Joanne Collins (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State. Today, during biodiversity week, I want to speak about the urgent need to protect and restore biodiversity, especially through a better approach to forestry. I also want to reflect on what that means for my county, Limerick. Ireland is in the grip of a biodiversity disaster and crisis. One in five rare species is at risk of extinction. Our native woodlands, once thriving, are now scarce, reduced to just over 1% of our land area. In County Limerick, we are fortunate to have pockets of extraordinary natural beauty, from the Ballyhoura Mountains to the wooded valleys of Shannon and Deel, but even these landscapes are under pressure. For too long, forestry policy in Ireland has worked against biodiversity. Blanketed Sitka spruce plantations, often in inappropriate sites, have done real damage to soil, river and habitats. In Limerick, communities have raised genuine concerns about monoculture plantations planted without proper consultation or regard for local ecosystems. Let me be clear. We need more trees, but we need the right trees in the right places and for the right reasons. We need to move away from industrial forestry and towards a nature first approach. We need to move to native woodlands, mixed-species planting and forests that support wildlife, clean our air and water and strengthen our rural communities. That means supporting farmers in Limerick and right across Ireland to become stewards of biodiversity. They should be rewarded, not penalised, for protecting native trees, hedgerows and wetlands. These features are not barriers to productivity; they are building blocks to a sustainable future.

We must stop planting on carbon-rich peat soils. Such so-called green projects are, in fact, carbon time bombs. I was very taken aback by the statement by the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Healy-Rae, during our discussion on forestry a few weeks ago that not only would he continue to plant on our bogs and peatlands but he actually is promoting an increase in planting on those areas, which we know emit more carbon than they soak.

The Government's forestry strategy must go beyond words. It must deliver funding, enforcement and, above all, trust that the forestry system works for people and for nature. Sinn Féin stands for a forestry policy that values biodiversity, respects local voices and leaves a legacy of living landscapes, not just timber profits. In County Limerick and beyond, our biodiversity is not just a treasure; it is a responsibility. Let us mark National Biodiversity Week not with slogans but with serious political will.