Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I will try to be quick with these responses. We have a significant role to play in Dublin Zoo and Fota Wildlife Park. Our National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, for starters, has responsibility for the implementation of the regulations arising out of the zoo directive and licenses these establishments, including aquaria. When Covid hit last year, we reached out directly to zoos and aquaria throughout the country, not just Dublin Zoo and Fota Wildlife Park. We were the first to put in a fund of €1.6 million to Dublin Zoo and Fota Wildlife Park and a further additional funding of €300,000 to our smaller zoos and aquaria throughout the country which, along with the public appeal from Dublin Zoo, has helped to stabilise the situation from the huge losses they incurred during the lockdown in 2020.

Like the Tánaiste, I have visited Dublin Zoo and I commend Christoph Schwitzer and his team for the amazing work they have done throughout the pandemic and Sean McKeown and the team down in Fota Wildlife Park. In terms of the conservation value they have, Fota Wildlife Park is a key player and partner with the NPWS in our corncrake conservation programme and in the conservation of the natterjack toad. We have taken natterjack toads that were bred in Fota Wildlife Park and released them in the Maharees on the Ring of Kerry with communities and schoolchildren down there, which was a fantastic event. They play a critical role in conserving internationally endangered species.

We see that value and continue to support both Dublin Zoo and Fota Wildlife Park in their conservation efforts and look towards those conversations around the bigger elements we can do to support international conservation efforts. We have had good conversations with both on that. With regard to the EU biodiversity strategy, elements around the targets for 30% land, 30% marine and 10% strict protection are still in negotiation, such as the spread and the burden share of those, but we are looking at State and semi-State lands around how we achieve our targets and those conversations are being had at present.

Certainly, many of the programmes we are putting in place around biodiversity in general and farmlands, around life programmes, such as the farm plan scheme which I know some members are interested in, reward farmers for protecting biodiversity on their land. I hope we will see some very good measures coming from Pillar 2 of the next CAP strategic plan, in particular, in which we have had a hand and that will help and support farmers in their conservation efforts, because we know they want to do the right thing and are critical partners in conservation.

With regard to online political advertising, I cannot say enough to thank the committee for its consideration. It went way beyond what was expected of it with pre-legislative scrutiny for the electoral reform Bill. It was fantastic. Our Department has been working closely with the European Commission over the past 12 months looking at the development around proposals in the electoral reform Bill and having regard to the development of the Commission's own proposal on online political advertising. We are aware the Commission has recently published its own proposal for regulation on the transparency and targeting of political advertising, which was announced on 25 November last, as part of protecting election integrity and promoting democratic participation. Our officials are now examining the European Commission's online advertising proposal with a view to ensuring the two policies are closely aligned.

As the Deputy knows, our proposal on online political advertising during electoral events is unique in its own sense and progressive, but it is specifically for a piece of work around electoral events. We are giving consideration to the recommendations that came forward from the committee and will be feeding back on that in due course.