Malcolm Noonan
Agricultural Panel · Green Party · Ireland
“Before I invite Senator Stephenson back in, I welcome members of the Young Entrepreneurs Club to the Gallery. They are guests of the Minister, Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill. Cuirim fáilte romhaibh go léir.”
“Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. I again commend Senator Black, who has been campaigning on this issue for a very long time. It is disappointing that we are here this evening without services included despite the very detailed recommendations of the Oireachtas joint committee, the views of many legal experts and the clear legal opinion of the…”
“I am surprised that the Government is presenting us with a Bill that excludes services. The Government used to tell us that it was for legal reasons.”
“In fairness, it has become even clearer from the remarks made by the Government in recent days that fear of the Trump Administration is driving the decision, with illogical arguments that the Trump Administration might just tolerate a Bill that bans goods but if were to bring forward a Bill that covered goods and services, it would someho…”
“I join with my colleagues in our outright condemnation of this approach by the Government in relation to this legislation. The Government is going to be the lead negotiator on behalf of the European Union at both the climate Conference of the Parties, COP, and the biodiversity COP later this year.”
“The rural housing policy was launched last week. We have had the closure of the public consultation on the nature restoration plan. Lo and behold, the long-awaited phase 2 of the land-use review was published two days after both of those policies. This document has huge implications for land use in Ireland.”
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“Fanfaidh muid leis an Aire Stáit, an Teachta Moynihan. Tá brón orm ach níl an tAire Stáit, an Teachta Moynihan, anseo go fóill. Mar sin, leanfaidh muid ar aghaidh leis an Ní i dtosach suíonna in ainm an tSeanadóra McCarthy. We will come back to Commencement matter No. 2 when the Minister of State arrives.”
“Those are important but I hope this is used as an opportunity not just to not oppose the Bill but to be fully supportive of getting it through the Houses and having it enacted. I commend my Cross-Party Group comrades. We have diverse interests and areas of focus but we are united in a common cause of social, economic and ecological justice. We have a good strike rate so far in 2026 of 100%. We brought four pieces last year and there were a lot of timed amendments but fortunately this year we are having a better success rate. I hope that continues from the Government side with all the motions and Bills we bring to the House this year. I thank the Minister of State for his engagement and again sincerely thank Senator Harmon for bringing this forward.”
“The Minister of State and I have had engagement about Scoil Náisiúnta Chiaráin Naofa, Stoneyford, County Kilkenny, and the special needs unit there. These are diverse workplaces with children with additional needs and our teaching staff and SNAs work together to support the needs of the children to ensure they have a fulfilled education and can live fulfilled lives and to support them and their families. These are more challenging times and it is important that legislation like this can be there as an enabling force to help SNAs, teaching staff and staff more generally in our schools. I acknowledge the senior Minister’s intervention and I note the points raised by Senator Clonan and the supports that are there through the NCSE and the Tusla education support service.”
“Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I thank colleagues across the House for their very warm comments on this important Bill. I thank in particular my comrade, Senator Harmon, for bringing this Bill forward as part of our Cross-Party Group slot. I welcome the senior Minister's decision not to oppose the Bill and thank colleagues across the House for their support. I commend Sophie Cole, her husband Shane O'Brien and her family on what is a positive day after so many difficult and challenging days. To be able to turn a challenging situation around into a positive campaign to help others is a very selfless act and I commend her on her work and bravery on this. It is not everybody who would do this. Unfortunately, as has been articulated so well by others, these incidents happen in the workplace.”
“It is very important from the MEPs' point of views that they argue and fight for a dedicated stream of funding for nature restoration and to ensure that the LIFE and EIP projects are maintained as stand-alone funding measures.”
“Cuirim fáilte roimh Bhaill Pharlaimint na hEorpa. I welcome the MEPs. I have a question to all the MEPs on the multi-annual financial framework and the dedicated funding. I welcome the engagement we had on the nature restoration regulation and, in particular, the bravery shown by Irish MEPs in getting that regulation across the line. We now need to go the distance and move to fully fund nature restoration in Ireland. We will be developing a plan that will be brought forward in September in Ireland. We need support for that. We need financial support. I met with the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association last week in Sligo. It wants funding. There is deep concern around the funding of that, but also around LIFE projects, European Innovation Partnerships, EIPs, the funding of which is to be subsumed into the competitiveness fund.”
“It is important that enforcement be followed up. I will be tabling amendments on Committee Stage to restore the power of the Minister to place a levy on producers rather than retailers and to allow for fixed-penalty notices for takeaway outlets selling cans without the Re-turn logo. These are two important provisions that need to be included in the Bill. However, I welcome the introduction of the Bill and look forward to engagement on Committee Stage.”
