Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

So much has been said quite beautifully by others. Coming from the west, the sea is vital for me, just as it is for everyone else. No one in Ireland is not within reach of and relationship with the sea. That is clear in how Senators have spoken. I add to the commendations of Senator Grace O'Sullivan. She literally took our Civil Engagement group and plunged us into the ocean, forcing some of us into the waves in Waterford with her. I was happy to do so, but the wild Atlantic would be more my natural milieu.

The Senator is someone who speaks with passion but also authority. When she discussed microplastics and made her proposals on microbeads, it took a year for those issues to be progressed. It is important that there be no delays when a proposal or idea comes through that is right. The House is a place where that can be recognised, for example, in the eloquent speech of Senator Paul Daly, who responded to the points raised and discussed many of his own. I was struck by his remark about us being on a globe and how this was not something that could be managed separately. We have a global responsibility. The species that visit our shores migrate. We are in a relationship of flows between parts of the world. It is imperative that we never seek to lag behind in terms of action but instead lead the way. That is what is being requested in this motion.

It is important to clarify a matter. It was suggested that this motion would change fishing quotas or the rules under the CFP. Clearly, it does not. Rather, it points out that Ireland, as an island surrounded by sea, needs to bring a number of important points to bear when we take part in the negotiations on and development of the CFP. We represent entire communities, not simply businesses and ships that may choose to visit or transport fish from our shores.It is very important that not only the environment but communities are sustainable. The reason I will not be able to support the Government's counter motion is not simply because it dilutes the vision and ambition of this motion but also because in its fragmented nature it speaks about limited lists of protected species. When we speak about the environment, we simply cannot talk only about the trees, without reference to the forest and its undergrowth which makes it work as an environment. Similarly when we speak about particular species, we need to talk about the environment in which they flourish. In the same way we cannot talk about the fishing industry without reference to the community in which it flourishes and the many different kinds of relationships that the community will have with the sea.

My colleague spoke about Lough Hyne, a marine lake which is one of the only marine protected areas in Ireland. I have had the pleasure of rowing on Lough Hyne at night, when one of the smallest organisms, which is not protected, the bioluminous plankton literally set the waters alight at night. Now there is a flourishing tourism business in the off-season for people who want to visit and see Lough Hyne at night. This is an example of what I mean when I talk about a sustainable relationship for communities with their natural environment.

I urge the Minister of State to consider the very reasonable amendment put forward by Senator Craughwell and to accept this correct motion. There are thousands who signed the petition.