David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Yes, County Clare. A majority of councils have actually said this. I am not attacking farmers. God knows, my grandfather was a farmer. It is spurious to suggest that there is some kind of hostility between people who happen to live in Dublin and people who are decent farmers. Of course, they are the curators and protectors of the land and we respect them but that is no reason to give in to this Bill in an unquestioning way.

I will end by quoting from the Environmental Protection Agency. It states:

The EPA recommends that if any changes are to be considered that they be based on scientific evidence as to their relative merits as biodiversity protection and enhancement measures and as general environmental protection measures, particularly in relation to air quality and climate change. If insufficient evidence is available at this point in time and if there is a need for further research and study of the existing controls then it would be more prudent to leave the controls as they are until such research is completed.

The Environmental Protection Agency is advising the Minister not to do this until she has the scientific evidence. If she does not have the scientific evidence, she should not go ahead with it. I wish the Minister would listen to these words from the body that is charged with the protection of the environment. She can hardly challenge it. BirdWatch Ireland, An Taisce, the Irish Wildlife Trust and the Environmental Protection Agency are all singing from the same hymn sheet. I put it to the Minister that it is obvious that we should await the proper scientific information and that this has not been done. The only work done on the nesting of birds and so on has been carried out by BirdWatch Ireland. There is no scientific evidence to support the Minister's case in arguing for this Bill.