Dr. Catherine Farrell:

On a national peatlands unit, I am a great proponent of cross-sectoral action. One of the models that has worked well and shines out for me is the EPA catchments unit. It works right across different sectors. It has great engagement with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and groups right across Ireland. It is supporting initiatives such as the local authority waters programme, LAWPRO. We need a model such as that which would engage with the geological side and the EU side, through the Department while also overlapping with climate. It must have the ability to cross and break down silos. That is the general model that I believe would work well.

On the National Parks and Wildlife Service, I think the answer was in Senator Boylan's question. The NPWS needs to be a stand-alone body with powers of enforcement. For me, the model is the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, which has clear leadership and accountability, is well resourced, sets clear targets and smart objectives and has a network of supporting initiatives. In the interests of finding a positive solution, there are some models that work well in Ireland and we need to look to those.