Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the fact that we are having these statements. In respect of the proposals and ongoing programme that the Minister mentioned in her speech, we strongly support them. We would like to see more. It is good that we are finally having a conversation about biodiversity. The statement from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services that nature is declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history says it all. For Ireland, there are three dimensions to it, namely, this island; what happens generally in Europe and in the European Union and what we are doing collectively as members; and how we are meeting our requirements under the various international agreements we have signed up to.

I spent three years of my life working in Africa in the 1980s, long before I became a full-time politician. I have gone back there frequently, particularly in the years when I was Minister of State with responsibility for development. I also went back there in a private capacity the Christmas before last. I went back to where I had worked, in Dar es Salaam, which is a very large city on the east coast of Africa. It was roughly the same size as Dublin when I was working there in the 1980s. There were about half a million people plus growing towns in the area. The population is now 8 million. It is full of traffic. Without a doubt, there is a growing middle class which has done better. However, the reality in the Africa that I know is that women are the principal farmers. Women farmers feed their families. It has been a cornerstone of the Irish development programme since it was first developed way back in the 1970s that we would be involved on the ground in contributing to key countries. Malawi has already been mentioned. Countries like Tanzania and Ethiopia, which the Taoiseach visited not too long ago, are also key countries in the Irish programme. The difficulty is that in Africa there is a mass migration of people to cities. We are seeing the development of massively large cities in Africa because, particularly for poor people in the countryside, they offer an opportunity for access to education, to modern infrastructure, sometimes at an appallingly low level, such as lighting and electricity, and to water, even though the standard of that water may be variable. In the context of Ireland's commitment to development co-operation with countries in Africa and Asia, we need to be very aware of how hard life is for many poor people. Many Irish people will be familiar with images of the big shanty towns that have developed in different cities.

In my visit back to Tanzania, I got an opportunity to return to the Serengeti and to what is probably the most famous area for seeing animals, the Ngorongoro Crater. I was stunned at the fall in elephant numbers since the middle of the 1980s when I had been there previously. By the standard of David Attenborough's television programmes they are still stunning but they are nothing like the numbers that were once there. Despite massive efforts on the part of the local ranger staff to cut down on poaching, there is international trading in ivory. There is an awful lot of death and reduction in animal life. That is not something we can influence but, through our development programmes, we can provide education and support to the institutions in those countries that are training young people to conserve and provide for the animals. We can lend our voice in international fora to helping women farmers and small farmers and to providing financial structures. Globalised finance is not friendly to poor people. It is not friendly to poor people or those in trouble with their mortgages in Ireland but, equally, it is not particularly friendly to poor people in Africa. There is no great financial discussion here about these issues but finance and how we use the financial resources of the world are absolutely essential in empowering ourselves and all the countries in co-operation through the UN and the various international climate fora.

On our own country and biodiversity, there should be a biodiversity plan for each city in Ireland. I spoke last night of the wanton felling of trees by developers once they get on a site. Some colleagues last night who are not here today were very angry that I mentioned the forest fires around places like Killarney a month or two ago and the destruction they caused. We also had the fires in Donegal around the same time. While it may be difficult for some of the Deputies, like Deputy Danny Healy-Rae, who was shouting and roaring last night, to understand it, people who live in cities can be very concerned about the countryside and want to see farmers supported financially to be caretakers of our biodiversity as well as looking after their farming interests. This is a key balance that we have to address in policy terms. That may be difficult for a party like Fine Gael. Traditionally, large farmers have focused on the message that has been about for decades of more and more production rather than the quality of the production and the production being consistent with the protection of biodiversity. That is something that we have to be able to deal with.

I refer to today's water quality report on the beaches around Dublin. The greater Dublin area is very populated and we have bad reports on quite a number of beaches on the north side, near the centre of town and further to the south. We have been getting these reports for a number of years now. It may not be the direct responsibility of the Minister, Deputy Madigan. It may be more for her colleague, the Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy. We still have something like 42 locations in Ireland that are pumping pollution into lakes, waterways and the sea. We have discussed the issue in this and previous Dáileanna. I would like to hear from the Minister what, if any, progress has been made in respect of beaches like Portrane, a beautiful beach on the north side of the city which has got some black marks in today's report.

This is a really important recreation space for people on the north side of Dublin city. What is being done about this issue? Fantastic work was done in Cavan. Some 20 years ago, the lakes in the county were heavily polluted but control of agricultural effluent has reversed the position. We can protect our biodiversity. We have to protect and conserve those environmental assets that are so often also sources of pleasure. Will the Minister ensure the different streams of Government commentary and planning are drawn together? Some areas are dealt with by the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment while others fall within the remit of the Minister's Department. The first step I would like to see taken is the development of a whole-of-Government approach to this issue.

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