Kevin Humphreys (Labour) | Oireachtas source

Destroying our natural habitats is not the way to build a strong tourism industry. It is a case of doing a pilot study over the entire Twenty-six Counties and then seeing what wildlife is still alive after two years. There may be bloody little and we will not be able to get it back. It will be destroyed over what is being called a pilot period.

I am not anti-rural. I ask the Minister to think very carefully as many farmers in the country depend on subvention from the European Union. Grants are paid to tillage farmers and under various schemes across the country and these all have rules and regulations. One could see an enormous loss of earnings for small tillage farmers if they do not maintain hedgerows to the standard laid down with regard to EU funding. Farmers have raised the issue with me as not all of them see me as being anti-rural. We want to see this work in the Twenty-six Counties and indeed in the Thirty-two Counties. However, we have protection in the Six Counties and we need to keep that same protection for the rest of the country. We must ensure wildlife thrives and that farmers and local communities thrive through agriculture and tourism. That is why I oppose section 1 of the Bill. This may be a very long day that is followed by many more long days on this Bill. It is not the Minister's intention but the Bill could do untold harm to the countryside.