Dr. Aoibhinn N? Sh?illeabh?in:

May I come in on this? I agree that it is a new lens through which one thinks about wildlife and nature. I have two perspectives; the hills of Connemara have always been beautiful to me but now I am a little heartbroken because I have suddenly realised I need to compare them to the islands on the Corrib, which are full of trees. That is what the hills should look like, but they have been overgrazed. It is something we need to be thinking about. We particularly need to think about the matter of overgrazing in terms of the wild deer. That has been recommended here in terms of invasive species. The new lens is sometimes difficult to grapple with.

On Ms Jones’s question on the Tidy Towns, I believe there is now a whole section on biodiversity. Obviously, that will come to the fore as we have more education and public engagement on it. From my own perspective, I am from rural Ireland but I live in an estate now. We have a local community pick-up group now and I have seen the research stating that even if you have people picking up the rubbish they then will start to think about their environment. Two years ago, there was an uproar over No Mow May but this year it just happened. We have to give people time because it is a big change. There are a lot of cultural changes that we are asking of people in Ireland. We have thought about things in one way for a very long time but I absolutely think it is possible and I think change can come.

On the Senator’s question about pesticides and herbicides, this subject came up. It came up specifically in terms of domestic use. Recommendation 18 looks at a reduction in pesticides by at least 50% by 2030 in line with EU policy. It also talks about chemical pesticides and fertilizers for home use, as well as the safe disposal of them.

I also want to emphasise - because we have not yet focused a huge amount on this in our conversation today - the subject of forestry, woodlands and hedgerows. Recommendation 129 speaks specifically about the use of pesticides in public forestry and private forestry to be reduced by at least 50%. This refers to pesticides and herbicides. Coillte was in before us and spoke to us about a reduction in that. This is something the members really wanted to highlight.