I move amendment No. 63: In page 32, line 19, before “management” to insert “necessary and appropriate”. I am discussing two things here and we can come back to them on Report Stage. The management should be necessary and appropriate management. One of the problems with social housing and the Part V social housing that has been offered in the kinds of mega towers we have seen proposed and other high-end developments is that incredibly high management fees are attached. We have seen the segregation that goes against…

I withdraw in the hope that some version of these may come from the Government on Report Stage.

I move amendment No. 64: In page 32, line 21, after “maintenance” to insert “or adaptation”. I withdraw this on the same basis as the preceding amendment.

I move amendment No. 65: In page 32, line 28, after “a” to insert “binding”. It is to insert "binding" and is about strengthening the agreements that might be there. I will withdraw this one and hopefully have a discussion on it within the same suite of discussions. This is around the detail of how the costs and the agreements might operate over a lifetime.

I withdraw it and reserve the right to bring it back on Report Stage.

This is kind of fundamental. We talked about not having a commercial director involved, and certainly not the commercial director of a real estate investment trust. That is why they want a model wherein, after a period of 40 years, they get an asset in addition to the cash-out and the money along the way. The key thing is that a local authority can have that flexibility. What I like about Senator Boyhan's amendment is that it reminds us of something. We have seen something of a myth going around about things being …

I welcome the motion and the fact that a Bill to address this issue was introduced in the Dáil. This is a sign of the momentum and demand that is there in respect of housing. However, I will not deal with the initial parts of the motion. There are counter-motions on the different parts of housing policy, but I will focus primarily on the constitutional referendum. We know the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural rights, as mentioned, has spoken about the right to adequate housing. Ms Leilani Farha, the for…

I join Senators in commending the project in Meath and other environmental initiatives being taken by companies around the country. With regard to the €800 million which Ireland will receive from Europe for recovery and resilience, the focus of which is on green projects and digitalisation programmes, Ireland is quite unusual in having gone directly to Europe. European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, tweeted at the weekend that she had received Ireland's recovery and resilience strategy without it ever …

I move amendment No. 1: In page 6, lines 8 and 9, to delete “the text of Parts II, V and VI of which is set out in Schedule 1 ” and substitute “ Schedule 1 contains the text of Parts II, V and VI of the Convention”. I tabled my amendment because I am concerned there could be a perception that the impact and remit of this Bill and the jurisdiction and responsibilities of the State could be limited in respect of the convention. This is a concern that comes to all of my later amendments, where I talk about specific ot…

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 co…

I move amendment No. 2: In page 6, lines 22 and 23, to delete “for” in line 22 down to and including line 23 and substitute the following: “being used in connection with the operations including activities servicing the operations of the installation at the time;” This amendment is a slight expansion of some of what was talked about in terms of the installations. It relates to jurisdiction in respect of installations. As I said on Second Stage, this Bill was drafted at a point in time when certain kinds of installa…

That is regrettable because some of the impacts of offshore drilling and exploration, for example, have been felt at some distance from the installations themselves but are very much related or connected to the same companies that own the installations involved. In that context, I will have to press my amendment.

I move amendment No. 3: In page 7, line 13, after “21” to insert “sitting”. This amendment relates to the question of the laying of orders before the Houses of the Oireachtas and specifies that it should be done on sitting days. Regulations in this area are really important. This may be a somewhat technical issue but the period of time in which the House may annul regulations made by the Minister must be 21 sitting days rather than just 21 days. We do not want an order to be laid before the House on 1 August, for e…

I ask the Minister of State to respond in respect of the very practical suggestion put forward by Senator Ward regarding a notification to the Houses. There has been considerable concern around a number of aspects of environmental regulations not being caught and dealt with early enough. In that context, the Minister of State might indicate whether he is happy to give us notification of any regulations that might be made. We do not need to put that into the law.

I will withdraw the amendment for now but ask that the Minister of State comes back to us, before the Bill goes before the Dáil, to satisfy us that there will be a notification process.

I move amendment No. 4: In page 9, line 24, to delete “2014.” and substitute the following: “2014, (f) any relevant provision on offences in national legislation giving effect to Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009 on the conservation of wild birds or Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora, or an offence under the Wildlife Act 1976.”. This amendment adds to a certain list of provisions contain…

I have the same concern as that articulated by Senator Ward. I checked with the officials in that regard. This would potentially make it easier by clarifying that this is not a concern or obstacle in that regard. It is a useful addition, but there may be other points in the Bill where reference to that directive might be made if we are looking for consolidating legislation that updates existing law. This amendment can be easily incorporated because it refers to existing law and is simply making visible that it was …

I move amendment No. 5: In page 10, line 19, after “exploitation,” to insert “restoration,” In listing the kinds of activities in which jurisdictional activity might be taken, "exploitation", which may be a legacy of our relationship with the sea, and "conservation" are both mentioned in the legislation. I seek to insert the word "restoration". In that context, the fact is, unfortunately, that research is showing us that large amounts of our marine habitats have been very significantly degraded. Much as the same de…

Does the Minister of State believe that there is sufficient scope to address the restoration issues of the marine environment under the scope of management?

I note that there are jurisdictional rights of the State in terms of the exclusive economic zone. Some provisions of this Bill go somewhat wider than that but I am happy to engage with the Minister of State on this matter. Section 14(b)(iii) provides for "the protection and preservation of the marine environment" but restoration is not named and that is why I seek an interpretative statement or an indication that we expect, in these regulations that have been laid before us, a clarity that restoration is envisaged …