Grace O'Sullivan (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I absolutely agree with the Acting Chairman and we must move on with the debate. I welcome the Minister to the House again today but I am disappointed she has not formulated any amendments that might give us food for thought based on the last debate. I welcome the debate on this Heritage Bill 2016.It has allowed me to go and consult farmers. I am a farmer's daughter and live in rural Ireland. My father was a member of the IFA for all of his life. He passed away a few months ago. I have used the opportunity to talk to farmers about the Bill to assure myself that I was not missing part of the picture. I listened to BirdWatch Ireland, An Taisce and the Federation of Irish Beekeepers' Associations which is engaged in a magnificent demonstration outside today. I talked to its representatives in Kildalton College to get their views. I had to get to the nub of the issue and that meant getting to the farmer. I started to consult farmers along the highways and byways near where I lived and further afield and was pleasantly taken aback. I knew that heritage was hugely important to farmers. We said in the last debate that they, with local authorities, were the managers of hedgerows. In many ways, they are the custodians of our landscape.