Dr. Anita Donaghy:

It would be very important to move that forward. It would give recognition to the feeling that this nation cares about the environment. We need to step up our efforts if we are serious about protecting what we have left of biodiversity and give more weight and emphasis to the actions that need to be undertaken, the knowledge that needs to be spread. Only by creating a Department dedicated to protection of the environment will we do that. The National Parks and Wildlife Service does an excellent job but it is a tiny section in a large Department and it does not have a voice. It is important that the natural environment is given a greater voice within the Government. For some species there are very stark choices, particularly in respect of intensive agriculture. We cannot have intensive agriculture and retain some of these farmland species that are important to us, such as curlew, lapwing, corncrake etc. There must be a much greater recognition of that if we value these species. While we value farmers and everything they do and the importance of that industry, the farmland birds and the biodiversity associated with farmland is fast disappearing. To tackle that we need a Department that is much stronger and able to engage at a much higher level with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Introducing such a Department would be a very beneficial and important step for this Government to take.