Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Like my colleagues and others in the House, I strongly support this motion. The Government needs to be ambitious. The programme for Government sets out a certain level of ambition that does not fall only on the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, even though I am certain she is more than capable of leading the charge, but on the entire Government and all Departments. It falls on all of us and, as my colleague, Senator Dooley, said, on society at large. We must all play our part in ensuring that in the future we continue to have the diversity of species we currently have.

Senator Martin spoke very eloquently about the birds. I will also speak about the bees. We must recognise the considerable amount of good work that has been done on the all-Ireland pollinator plan by local authorities and Tidy Towns committees, which operate on a voluntary basis right around the country. The Minister of State might elaborate on the new all-Ireland pollinator plan. I hope the targets in it are much more ambitious and build on the success of voluntary groups, local authorities and everyone else in order that we can all buy in to the important job of saving the bees.

One of the positive aspects of the motion is that, as Senator Boyhan stated, it recognises the very important role farmers and the agricultural community have to play in contributing towards the protection of the environment and habitats. Farmers should not be penalised when they manage lands to protect native habitats or wetlands. In fact, we need to incentivise farmers and landowners to do that.We must support farmers when they engage in regenerative practices. One of the issues we really need to address, and especially in respect of carbon sinks, is allowing farmers and landowners to own carbon credits to allow them to gain a form of income through acting in an environmentally responsible manner. Farmers are some of the strongest guardians of the environment but they want the transition to be just and they want what they do to be sustainable. I firmly believe that if we give a system whereby farmers are able to own and trade carbon credits, it will help the sustainability of our environment and the sustainability of farm families, and it will help in the offset of emissions.

Senator Boyhan referred to fertiliser as an issue that needs to be addressed. One of the best things the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, can do, and I believe that many farmers would agree with her, is to attack the current oligopolistic nature of the fertiliser market. As long as that continues to be a problem, I do not think the fertiliser companies have any real interest in finding a solution.

I am very much in support of this motion. It was very eloquently introduced by Senator Garvey. We set one challenge for the Minister of State, which is to be ambitious, but that is also a challenge for all of us.