Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach referred to the Government's commitment to promote biodiversity and address the climate crisis. I would like to take the opportunity to mention the sudden, unexpected and tragic death of Andrew St. Ledger of The Woodland League in the past week. I am not sure if the Taoiseach is familiar with Andrew but he would have been involved in the environmental pillar and, most notably, was an incredibly passionate, knowledgeable campaigner on the issue of forestry, woodland and trees with a particular passion for the restoration of Ireland's ancient native woodlands. The message that was repeated endlessly by many at his funeral yesterday was the need to carry on his fantastic work in this area. One of the last campaigns I worked with him on was on the issue of changing the mandate of Coillte, the State forestry company, to move away from a focus on commercial monocultures and towards the promotion of biodiversity. I wonder is the Government willing to go along with the widespread demands that we change the mandate of Coillte to move in this direction.

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