Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

With the announcement of the Citizens' Assembly on biodiversity, this is an incredibly positive day for the efforts of this country to tackle biodiversity loss and the protection of wildlife. In fairness to the Taoiseach, last week he stated we need to act swiftly and with conviction, and here we are today, announcing the Citizens' Assembly will have its inaugural meeting in April. It is important that we continue the other work we are doing.

There is the review of the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, the establishment of the wildlife crime investigation unit and the bolstering of that unit so that it can do its work properly. There is also a need for a proper agri-environment scheme that instead of penalising farmers for having a habitat on their land will actually reward them for this. I thank the Taoiseach again for his leadership on this issue. It is a very good day for those who care about wildlife in this country.

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