Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for that comprehensive overview and I know he had even more to say. One of the especially interesting things the Minister of State mentioned was how well used our parks, forests and public spaces have been over these past 20 months. Parks and forests offered sanctuary and in many cases, sanity, during lockdowns. I acknowledge all the workers who kept them open and pristine for all to enjoy. My local parks, Griffeen Valley and Lucan Demesne, were a hive of activity these past 20 months. Woods such as Slade Valley and Slievethoul had footfall like they have never seen before.

Covid gave many people a new appreciation of nature and natural amenities on their doorstep. That gives us a unique opportunity to harness that appreciation into support for the action on climate change agenda. I know all of us here agree on that and the Minister of State and his colleagues in the Green Party and colleagues of mine, such as Deputies Bruton and Farrell and Senators Currie and McGahon, have done tremendous work on it.

As a result of pandemic-related restrictions, several zoos, including Dublin Zoo, have reported they now may face closure due to lost income and ongoing expenses in maintaining their animals. I heard the director of Dublin Zoo on "The Ray D'Arcy Show" last week saying they have literally been kept above water by the generosity of the public who came out in their droves last year to donate to Dublin Zoo to support it to stay open and continue doing the essential conservation work it does. In fact, it is Dublin Zoo's ambition to move from being a zoo that does some conservation work to being a primary conservation centre that also happens to be a zoo.

That work is very important and we know great zoos such as Dublin Zoo have massive support and affection from the general public but, unfortunately, public generosity can only get them so far. They need Government support at this difficult time. I acknowledge all the advocacy for Dublin Zoo by my colleague, Senator Currie, who recently arranged for An Tánaiste, Deputy Varadkar, to visit the zoo and meet with staff and management to understand the challenges. Will the Minister of State share with us what his Department can do to support Dublin Zoo and ensure this great facility and amenity remains open?

My second question is on behalf of farmers and relates to the EU diversity strategy, which proposes an increase in the percentage of protected areas throughout the EU. Does the Minister of State's Department intend to compensate farmers and landowners for these additional designations?

The Minister of State got cut off before we had the chance to discuss electoral reform in detail. He has done amazing work when it comes to modernising the electoral register and the register to vote process and, of course, the moves towards the establishment of the electoral commission. However, one omission from that legislation, about which we talked to death at this committee, was the fact the online political advertisements will only be regulated during the electoral period, which may only be a couple of weeks. Will the Minister of State give us an update as to whether he fed our feedback back to his Government or colleagues? Can he fight to have this included in the online social media regulation Bill? Is it something on which he can work with other Ministers to try to rectify?