Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I will move to the Green Party slot, which I will take. I compliment the Minister of State, his staff and officials on some of the excellent work that has been done over the past 18 months to two years. It has been hard to keep up with many of the announcements that have made about funding, projects and schemes that are being carried out across the country. Both the Minister of State and the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, have visited many of these sites and that is very encouraging.

Comments were made earlier about giving time to heritage and this committee fully recognises that the heritage section is a significant part of the Department and an important aspect of our society because our cultural and architectural heritage and our buildings can be damaged quickly and take many years to restore. That is why we must be pre-emptive and protect that heritage as much as we can.

I will ask a couple of questions about the wildlife crime unit, which has caught the imagination of many people. While there are laws to protect biodiversity and our natural environments, the establishment of a wildlife crime unit may be significant and can work well to reinforce what is already there. Will the Minister of State outline for us the wildlife crime unit, its role and how it will work?