Paul Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State and our guests in the Public Gallery. I apologise for the fact that I did not make it out to them this morning due to prior engagements. I compliment Senator Martin on his enthusiasm in promoting this Bill and bringing it to this Stage. I am a firm believer that a stich in time saves nine and that prevention is better than cure. While it is timely now, to an extent, it would have been preferable to have had this Bill ten, 15 or 20 years ago. However, it is never too late. We need to seize the opportunity when it shows and affords itself. I am delighted to support the Bill and hope to see its speedy passage through this House and the Lower House.

Prevention is better than cure. I am a farmer and my party's spokesperson on agriculture. The Minister of State and I would have had various meetings with regard to forestry. The case of ash dieback always comes up. Ash is a prime example of one of our native trees which, through hurling alone, is one of our most famous. It is threatened by virtue of a disease that was imported. There are many different species of animal, including cattle. Our red squirrel was taken out by the grey squirrel. Our cattle breeds were allowed to diminish mainly, unfortunately, for commercial reasons. More commercially viable breeds were brought in but we have Moiled cattle and Kerry cattle.

I will fight tooth and nail that there can be an EU law which can prevent us from stopping the importation of bees which can and will endange,r and have been proven to endanger, the existence of our native bees. EU laws were very easily twisted and manoeuvred during Covid when we were the species under threat. The old saying is no food, no people; no bees, no food. I do not know how an argument can be an argument made that under EU law, we can stop the importation of what can be perceived to be a threat to our native species.

With regard to prevention, as opposed to cure, we seem to be able to get money readily from the EU, when we decide to close the door after the horse has bolted and want to rejuvenate a species that is extinct or almost extinct. Unbelievable sums of money are spent through CAP on hen harrier schemes. We look at "Ear to the Ground" and see projects which are costing the taxpayer considerable money to reinvigorate rare cattle breeds and protect the corncrake, another native species that is almost extinct. How can the EU justify promoting schemes to reinvigorate and rejuvenate species once they reach that crucial stage of warranting the word "extinct", rather than putting up barriers to help us to try to prevent getting to that day? We need the Minister of State, the Department and its officials to argue that case at a European level. At this juncture, it is not a valid argument and should not be used as such.

I have been beating this drum previously in terms of what was said earlier by my colleague from Louth, Senator McGreehan. I am also a firm believer that within CAP and other schemes, a controlled keeping of bees on a farm in a pro rataratio of numbers should equate, at some stage of the viable bee-keeping operation on a farm, to a livestock unit. That would be very beneficial for our biodiversity and our ecosystems. Without pollination, we do not have food. Without food, we do not have people.