Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I commend the Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss and the young people's assembly on biodiversity loss. I commend Dr. Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin and the members of the Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action on their work on this important report. I commend, in particular, Deputy Leddin who chaired the joint committee because, having been in the Chair of a special Oireachtas committee, I know just how difficult it is to compress so much work into a short time. The joint committee did excellent work producing 86 important recommendations. It is useful to hear the Minister of State describe some of the actions being taken on those recommendations.

This is urgent. It is five years since a biodiversity emergency was declared in this country. The severity of the crisis we face means there is no wriggle room available to us when it comes to meeting our targets under the EU's biodiversity strategy and the new EU nature restoration law. I note that several of the recommendations refer explicitly to EU measures but there are many factors which can contribute to changing the fortunes of our ecosystems here and there are many national measures recommended here also. There are measures on enforcement, and I am glad to see recommendations on providing increased resourcing for the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Parks and Wildlife Service and Inland Fisheries Ireland to ensure we see meaningful and effective sanctions for causing harm to the environment.

I am delighted to see recommendation No. 28 on access to justice. I have just come here from the Committee Stage debate on the planning Bill in which we discussed access to justice within the planning system. It is crucially important that we ensure that is respected.

Deputy Whitmore is right on recommendation No. 31 on a referendum because we need to see careful groundwork in place before we see that referendum. The Labour Party fully supports a referendum on biodiversity but we have learned the importance of having regard to committee recommendations in such matters.

The financial rewards for farmers and landowners for measures taken to protect ecosystems, which are hugely important, are set out in recommendation No. 48. I am thinking of great projects like the Burrenbeo Trust project done in County Clare, the Blackwater Valley project and the biodiversity regeneration in a dairying environment, or BRIDE, project in County Cork. These are great projects which are taking that principle, running with it and showing the benefits for all.

I am delighted to see recommendations around marine protected areas. I will speak specifically about marine biodiversity and if I may speak a little in local terms, as the Minister of State will be aware, I brought forward a Dublin Bay Bill in this House. It passed Second Stage in December of last year. That Bill would implement the spirit of many of the recommendations in the biodiversity report because it would create a statutory task force to provide a stronger framework for the protection of biodiversity within our great amenity, our UNESCO biosphere of Dublin Bay. My constituency borders Dublin Bay. I am a regular swimmer there with the half moon club and there are big groups of people who swim there regularly. The bay is subject to so much pollution, with high volumes of sewage, and we need to see greater accountability there. I was delighted recently to see success in my campaign to have Dublin City Council declare the area of the half moon as an official bathing water designated area but we need to see more protections in place for such areas, not just for swimmers but for all of those who use the area. I commend many of those involved in trying to keep our bay clean. They include Jimmy Murray of the Liffey Sweeper and Irish Nautical Trust and, of course, the half moon swimming club.

I also commend the Sandymount and Merrion Residents Association, SAMRA, which put forward some very important proposals for protection of marine biodiversity in the Dublin Bay area.

They have called for greater work on flood defence enhancements. Again, I am aware there are many recommendations in the committee's report that relate specifically to flooding and to protection against flooding. We are all very conscious of this around the country. We really need to see construction commencing on the flood defences on Strand Road and Beach Road in Sandymount. The project is four years behind schedule.

With regard to sewage to the beach at Sandymount Strand and all of the area of Dublin Bay, we are seeing real problems for our accredited UNESCO biosphere and the loss of blue flag status because of sewage outflows. Again this needs to be sorted.

The Dublin Port Company has for a long time dominated plans for Dublin Bay. We are looking for the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, to veto planning applications by the Dublin Port Company to build the largest container storage facility in Ireland right on the Poolbeg Peninsula, which is a marine biodiversity area with the beautiful Irishtown nature reserve, with which many of us here will be very familiar. On the one hand we talk about the need to adopt very important recommendations on biodiversity, and the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, is giving the House a great update on much progress that has been made, particularly with local biodiversity action plans, but let us get things right on Dublin Bay as well.

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