Ms Maeve Foreman:

I extend my greetings to the Vice Chair and the committee members. I am from Mud Island Community Garden, which is in the north-east inner city area of Dublin. We service the Ballybough and North Strand area. I am going to say a few words about the benefits of community gardening to explain why we are so keen to gain the committee's support for an expansion of gardens and allotments in Ireland.

First, there is ample evidence of the physical, mental health and well-being benefits for the individual gardener, from increased exercise and stress reduction, to an increased sense of social cohesion that creates a sense of belonging, and all the benefits that brings. Respected sources are often referred to by my medical colleagues such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in the UK. They have both published research on the physical benefits from as little as two and a half hours of gardening a week, as well as its positive effects as a mental health intervention. As a result, we have seen an increase in GPs social prescribing attendance at community gardens and allotments, particularly in Northern Ireland where social prescribing is more common. We are pleased to see the establishment this year of the All-Ireland Social Prescribing Network for the island of Ireland.

Second, we believe the provision of space for communities to grow their own fruit and vegetables can improve the environment naturally and help address climate change by increasing biodiversity and pollinators, as well as addressing food poverty and food sustainability.

Third, there are educational and cultural benefits for society. Community gardens and allotments hugely increase social capital by encouraging active citizenship and social connection, help reduce health inequalities, and contribute to reducing antisocial behaviour, thus making communities safer places for us all. They also help contribute towards some of the UN's sustainable development goals, which I am sure members are familiar with, in particular goals 3, 11 and 12.

In the case of my own garden, Mud Island Community Garden, its use during Covid was indispensable for the local area. As well as gardening, it provided a safe outdoor space for meetings, for local band and theatre groups to gather for rehearsals and, as restrictions allowed, for use by local schools and youth groups. One example is our seed-to-pizza project with two local primary schools where they grow wheat from seed, harvest it, and learn how to mill it and make flour.

Ultimately, our local Italian pizzeria chefs came over and showed us how to make pizza in our pizza oven. Yet, despite the proven benefits, existing legislation and the commitment in the current programme for Government, there is no countrywide policy in place to increase the number of allotments and community gardens. I am going to hand back to Mr. McCormack at this point who will elaborate on these aspects of our submission.