport Act 1988. Amendments Nos. 4 and 5 remove subsequent instances of "authorised officer" in the Bill and replace them with the phrase "authorised person". Issues were raised on Committee Stage regarding what constitutes an authorised officer. These amendments address this question. In the 1988 …

Could the Minister of State clarify his last sentence? I could not hear it. Did he say it would or would not be appropriate?

If these are technical issues and if there are specifics wished for in exactly how the inspections will take place, exactly how the seizures will be conducted and exactly what physical steps will be taken in relation to it, then I would say the Government has the capacity to bring amendments specifying those details. The Government has the capacity to bring in secondary legislation, if it wishes to, by regulation or to bring amendments in respect of how it would like inspections to be conducted. Frankly, the Govern…