Government accused of attempting to railroad crucial climate-related legislation through the Dáil

Friends of the Earth Ireland says democracy is being undermined by bid to rush through Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Bill and Dublin Airport Passenger Cap Bill.

The government has been accused of attempting to undermine democracy by ramming two major pieces of legislation which will have profound implications for Ireland’s climate commitments, public finances and local communities through the Dail with just two hours of debate.

Friends of the Earth Ireland said the decision to “guillitione” both the Strategic Gas Emergency Reserve (known as the LNG) Bill and the Dublin Airport (Passenger Capacity) Billthrough all stages of the Dáil represents “an extraordinary attempt to avoid proper parliamentary scrutiny of legislation that could lock Ireland into higher emissions for decades.”

The move comes as Ireland and much of Europe continues to experience unprecedented heatwaves linked to climate change, and just days before Ireland assumes the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, where the Government has pledged to champion ambitious climate action.

Friends of the Earth Ireland CEO, Deirdre Duffy, said it is deeply concerning that legislation with potentially enormous environmental, health and financial consequences were being allocated only a matter of hours for debate in the Dail on Tuesday.

She said the proposed LNG Bill will pave the way for a State-led, €1 billion Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) terminal in Co. Clare,  despite no comprehensive climate, biodiversity or environmental impact assessment of the project.

Ms Duffy said the Dublin Airport Authority itself has said lifting the current annual passenger cap from 32 million to 40 million passengers would increase aviation emissions by approximately 24 per cent.

“Both pieces of legislation could significantly increase Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions, while making it harder and more expensive to achieve legally binding national climate targets.” Ms. Duffy said.

She added:

“These are not routine pieces of legislation. They are among the most significant climate decisions this Government will make, yet Ministers want to ram them through the Dáil with minimal debate and scrutiny. Both are presumably being rushed through to get to the end of the Oireachtas session, but both will tear holes in Ireland’s climate ambition at the very moment Ireland and Europe is experiencing deadly heat, wildfires and extreme weather caused by pollution and burning of fossil fuels.”

She added:

“In relation to the LNG Bill you cannot meaningfully examine legislation involving almost €1 billion in public expenditure, major increases in greenhouse gas emissions and potentially significant health impacts for communities in County Clare in just a couple of hours.”

“The public is effectively being asked to sign a blank cheque for major new fossil fuel infrastructure without knowing its full environmental cost, biodiversity impacts or long-term financial risks. That is simply not good law-making.”

“If the Government genuinely believes these Bills are robust, it should have no difficulty allowing proper Committee scrutiny, amendments and full parliamentary debate instead of forcing them through on a legislative conveyor belt.”

Ms Duffy said the issue raises fundamental questions about democratic accountability.

“Regardless of where TDs stand on these Bills, every member of the Oireachtas should be concerned about legislation of this scale being railroaded through without the level of examination it deserves.”

The organisation also highlighted what it described as a striking contradiction between the Government’s domestic actions and its international commitments.

Said Ms Duffy:

“It’s ironic that next week Ireland begins its Presidency of the Council of the European Union, with the official Presidency programme committing Ireland to ‘delivering on the EU’s ambitious agenda to fight climate change and shift to a climate-neutral economy by 2050’ and promising ‘coherent, science-based decision-making’ to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution”. ⁠

“Those commitments ring hollow if, at home, the Government is rushing through climate-significant legislation while limiting democratic scrutiny,” said Ms Duffy. “Ireland cannot credibly claim to lead on climate action in Europe while weakening scrutiny of decisions that will shape our emissions for decades to come."