Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I commend members of the Native Irish Honey Bee Society who are here today, and the scientists, on their work on this Bill and for not accepting the excuses or lack of interest from departmental officials. Through their persistence and dogged research, they have produced incontrovertible evidence that the native Irish honeybee is not only alive and kicking but is doing better than the non-native imports. It is better in terms of bee health, hive health through the collection of propolis, and honey production, due to its frugal use of food collected and its ability to fly, gather pollen and mate at much lower temperatures proving it has evolved to the Irish climate. The case for protecting our native Irish honeybee can no longer be dismissed by departmental officials on the grounds of a lack of science or a lack of evidence for the bee's existence. That is where we see resistance to protecting the species within the Department falling back on that age-old excuse or golden nugget, which is that we cannot do it because the EU will not allow us.

I commend the Climate Bar Association on its work and input to this Bill and for pointing out why that argument fails to stack up. Not only is there a legal precedent in the European Court of Justice, with the Danish case, but all existing EU laws support greater protection for our native species. The EU Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union clearly accepts that bans on trade are permissible, providing they are proportional and warranted for the protection of the health and lives of humans, animals and plants. Furthermore, Article 191, which covers the precautionary principle, is much cherished by those of us who are involved in any environmental issues. It is a principle I am proud to have fought hard to protect as an MEP, when it came under threat from trade agreements such as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, TTIP.The precautionary principle aims to ensure a higher level of environmental protection through preventative decision-making in the case of risk. From the evidence that we heard today and the briefing we got in advance of this debate, there has been a 327% increase in the importation of non-native bee colonies. Professor McCormack's research shows increased levels of hybridisation. We would be remiss not to invoke Article 191 and ban the importation of non-native honeybees, especially given the way bees breed. We have heard that they breed in the open which makes it much harder to control hybridisation. We know that Ireland has a very poor track record historically on environmental protection and this Bill is a real opportunity to start to correct that.

We have an obligation to protect biodiversity. We are not only in the midst of a climate crisis, but people forget that we are also in the midst of a biodiversity crisis. The Bill is a very positive step in protecting a species of significant importance to our heritage. I hope it will not only pass through the Seanad unopposed today but also that it will spark a conversation on how we can best protect bees and all pollinators. Lots of people mistakenly believe that we should put hives everywhere or that getting a hive is the way forward, but unless someone is properly qualified and educated in how to keep bees, and also how to keep the right species of bees, then he or she could be doing more damage than good. Sometimes, the best thing we can do for biodiversity is to let nature do the work by rewilding and stopping the use of non-essential pesticides and chemicals. If we make space for nature, we will be rewarded. However, we are legislators, and we have a responsibility to act when we are in the full knowledge of the information. We know we have a native Irish bee. We have the evidence and science to support that. We know the native Irish bee species is under threat. For this reason, we must pass this Bill and not just in the Seanad. As Senator Boyhan has pointed out, we need the Bill to pass in the Dáil and to be enacted. We cannot have a situation whereby we pass this Bill and then it gets buried. It should be progressed swiftly. It is not controversial. We have heard that 90% of beekeepers on the island of Ireland support this legislation. The beekeepers are asking us to act.

My colleague, Senator Ó Donnghaile, will speak to the Brexit-related issues and the all-Ireland dimension. It is regrettable that the Assembly is not up and running. We want it to be back up and running and we are happy to reach out to the Green Party in the North to see how we can help progress the work MLAs have done on the issue to date in the North.

I commend Senator Martin on his work on this Bill and his dedication to getting it to this point. I hope he continues his work to get the Bill progressed all the way through the Dáil. He has ensured that all of the arguments against progressing this Bill have been effectively removed. He has science, beekeepers and the law on his side, but perhaps more importantly, he has cross-party support win this Chamber, but that must continue at Cabinet level and in the Dáil. Otherwise, we are wasting the beekeepers' time and coming in here and giving them false hope. I want to hear the Minister of State give a commitment to progress the Bill through this House and ensure it will not get buried then but will progress the full way and become enacted.