Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

To reply to some of the comments the Minister made, I appreciate that prosecutions have been taken under section 40 of the Wildlife Act which relate to the cutting of hedges during the closed periods. Not very many were taken but they happen. However, it is section 22 of the Wildlife Act which protects birds, their nests and eggs from mutilation and injury. That is the section the Minister reminded Deputies of on Committee Stage in terms of its importance for the protection of our birds. Since 2015, however, there have been zero prosecutions carried out. The protection and the resources do not exist to protect our birds.

I know the Minister has a hectic schedule so I was very interested to hear that she had time to meet a turf cutting delegation courtesy of Deputy Michael Healy-Rae because it is my understanding that BirdWatch Ireland requested a meeting with the Minister to discuss the impact of this devastating Bill and no such meeting was facilitated. That is highly regrettable. Since she had time to meet the turf cutters, did she have time to meet the members of the Environmental Pillar and the Irish Wildlife Trust? I know that BirdWatch Ireland definitely asked her for a meeting and no such meeting was facilitated. That is a shameful lack of consultation with a stakeholder such as that.

On previous Stages of the Bill, the Minister justified this legislation's expansion of burning into March and Northern Ireland's burning period, which extends to 14 April. However, what she did not mention is that this situation is currently an unmitigated disaster in Northern Ireland. In 2017, there were 2,231 wildfires throughout Northern Ireland that the Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service had to attend, and 511 of those occurred after 1 May. The Minister kept making that comparison and said that this will be good and that it will stop things happening but despite having that longer burning season, out of control fires have continued to wreak havoc in Northern Ireland. Changing the dates for burning will not stop out of control fires as controlled burning, as a management tool, is virtually non-existent in Ireland. This Bill as currently drafted will be disastrous for our wildlife and our natural heritage.

See this speech in context