Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I agree with Deputies who spoke previously, particularly Deputies Eamon Ryan, Joan Burton and Brendan Howlin, regarding the Government's abject performance on climate change. Indeed I would trace this back to when the current Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development was Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government. I think Fine Gael took the position that dealing with climate change was electorally damaging, particularly in rural Ireland, and essentially jettisoned any real commitment to it. This has been manifest since then. One can see it with the recent Heritage Bill, which concerned ditches and hedges. Where did that spring from? Who were the influencers that said we needed legislation on that, which was quite significant in its destruction of biodiversity? I spoke to many farmers who really did not have an agenda to do this.

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