CLIMATE CHANGE BILL:THE FUTURE of the Climate Change Response Bill is in serious doubt following the announcement of a general election for March 11th.
The Bill was one of the pieces of legislation the Green Party had hoped to see enacted in parallel with the Finance Bill which implements the terms of the December Budget.
A spokesman for Government Chief Whip John Curran said yesterday: “Both parties are committed to the enactment of the Finance Bill and related legislation. As regards other pieces of legislation, the whip will sit down early next week with relevant officials to see what legislation can be brought forward in what is now a more truncated timeframe.”
Green Party Minister of State for Horticulture Ciarán Cuffe said: “We are still very much focused on the Finance Bill as the last of the items to get across the line during the Government’s term of office.
“We would be pleased if we could get the other legislation through as well.”
The Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture has called for the Climate Change Bill to be deferred and employers’ body Ibec has expressed concern that the Bill was being rushed through.
