Malcolm Noonan (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Before I go to my main issue, I express my support for Senator Andrews. As a former Minister of State with responsibility for heritage, I feel that surely a compromise can be found to respect the heritage of the buildings and see them regenerated.

This morning I met the Irish medical workers for Palestine. I want to back up the comments of Senator Higgins on the horror in Gaza. There are Irish doctors and nurses working on the front line in Gaza. Everything we can do to help, be it the occupied territories Bill, lobbying or boycotts, is important. The medical workers asked us, as policymakers here, to be mindful of medical workers working on the front line in the horror zone that is Gaza.

I raise an issue that has emerged in the past week with regard to Coillte and the dismantling of Coillte Nature. In 2019, the Dáil declared a biodiversity and climate emergency. Public bodies have a legal duty to restore nature through the nature restoration regulation and implementation of the national biodiversity action plan. I am completely puzzled to see what has happened here and what decision-making process has taken place. Was the board aware of the decision? What will happen to Coillte Nature? What will happen to the staff of Coillte Nature? Coillte Nature is referenced in Coillte's strategies. It is specifically referenced with regard to the Dublin Mountains makeover and the midlands native woodlands project. There are issues with legacy areas that need to be managed for nature. There is the conversion to continuous cover forestry, restoring forest to peatlands and areas of open ground around the Slieve Bloom mountains in particular. I am thinking about the hen harrier threat response plan on which I signed off, which contributed to closing one of the longest running infringement cases against a member state in the EU's history. Those involved in conservation are puzzled as to what the decision-making process was. I ask the Minister to address the issue as a matter of urgency. It is not a positive signal that Coillte is committed to nature restoration. Questions need to be answered on the decision-making process that led to the disbandment of Coillte Nature.