Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach spoke about how in May 2019 the Dáil declared a biodiversity emergency and called for a citizens’ assembly. Three years will have passed by the time an assembly will have been established. That is not exactly moving swiftly or recognising the scale of the emergency that faces us. One quarter of bird species in Ireland are a "serious conservation concern". Some 77 species of plants and animals are officially endangered. The European Commission has 15 open infringement cases against Ireland on environmental issues. There is an absence of action from the Government.

For example, with regard to marine protected areas, the then Government in 2010 promised that we would have 10% by 2020. It did not have this and it is still at 2.4%. There is still no legal definition of "marine protected areas" and the ones that we have really just exist on paper. The question is whether the Government will take action following the inevitable advice from the citizens’ assembly.

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