Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 21 November 2023

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action

Citizens' Assembly Report on Biodiversity Loss: Discussion (Resumed)

Photo of Pauline O'ReillyPauline O'Reilly (Green Party)
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I thank our guests for all of their input. A huge amount of work has been done, which is fantastic. It is really important for the delegation to ask their question. They have done their bit so they have asked us what are we going to do now. We are all involved in different political parties but we are all here because we share the same passion for the environment and biodiversity and want to make recommendations about what we think should happen. There have been quite a few citizens' assemblies. This is the first citizens' assembly where we have had the voice of young people and children so now we have the ability to make recommendations and do what they have said and that pushes us forward. We will ask Ministers to come back to us with answers. We will ask them if they have done this, that and the other, which is a really important part of the process.

Three important things have happened here. First, the Children and Young People's Assembly on Biodiversity Loss has prepared recommendations on biodiversity. Second, tools have been developed for schools. This is an extra thing that the other citizens' assemblies have not done, which means this assembly has gone even further.

The last, which I am very interested in, is how this can be a blueprint for future citizens’ assemblies. One on education is coming up, for instance. How our guests feel this has worked will then inform how we do other things. They are trailblazers, in a way, and they will leave a lasting legacy beyond biodiversity. Can I ask questions now?