Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

Dr. Lynn made the point earlier on that biodiversity needs to be addressed holistically and it is very much a cross-portfolio issue. The siloing of biodiversity within one Department or another can cause difficulties. Dr. Lynn spoke about the financial issues and considerations. There are biodiversity elements to areas such as planning and flood defences. Are the structures in place to enable cross-departmental discussions to happen? If they are in place, are they working? What improvements could be made?

I will talk about the pollinator issue. Dr. Lynn spoke about the pollinator plan, which is a great initiative. People have really grasped it and they want to do as much as possible. However, issues have been raised with regard to wildflower mixes and whether they are introducing invasive species we would obviously not want to introduce. Is the NPWS doing any examination of or study of those wildflower mixes? Ideally, our wildflowers should be coming from the soil, even if one does not add any seeds to an area. I have done it in my garden where I have stopped cutting and taken away any of the inputs. The number of different species in the garden is incredible. They self-seeded. Does the NPWS intend to look at those wildflower packets to see whether we should encourage people? I know there are some corporations that are putting in major investment in this area. I hear ads on the radio and I become worried about what, potentially, we could be inadvertently encouraging.