Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

That is positive news. Like the Minister, I know the really good work that is done at local authority level. For example, the heritage officer of Wicklow County Council does a significant amount of work in this area. However, the roll-out of biodiversity officers to all local authorities would assist heritage officers, planning services and local and district engineers as they attempt to tackle some of the causes of biodiversity loss. We know the main factors are habitat fragmentation, loss of habitats, pesticides, pollution, invasive species and, of course, climate change. Wicklow County Council established a climate and biodiversity strategic policy committee. It was one of the first local authorities to do so. The addition of a biodiversity officer to Wicklow County Council, and the other councils across the country that are doing that good work would be a very positive move to address that issue. We are facing a real emergency and crisis in the context of biodiversity.

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