Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

EU nature restoration hangs in the balance. It is unclear at this stage what the ultimate law will look like after the final vote was postponed at the EU environment committee this morning. If it is undermined, there will be plenty of blame to go round. The Minister's party's coalition partner, Fine Gael, has been among the chief critics of the proposed law. Instead of supporting the measures, the Taoiseach has slated them. He has propagated fears that farmers will be forced to rewet their land as part of the law. He has done so despite the fact that he knows, or at least should know, that this is not true. The Taoiseach is not alone in cynically politicking on this. Sinn Féin MEP Chris MacManus also joined in and voted against one the of the most important pieces of legislation in EU history at the agriculture committee. Like the Taoiseach, he chose to pit farmers against nature and stated there is too much ambiguity about the impact the law would have on farmers. If there is any ambiguity, most of it has been caused by MEPs like Mr. MacManus and the Taoiseach, who chose to ramp up fears rather than alleviate them. Also centrally engaged in project fear was Fianna Fáil MEP Billy Kelleher. He has been at the forefront of Irish media in recent weeks arguing that the law threatens the livelihoods of farmers. Mr. Kelleher has made these claims in the absence of any evidence. In fact, the nature restoration law aims to provide new funding streams for farmers to ensure the viability of farms long into the future.

I hope the Minister is as concerned about this matter as I am. Let us be clear that there is no future for farming unless we protect our ecosystems and biodiversity. I should know because I am a farmer. My mother is also a farmer. I have lived and worked on a farm for my entire life. I am deeply committed to ensuring that farmers have a future in this country. That means being deeply committed to protecting our critically endangered habitats and biodiversity. I do not see these things as being in any way in conflict with each other. It is quite the opposite. They are intrinsically linked. I have to say that the kind of dangerous distortions about nature restoration coming from some in government and in the main opposition party are worrying. We only have to look at the results of yesterday's Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, report for evidence of the huge problems we face. The EPA report found unacceptably high levels of pollution in our rivers and lakes due to human activities. We cannot credibly claim we want to deal with that and with all of the other immense climate challenges while arguing against the nature restoration law.

The Minister has responsibility for biodiversity in his Department. Is he also concerned about the scaremongering from his own party and from Fine Gael and Sinn Féin about nature restoration? Are Fianna Fáil MEPs going to vote for nature restoration - a law with teeth?

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