Chris Andrews (Dublin Bay South, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It has been four years since a biodiversity emergency was declared in Ireland and the gradual destruction of our native landscape is showing no let-up. We must take bold steps to put a stop to this destruction and start the process of restoration. We are towards the bottom of the EU ranking when it comes to levels of forest cover among EU states and our UNESCO biosphere sites are neglected. The Minister of State indicated he was in Killarney last week and he would have seen for himself the challenges with regard to Sika deer and rhododendron, and that it is becoming increasingly bare. A strategy must urgently be put in place to remove invasive species from the biosphere.

Our other UNESCO biosphere site, Dublin Bay, is subject to frequent abuse, with high volumes of raw sewage flowing into the bay. Earlier this month, David Turner from Sandymount sent me shocking footage of raw sewage being released straight onto Sandymount Strand, and scores of sanitary products and tissues were left on the beach. Not only is this doing harm to the biosphere of Dublin Bay, it is creating a health risk for many of the hundreds of people using that beach each day. It is demoralising for those involved in projects to support our biosphere. Dublin City Council has many of those projects and it is a very active and engaged participant in developing and protecting the biosphere.

The complete lack of communication from Irish Water to the community is disgraceful. If an individual dumps sewage or waste like this, he rightly should face charges, but Irish Water seems to operate with a sense of entitlement that it is not accountable to anyone. As we approach the summer months, this lack of accountability must stop. We need to see meaningful engagement from Irish Water and Dublin City Council with the local community. How is it acceptable that in 2023 we continue to allow raw sewage to be released into this Dublin Bay biosphere? Dublin Bay has a vibrant community of users and sea swimming is immensely popular, with the Half Moon Swimming and Water Polo Club and, in Ringsend, two brilliant rowing clubs, Stella Maris Rowing Club and St. Patrick's, which are at the heart of the community.

Members frequently contact me about raw sewage in the bay and its effect on their training. We have seen in the past that Ringsend wastewater treatment plant has failed to inform the public of large discharges of sewage. For the sake of Dublin Bay as a biosphere and the local community, we need to see accountability. We need to see a short-term and a medium-term engineering solution to ensure that parts of Dublin Bay do not turn into no-go areas.

It is also important that we address the waterways of Irish Water and their condition. One does not have to go too far from here to see the Liffey, the Tolka and the Grand Canal and the condition they are in. It is hard to quantify the amount of waste that flows down those rivers and along the canal but thanks to Ringsend's Jimmy Murray, we do have some insight. Mr. Murray set up the Liffey Sweeper project. I am not sure if the Minister of State has heard of it but the aim of the project is to try to stop the waste that is flowing down the Liffey from reaching Dublin Bay. From just 11 sampling trips undertaken by the Liffey Sweeper project along the river, a total of 4,114 kg of debris was extracted, the vast majority of which could be recycled. Had the Liffey Sweeper teams not been out on those days, thousands more kilograms of waste would be out in Dublin Bay now. Projects like the Liffey Sweeper need to be supported and expanded so that they can cover more waterways and they need to be in place on a 24-7 basis.

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