Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State and join with him and colleagues in offering deepest sympathies and condolences to the Minister of State, Deputy O’Sullivan, on the death of his dear sister, Anne Cullinane. May she rest in peace. I acknowledge the presence of the former Minister of State with responsibility for biodiversity, Senator Malcolm Noonan. During the previous Oireachtas term, I had the great pleasure of welcoming him to the great botanic gardens my constituency, where he launched the latest national biodiversity plan. It is with great pleasure that we get to take time today to talk about biodiversity, because it is probably one of the nicest subjects politicians can get to engage in.

I commend the staff of Leinster House who take care of our biodiversity here on the grounds. It gives me great pleasure every day to come in and see the seasons changing, and the way the grass has been cut or not cut, the flowers growing and the wildlife that encourages. We are very privileged to serve here, and that privilege is greatly enhanced by the surroundings we all get to enjoy on a daily basis. It is easy to take that for granted and I do not want to do that. I acknowledge the very fine work that is undertaken.

When talking about biodiversity closer to home, there are a number of groups in my constituency. The Minister spoke about the Government's commitment, the State's commitment and the amount of resources that have been put in place to encourage and support biodiversity, not just in an informal way but in statutory activities, and that is very welcome. However, it is the people who daily give their time to protect our natural heritage and environment who are the real heroes of biodiversity. I am talking about people who are involved in groups like Connecting Cabra, which is a grassroots organization of people who live in Cabra and come together. Cabra was built as a post-war local authority housing estate. Many of the houses have very large back gardens but very modest front gardens and not an enormous amount of green space. The members of Connecting Cabra have come together and are reintroducing nature in a myriad of different ways. I congratulate them on the work they have done to date and I encourage anybody who has free time this weekend to go out and visit them in Cabra. They will be a holding a biodiversity festival this weekend. They are not the only people in Dublin Central, however, engaged in championing our biodiversity and natural heritage. It is happening at Mud Island in North Strand, as well as in Ballybough. Who would have thought there would be somewhere like the Mud Island Community Garden in an area that everybody associates with the concrete jungle of the inner city? It is a spectacular garden. Senator Noonan has visited it . One sees the seasons change, the wildlife, the plants and the growth. It is such a beautiful oasis of nature and biodiversity in the city.

In Phibsborough there is a great biodiversity group which holds a Buzzfest event every year. The Buzzfest is about bees, primarily the bees of our Royal Canal. We in the city are blessed to have our canals. On the northside we have the Royal Canal and on the southside there is the Grand Canal. The Royal Canal is one of the most spectacular places in the city. It is a haven for wildlife. Up by Broombridge on the banks of the Royal Canal there is a nest with five swan's eggs in it, and that swan is guarding them with her life. That is just one example of biodiversity in the capital. I congratulate everybody who is involved in championing biodiversity on a daily basis in their ordinary lives. I want to champion all of the State organisations which give of their time and have built biodiversity protection into their policies and operations. Fianna Fáil as a party in government is absolutely committed to rising to the challenge of climate change and restoring biodiversity, which is our natural heritage, via a just transition to a sustainable society and circular economy. It behoves all of us to do all we can in our daily lives to ensure our biodiversity and natural heritage is championed and protected, because it is not just an environmental issue but a social issue, one that will pay dividends not just for us in our daily lives, but for future generations to come. I suggest, in the week that is in it, we all recommit ourselves in whatever small way we can to protecting and championing our biodiversity.