Pauline O'Reilly (Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank both of our guests. I am conscious of time. I was going to ask about the legislation but Deputy Kenny has covered that. I am trying to get my head around where our guest speakers would see our rivers and waterways if legislation and enforcement were in place. Would there still be an issue because of climate change? When we talk about bloom or invasive species, it is not just a matter of clearing up pollution, so what is their assessment? If everything else was done and was perfect, and if Inland Fisheries Ireland could enforce against all of the crimes and none of them were happening, where would our waterways be? What else needs to be done, if that makes sense?

Second, I am aware that many of the issues that arise happen on land and have an impact on our waterways. Where does the balance of enforcement lie between Inland Fisheries Ireland and the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS? Are there adequate resources in place to tackle all of the issues?

There were many questions for us in Dr. Ó Cinnéide's statement. Will Inland Fisheries Ireland expand on some of them, in particular how to deal with some of the issues it feels fall outside the biodiversity action plan and its recommendations? It pointed to a few. Inland Fisheries Ireland probably has a list in mind of what falls outside of it and how it feels they could be managed.