Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I join my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, in very much welcoming the historical decision to proceed with the nature restoration law in Europe. It is desperately needed because our natural systems are in absolute distress. They are under great pressure. In the past 50 years we have lost half of all wildlife in the natural world by invertebrate body mass weight. This is not just the headline fauna and the animals that attract all the interest, but it is in insect life, bird life and everywhere.

Throughout our world we have seen the destruction of the natural world. It is a natural world where the use of pesticides and fungicides, pollution, overextraction and the removal of nature are widespread. They are destroying the fabric of the natural and ecological systems on which we depend. We all have examples of it. Anyone of a certain age can notice the difference and can see it happening in our own country. The personification of it for me was last summer when I was out on a kayak in the west of Ireland. I saw two trawlers follow the coast. They were inshore, hugging the coast, with a ginormous net scooping up every single minnow and sprat and every bit of wildlife and natural systems. For what? It was probably to convert into fish food to feed to salmon in cages. I watched the two trawlers as they went from near Roonagh around to Slyne Head. The Leas-Cheann Comhairle knows the area. Someone said to me last week they saw the same thing in west Cork. They were crying at the tragedy of what is happening to our commons and our natural systems.

Nature is also under threat because of climate change. We have three ecological crises unfolding at the one time. These are the loss of nature, climate change caused by our actions and the widespread pollution of our waterways, airways and natural systems. In addressing climate change, we can address the degradation of our natural world at the same time. Specifically under the Government we have a real opportunity because one of the most critical mechanisms we are using to address it is probably the land use review we are engaged in. This can feed in, support, complement and enhance the nature restoration law we now need to implement. I believe it needs to be done over the next two years.

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