Mr. Michael Ewing:

I thank Deputy Haughey for his question and his colleague, who has left the room, for his question. I will respond to both of those and then revert to the Chairman's points. The issue around the balance between productivity and the environment is, as has already been said, a complicated one but it is more to do with what we measure. We measure GDP as being the evidence of our success.

However, it does not measure success, rather the movement of money. Many factors included in the calculation of GDP, such as the drugs trade and ill health, should not be part of how we measure our success. Perhaps we need to think about what we measure in terms of the contradiction between environment and success.

If we properly follow the sustainable development goals I mentioned, all factors will rise together and there will be a more equal society. Those who currently suffer most from poor environment and ill health are usually economically poor. There is a direct link between the environment and societal and economic well-being. Those matters are closely related.

The impact of Brexit on the climate and environment in general is a very serious issue on which I wish to dwell. It was stated that there are 800 pieces of environmental legislation throughout Europe. The great repeal Bill going through the United Kingdom Parliament purports to transpose all European legislation into United Kingdom legislation with one stroke of a pen. However, as members are aware from their experience, half of the legislation in this country is enacted through statutory instruments, which can be changed at the stroke of a pen. Similarly, European legislation in the UK was often transposed through statutory instruments and, therefore, any legislation that now applies in the UK can easily be gotten rid of if that is so desired.

The Good Friday Agreement is an international agreement over and above EU treaties and cannot be ignored in the course of Brexit negotiations. It includes co-operation on several areas, including agriculture, tourism and the environment. As a result of that, our opinion, on which we urge members to follow through, is that it is essential that the legislation that currently operates North and South continue to apply, whether to the environment or other areas. That should be ensured in the ongoing phase one negotiations. There is now a deal on the so-called divorce bill but the issue of the free movement of people has not been resolved, nor has the Border issue which I am very afraid will be dealt with in terms of trade only rather than the Good Friday Agreement and the six institutions and six areas of competency that operate within it. There should be a level playing field on the island and it should operate in the same manner as pre-Brexit. I make that point because one island with the same set of endangered, invasive and other species North and South and with shared fisheries because fish move from one area to another should be ruled by one rule sheet as to do otherwise would be to go down a slippery slope.

As the Chairman and others mentioned, there is potential for people to seek economic gain by changing the legislation that applies to them and that is a very serious matter, in particular on this island and in regard to North-South arrangements, because if it is allowed to happen we predict that the trade agreements the UK will seek, initially with the United States which is probably its biggest trading partner while others such as Australia and New Zealand are comparably small economies, will have to consider implications in terms of legislation and the protection of the environment. I am very concerned in that regard. A colleague of mine yesterday addressed the European Parliament on that issue. We met with Michel Barnier and his team in Brussels a month ago and they concurred with our views regarding the Good Friday Agreement being fundamental to Brexit arrangements and that it should not be diluted in any way. We ask members to support that.

On agriculture and the Chairman's points in that regard, I agree with Dr. O'Neill that it is evidence based. On the matter of hedgerows that was raised by the Chairman, birds would be mad to go to a very busy, noisy, dusty, polluted road but there are many byways and highways in Kerry, where the Chairman lives, and north Roscommon, where I live, on which a car or school bus might pass only every five minutes. The proposed rules being brought in would change the situation for many species of endangered birds. There is adequate capacity in the existing legislation and Road Traffic Acts to cut hedges when they become a danger to the public in terms of traffic but local authorities have not used those powers.

The Chairman asked about the statistics on air pollution. The Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Naughten, provided the figure of 1,400 deaths in Ireland as a result of air pollution while the figure of 400,000 resultant deaths in Europe was provided by the European Commission. A director of the European Commission this morning quoted that figure during a conference on environment and health. The figures come from the European Environment Agency in Brussels and the Department of Health, which are very solid sources.