Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Before I speak to amendments Nos. 113 and 357, I will lend a word of support to some of the arguments made by Deputy Matthews, especially in respect of transport infrastructure. If we are moving to a model of transport-oriented development, we need to understand that transport in a way that is much more flexible and sustainable than just car-orientated development, which is how many of our suburbs and one-off housing across the countryside developed. People in rural Ireland will often be heard saying, quite truthfully, that they cannot live without a car. That is to do with the legacy of bad planning over many decades. It means that in places such as the one where I grew up, which is a one-off house in rural Ireland, it simply would not be feasible for somebody to live there without the use of a car. That poses all sorts of challenges, not just in terms of climate, which is something we are facing up to, but also rural isolation, how we build our communities, and how we support local economies, including local shops, etc. We are seeing a fall-off in the number of pubs in rural Ireland because the drink-driving laws are much stricter than they used to be. It is no longer acceptable to go to the local pub, have three pints and drive home, if it ever was in fact acceptable at all. I agree with Deputy Matthews on the issue of transport infrastructure needing to be understood as something other than just relating to our ports, railways, etc.

I will make a point around the issue of sustainable development. I heard the Minister speak about this. We have to be careful not to confuse sustainable development as we understand it within this Bill and the principle of sustainable development, which is something quite different. It concerns the ability to meet the needs of current generations without undermining the ability of future generations to be able to provide for their own needs. We need to delineate between those two things.

I will return to amendments Nos. 113 and 357 and build on the definition of community gardens in my Bill on same. I have to give great thanks to the staff of the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel on this. They drafted it to such a high and exacting standard that it obviously passed muster with the Department and will return here practically verbatim. I have no great issue with the Minister deciding to insert the definition within the Bill in a different place from where Deputy Matthews suggested. It is important and consequential, however, that for the first time in Irish law and statute, there will be a definition of community gardens. That is something that has not existed previously. Community gardens are difficult to define. We had an over and back on this with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel and in consultation with the likes of Donal McCormack of Community Gardens Ireland and Blessington community gardens, and Justyna Traore, who is one of the main figureheads of Top of the City Community Garden right in the heart of Waterford city. Very often, the line is quite blurry between what a community garden is and what an allotment is, and what it is they do. They are community and communal growing spaces. In a sense, it is not too important whether it is an allotment maintained by one person or a raised bed that five or six people manage to tend to and get a few crops out of.

I will make an argument, not that an argument is needed because amendment No. 220 is a ministerial amendment, for why we should be looking at this. Much of the discussion around the nature restoration law is focused on the issue of rewetting, but there are other provisions and articles within that law that are just as challenging if not more so. I will speak about the article on urban ecosystems. There are ambitions within that to have a net percentage increase in urban green spaces by 2050. In the context of increased urbanisation and the need to develop more housing, that will be difficult and tricky to do. Having something like a community garden space answers that need. It also answers the need to build communities within our urban systems. It now has to be about more than just the GAA hall, the parish hall and the church. We also need places where people can get outside and reconnect in a positive way with nature.

I will also reference some of the recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly on Biodiversity Loss. Recommendation 58 states, "Local authorities should play a central role in informing people of the importance of biodiversity in their areas." I taught for many years and one of the tools in my toolbag was the school garden. There is no better place to teach kids, adults or whoever, about the importance of biodiversity and the joy of being in nature than a garden. People can get down into it and have their hands in the soil. Recommendation 64 states, "School grounds and local public amenities need to be developed as a support to a diverse and meaningful nature education." As I said, there is no better way to teach any person, be it a child, adult or whoever else, about nature, the importance of nature and the importance of our connection with nature, than a garden. It is the absolute best place for that. Recommendation 57 references local and seasonal produce. That argument makes itself. There is no better place to educate people on the seasonality of produce and there is no more local produce than what is grown in a community garden.

I thank the Minister for taking on board the argument that Deputy Matthews and I made on Committee Stage. It may not be the most consequential amendment in what is very much generational legislation, but it is significant that for the first time we will have a working legal definition of a community garden. There is further to go. There are other provisions in the community gardens Bill that reference placing an obligation on local authorities to maintain waiting lists or help communities develop these amenities, but that is for another day.

I am very pleased that the Minister has decided to include this definition in the Bill, albeit in a different place from where we suggested. I thank him for taking it on board.

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