Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Fianna Fáil welcomes this discussion on biodiversity loss and the extinction of species. It was a Fianna Fáil amendment that provided for the declaration of a climate and biodiversity emergency. Fianna Fáil also called for the biodiversity crisis to be examined by the Citizens' Assembly. We are committed to ensuring Ireland will do its collective fair share and meet legally binding environmental commitments at EU and UN level. One could say this debate is timely, given the emergency in which the country finds itself and, perhaps, also given some of the results of last week's elections. We should be honest. There can be no backslapping. This House should have addressed the issue much sooner and should regularly return to it, given that it affects so many aspects of our society and economy.

On biodiversity loss in Ireland, thanks to the tireless work of particular State agencies and environmental organisations, we have a clear picture of just how bleak is the situation. Over one third of Ireland's wild bee species are threatened with extinction; over 90% of listed habitats in Ireland have a poor conservation status; two thirds of native birds are of conservation concern, with several threatened with extinction; water contamination caused by fertiliser and effluent is a regular occurrence, while fish stocks are over-exploited and marine mammals threatened. I could go on. It is obvious that there is a major mismatch between the Fine Gael Government marketing campaign of some green island dedicated to sustainability and the sad reality. It is evident that the Government is leaving the country in a worse state for the next generation. It is also evident that biodiversity protection is not prioritised in relevant Departments.

I appreciate that warnings of major biodiversity loss are nothing new in Ireland, but we are seeing a much greater focus on the crisis in the media, with Sir David Attenborough being the prime example. This is welcome and must continue in the Irish media, but there are several NGOs and community groups across the country which have been sounding the alarm bells for years and are to be commended for their dedication and determination. I am conscious that issues concerning biodiversity and species loss are often framed as niche, secondary concerns, perhaps matched, incorrectly, by the idea that wildlife may be declining is some isolated rural areas, but what does that have to do with me? Many of us, especially those living in cities, only catch fleeting glimpses of the ecological breakdown such as fewer bees in our garden or the poor state of streams or beaches in our vicinity. However, destruction of biodiversity does not only mean loss of species. The public will suffer significant environmental, economic and health impacts of biodiversity loss and destruction of natural habitats. Nature provides important services such as pollination, healthy soils for farming and reduced carbon emissions, all of which have real and tangible benefits for society and the economy.

The climate and biodiversity emergency has other negative impacts. For example, plants and animals are becoming more susceptible to pests and diseases. Air pollution has a health-related cost in Ireland of over €2 billion per annum. I am glad that we will have the opportunity to discuss the global assessment report tomorrow as it sets out necessary responses at international level. It also notes that the main drivers of biodiversity loss stemming from human activities are over-expansion and intensification on land and in the seas; over-exploitation of organisms; the climate crisis; increasing pollution; and invasive alien species. The landmark 2030 agenda for sustainable development agreed in 2015, thanks to successful negotiations led by Ireland, provides many of the solutions to combat these five drivers. However, there is a complete mismatch between Ireland’s foreign and domestic policies. The Government, unlike many of our EU neighbours, has largely ignored the 17 sustainable development goals and the 169 targets which underpin the 2030 agenda. We have a sustainable development goal implementation plan, but where are the departmental strategies? Where are they included in the budget? Where are they in policies on fisheries, forestry, agriculture and peatlands? We have seen the tired approach of Departments which merely references and lists these goals and targets, including in the Government’s national development plan and the national biodiversity action plan. We have also heard that the commitments of Departments and State agencies in the national biodiversity action plan might look good on paper but that they go nowhere near far enough.

The message for this House is that the Fine Gael Government has actively de-prioritised environmental protection and reduced investment where it is most needed. State agencies responsible for biodiversity protection and conservation have suffered repeated budget cuts. Funding for the National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Heritage Council has decreased by approximately 70% since the recession. Much greater resources are needed in the National Biodiversity Data Centre which takes the lead in biodiversity monitoring. I would like to able to say our problems are confined to the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, but there is a dangerous situation at ministerial level in that environmental issues are of concern to no one and everyone; environmental policies and responsibilities are spread across several Departments, making it extremely challenging to track progress and ensure accountability. Ultimately, there is a complete lack of coherence and no real sign of a concerted attempt to integrate biodiversity objectives into policy-making and planning.

When it comes to biodiversity concerns, the tagline of the Fine Gael Government looks like, "Doing Nothing Is Still An Option". Simply protecting the status quodoes not align with the achievement of the sustainable development goals or the Paris Climate Agreement. We cannot accept a business-as-usual approach that allows businesses and particular Departments to use sustainability as a buzzword and fail to prioritise or even track progress against the sustainable development goals. Last but not least, when it comes to the climate and pollution, the Government's 2017 climate strategy was widely criticised by national and international authorities as lacking substantive measures and also any real commitment to implementation. We have been waiting for years for the Government's clean air strategy to tackle air pollution. What does a fair and improved response look like? The Government must ensure enforcement of existing environmental laws and align policy implementation and planning with necessary progress in reaching the sustainable development goals. It is also essential that we see significantly increased investment in habitat restoration. The Government must restore budgetary allocations to relevant State agencies to pre-recession levels. Where possible, we should increase conservation areas onshore and offshore. There is also a need for consultation with communities from the get-go when all options are still open. At departmental level, there is a need for a co-ordinated strategy which prioritises and integrates biodiversity objectives into policy decisions across relevant Departments, State agencies and local authorities. This must include early and robust environmental impact assessments, as well as transparent sustainability analyses, with clear metrics. There is a need for a coherent approach, not the piecemeal response which has been the hallmark of the Fine Gael Government in the past eight years.

I would like to discuss the link with climate action in a little more detail. Fianna Fáil recognises that biodiversity loss is an existential threat which is fundamentally linked with the climate crisis. We cannot deal with the threats of runaway climate change and the loss of biodiversity in isolation. We are also clear that when it comes to conserving our biodiversity, the exceptionalist approach of the Fine Gael Government to climate action must not be repeated. We need to bring biodiversity front and centre in Departments and end the vague promises and window-dressing. The Taoiseach stated in this House that the declaration of a climate and biodiversity emergency was merely a symbolic gesture. He failed to note that the declaration was part of a motion which endorsed immediate Government action in the form of the report of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Climate Action. We simply cannot allow a short-sighted approach which might allow for business development in the short run but which actively ignores and hides the very real, negative, long-term impacts on our health and the economy, with younger generations bearing the brunt of the damage.

Fianna Fáil believes protecting nature and supporting habitats provide us with the best way of capturing carbon emissions. It is particularly important that we adopt a radically reformed approach to forest management and peatlands, one of our most impactful and cost-effective measures. The Government must prioritise the planting of native trees and the restoration and protection of peatlands as these responses can protect biodiversity and yield huge reductions in emissions as they act as carbon sinks.

The cross-party report of the Joint Committee on Climate Action includes a range of recommendations that will reduce emissions and will encourage a sustainable approach to agriculture, forestry and peatlands. The Government has committed to the preparation of a national land use plan to set out different options, taking into account climate and environmental obligations, and sustainability for different types of production.

While I acknowledge the Minister is concerned about this, I think substantial credit has to go to the youth of the country because it stood up to the Government, institutions and this Parliament to indicate that we are not doing enough and they cannot accept it or there will not be a planet for the next generation.

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