Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This debate is necessary, especially in light of the fact that the matter to which it relates is subject to a vote at EU Council level. That vote, it must be remembered, has been delayed, which, in itself, sends a key message about the current composition of the nature restoration law.

There can be no doubting the very fact that nature is facing a crisis. On a global level, it is starkly apparent though a number of recent studies carried out on biodiversity loss have indicated that nearly 50% of species are in decline. Poorer countries are the first to really feel the effects of this. We see this already in terms of food insecurity and the impacts it is having on livelihoods as well as on flora and fauna. We are not immune. The warning signs have been there for nearly half a century through the continuing downward trends apparent in every biodiversity indicator. This led to a biodiversity emergency being declared in Ireland in 2019.

More than five years have passed and we have failed to reverse this decline in any tangible way because there has been a failure to develop a roadmap to provide assistance to those who need help in making a change, such as our family farmers, while demanding more from the big polluters, who are not subject to the same requirements.

For a nature restoration law to work, there must be a cast-iron guarantee of long-term support and funding. That is why Sinn Féin tabled amendments for a socioeconomic impact assessment, which was passed in July 2023. However, Sinn Féin had to vote against the final version in February due to the absence of dedicated long-term funding and the deletion of the reference to compensation measures for family farmers who might be adversely affected. Nature restoration is achievable if the right approach is adopted. The approach taken is the wrong one. The motion calls for the voluntary nature of actions on farmland to be assured. I agree with this. I highlight how the NRL places no obligation on farmers. It places the obligation on states and, therefore, it is up to the Government to ensure that all actions are voluntary. The best way to deliver this with the certainty that the NRL can work is through guaranteed, dedicated, targeted and ambitious funding.

Farmers here and across Europe have given their verdict on the law as currently devised. Many countries have either opposed its current wording or have abstained for the reasons I have given. As I said, the delay to the vote indicates that this is not adequate and does not deliver for farmers and rural communities. Nature restoration is needed but it must be done right. Farmers and rural communities must be given commitments on funding, resources and the voluntary nature of the NRL.

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