Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the progress of the National Parks and Wildlife Service and on the interconnected issue of Ireland's biodiversity crisis. Until recently, successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael-led Governments failed to take these issues seriously. Decades of their paralysis have landed us in the situation we are now in, which is way behind where we once had the potential to be. Data from the NPWS note that Ireland is suffering widespread habitat destruction and nature loss. The situation is extremely worrying. Species are becoming extinct. This includes fish, mammals, birds, plant life and insects. Soils are being degraded and water quality is declining. This is evidenced by the fact that a staggering 85% of Ireland's habitats are in inadequate or poor states. Some 46% are demonstrating ongoing decline. Just 2% of Ireland is still covered in native forest, which is one of the lowest rates in Europe. Some 43% of all protected species are in an unfavourable condition. More shockingly, of those groups that have undergone formal conservation assessments, more than one species in five is threatened with extinction.

The 29 June judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union is therefore not surprising. More specifically, the CJEU found that Ireland had failed to fulfil its objectives under Articles 4.4 and 6.1 of the 2011 habitats directive. As of 2019, the Government was yet to designate 217 of the 423 sites of special areas of conservation, which was to take place within six years of the law coming into force. I recognise there has been progress since 2019 and the Government has begun to address Ireland's biodiversity decline and its decades of mismanagement of this issue. However, there is much more to be done. I also welcome the renewed efforts to ensure that the NPWS is fit for purpose, beginning with the 2022 action plan and the recently published strategic action plan for 2023 to 2025. These moves come on the back of several independent reviews, which found that the NPWS was inadequately empowered to do its job. Sinn Féin will support Government measures seeking to address this. We believe in a strong, fully resourced and independent NPWS. In that vein, we hope the NPWS will continue to evolve and grow to reflect the challenge and the staggering pace and scale at which Ireland's interconnected ecosystem is being destroyed. We hope it will continue to play its part in halting that decline.

We welcome that the strategic action plan sets out a clear pathway to a more resilient and effective organisation. This is essential if it is to carry out its key role of addressing Ireland's crisis in nature and biodiversity imperatives. It is also significant that the NPWS places co-operation and engagement at the heart of its plans to achieve its seven key strategic goals, representing a further enhancement of the step change that took place in the organisation in 2022. In Sinn Féin, we have always advocated for strong public participation. We believe that if we are going to tackle these issues head-on, we need to do it together. These are incredibly complex and difficult problems that impact all of us We must talk and listen to one another and must build trust in order that we can move forward together. This is eminently possible but will only happen if we are all determined to achieve it.

While it is important to welcome progress, it is equally important to recognise there is still a long way to go. This was made abundantly clear in the report of the Citizens' Assembly on Biodiversity Loss, which concluded that the State has comprehensively failed to adequately fund, implement and enforce existing national legislation, national policies, EU biodiversity-related laws and directives related to biodiversity. This is simply unacceptable. It is not good enough and the Government is required to be transparent, clear and reflective as to why it has failed so considerably. As a result we are playing catch-up, and there is absolutely no room for delay. In particular, the NPWS workforce plan for the six new directorates is not yet complete. Given just how important these plans are to adequate resourcing, I call on the Government to urgently put all workforce plans in place. Further, the Government has yet to consider the wider issue of the roles and functions of public bodies with regard to nature and biodiversity. This was also a recommendation of the Citizens' Assembly on Biodiversity Loss, which cited a distinct lack of clarity and leadership in this area. This is another recommendation on which the Government should act.

In conclusion, I commend all the efforts that have been made to ensure the NPWS is reaching a place where it is adequately resourced and fit for purpose to do the huge body of work it needs to do. Part of that is about resourcing. Part of it is about structure and governance and literally bringing this work to the fields and communities that need to be supported. I echo the Minister of Stater's comments commending those in the NPWS who do such tireless and important work. To also echo the Minister of State's invitation, I invite him to Girley Bog. It is a Coillte LIFE project for demonstrating best practice in raised bog restoration. It is just outside Kells, County Meath, and I know it well. It is something else and is literally a best practice example of what can be done. It is an absolute credit to the small handful of people who nurtured it over many years. Now the whole community gets to benefit from the eco trail. From young to old, people can recognise what those habitats and environments can be like. It is a credit to everybody involved.

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