Paul Daly (Fianna Fail)

I wish to be associated with the remarks of the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, and those of my colleague, Senator Fitzpatrick, in sending my deepest sympathies and condolences to my good friend and colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy O’Sullivan, on the death of his sister, Anne. Go ndéanfaidh Dia trócaire ar a hanam uasal.

When I stand up in the House, people wait to see what aspect of farming I will talk about, but I am going to give everyone a break on this occasion and not mention farming. I acknowledge, however, the great role that our farmers and agricultural sector play in our biodiversity. As the custodians of the land, while often knocked, our farmers and farming community are our best minders and proactively protect and enhance our biodiversity. I will leave the agricultural side at that.

There is an issue I have raised here before and it is a bugbear I have. The fourth national biodiversity national action plan refers to taking, "a Whole-of-Government and Whole-of-Society approach". The new biodiversity guidance for public and State bodies sets out that it is a legal requirement for public and State bodies to consider biodiversity in their decision-making and daily operations.

I will move on to Transport Infrastructure Ireland and the maintenance of our motorways. It drives me mad, to say the least, every morning and evening as I come to Dublin from Kilbeggan on the M4 and M6 these days to see lorries with big yellow arrows protecting tractors with flail mowers and self-propelled lawn mowers mowing the 1.5 m wide strip of grass on both sides and in the centre of the motorway. It is not in any way a hazard. It does not in any way affect the safety of the motorway. It does not in any way hinder visibility along the motorway. These are lawns 2 in. or 3 in. high because these people will be back mowing religiously again in another three weeks. We are trying to promote no-mow May, etc., for the sake of the dandelion and the red and white clover. Pollination is part of biodiversity. Our Irish native honeybees are becoming extinct. We do not need to mow this grass until September. If we do a simple calculation, on the motorway I mentioned, which runs from here to Galway, 1 m of grass on both sides of that road multiplied by the distance from here to Galway is the equivalent of 95 or 96 acres of potential dandelions for our bees. The State owns that land and there is no reason of safety or otherwise to interfere with it during the summer months. If we had a national park of 95 acres or a farmer or an individual who was prepared to donate 95 acres to the State for biodiversity, there would be bells and whistles everywhere. We have it under the control of Transport Infrastructure Ireland. Leave it alone. Let the bees have it until September. That is only the road from Dublin to Galway; we have motorways all over the country. I got slated when I mentioned the need to cut grass for safety reasons on secondary roads and back roads. I am not talking about secondary roads and back roads. I am not talking about long, heavy grass that lies out on a road. I am talking about 3 in. or 4 in. of grass on the verges of motorways that is not in any way a safety hazard. If nothing else comes out of this debate, I want the Minister of State to take that back to the Department of Transport and see if it can be looked at.It would save a fortune of money as well as the good it would do for biodiversity. That is the one issue I wanted to raise. I thank our spokesperson, Senator Fitzpatrick, for allowing me the time. I hope the Minister of State can bring this matter back and that something can be done about it. It is a no-brainer.