Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is a fascinating subject. I do not know whether other people struggle the way I do with the enormity of the challenge facing us. In terms of mobilising people, if people feel a bit overwhelmed - it involves climate, pollution, species, extraction, farm methods and consumer choices, etc. - it all becomes a bit overwhelming for them. Are there ways in which we can make it more concrete for Irish people as to what the ambition is? If it is broken into so many silos, it is hard to mobilise people. There is goodwill out there and you see people rewilding bits of their gardens. They do not know to what extent that contributes. Is it vitally important compared to being more sensitive in respect of what they buy in the supermarket versus buying an electric vehicle? Does Dr. Lynn think that the advent of circular economy legislation, the attempt to look at sectors as a whole, redesigning the way we deliver various services and scrutinising the materials, methodologies and consumer choices constitute a way of bringing this into one programme in which consumers and the food sector can participate? I am a bit overwhelmed by all the silos and the different inspectors and many ordinary people, particularly businesspeople, will feel that way.

How do we plan to mobilise change? Dr. Lynn seems to say that we are going to sign up to a lot of ambitions but she does not seem to know what the policy tools that will be used to implement them will be. I know this is a biodiversity emergency and we have to set targets but to some degree, that is reversing the usual approach of policy where you have a fair idea of what your policy instruments can deliver, and then you set a stretch target relating to whatever instruments you are going to put into the field. Perhaps I am wrong but we seem to be doing it in reverse. We are signing up to the targets and then wondering whether there will be policy tools to get us there. It comes down to whether we are evolving the toolbox of funding streams, incentives, levies - whatever it is. This is what is missing in this.