“I am aware that the Department is talking about carrying out a regulatory impact assessment, but this was already carried out in 2022 and is published on its website. The cup levy was made policy not by the Green Party but by a Fine Gael Minister, the Minister of State's former colleague Richard Bruton, in 2019. The deposit return scheme has been a huge success, increasing recycling from 49% to 91% and making our towns and beaches cleaner. However, now there is a problem with enforcement. Some retailers and takeaway food outlets have been selling cans without the Re-turn logo, as people discover when they are not accepted at the supermarket when they go to return them. Local authorities say they need the powers to issue fixed-penalty notices for selling these products without the Re-turn logos.”
“"A real disappointment in a generally positive year has been the likely collapse of reusable coffee cup schemes in towns such as Killarney," says Mr Horgan. "It is apparent that such schemes will only work with statutory backing. As our data today bears out, without Government intervention coffee cups will remain an unsightly and entirely unnecessary blot on the landscape across our towns. The prevarication from Government on the issue is striking – a levy was promised all of four years ago – and sends out a worrying signal. Weaning ourselves off single-use coffee cups should not be such a big deal." I ask the Minister to retain the power to place a levy on producers, even if he does not use it without consulting retailers and cafés first.”
“I was looking at a question by Cathal Haughey of Fingal County Council on 8 December and the response from David Storey, director of environment, expressing disappointment that places like Fingal and Killarney, where the introduction of the latte levy into legislation would be of real benefit, have been advised by the Department that there is a delay in the introduction of the levy. Irish Business Against Litter has reported a 60% fall in bottle and can litter in our towns since the deposit return scheme came in. This is why the bottles and cans are mostly gone. The coffee cups are really visible, however. We all know that. Irish Business Against Litter's report this year was crystal clear. It states: Coffee cups remained one of the most commonly found forms of litter and was evident in one fifth of all sites surveyed.”
“Applying for permission and an EPA licence has meant going into a process with no end in sight. It can take any amount of time to win permits. The Planning and Development Act 2024 introduced guaranteed decision-making times for An Coimisiún Pleanála. This Bill seeks to bring in guaranteed decision-making timelines for EPA licences, which I welcome. The Bill went through pre-legislative scrutiny but has since been changed. The Minister removed the power granted to him in the Bill to impose incremental levies like the plastic bag levy on producers rather than retailers. This was done because the Minister wanted to avoid the future possibility of collecting a disposable coffee cup levy.”
“All these have huge potential to make a positive impact on the environment and should be the default in using the purchasing power of public bodies. In procurement strategies and tendering for projects, we should be moving into the space of ethical goods and goods that are low carbon where possible. I welcome the elements of the Bill in this regard. The last point I want to make is on recycling in general and the Minister of State's responsibility for the circular economy. We really should be doing a lot more in Ireland. We export most of our waste and simply do not have the necessary facilities here. We do not have paper mills or metal recycling. Very little plastic recycling is taking place here. We do not have the digestion facilities needed for an ambitious biomethane strategy or the electrolysers for a hydrogen strategy.”
“There should also be adequate consultation on the report, which is deeply worrying in respect of the activities of the reprocessing plant. I want to refer specifically to the issues concerning green public procurement. I recall that during John Gormley's time in the Custom House, we were having long conversations about green public procurement. That is a long time ago but I welcome the fact that we are now moving significantly into this space and considering local authorities and other public bodies that are significant purchasers of goods and services. I remember being involved with issues concerning ground granulated blast furnace slag, which is a low-carbon cement, and also Forest Stewardship Council timber, Fairtrade goods and bioplastics.”
“To the best of my knowledge, the EPA has never revoked an integration pollution control licence for a facility. It is pretty clear that a facility was at the core of the Blackwater problem. It is vital to strengthen the EPA's role in such incidents in terms of accountability and prosecution. Section 12 covers provisions on the transboundary convention where an activity is likely to have transboundary effects on a state outside the EU. I welcome that. We will have a scheduled debate on Committee Stage on a public accounts report of the Westminster Government on the Sellafield reprocessing facility. The transboundary consultation was inadequate in relation to that. While I welcome the provision in this Bill, we need our near neighbours to ensure proper and adequate consultation, particularly on the nuclear industry in the UK.”
“Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I welcome the Bill. Section 10 amends section 82D of the Environmental Protection Agency Act. It is stated that the agency, when considering applications in emergency circumstances, shall do so in a manner consistent with the objectives of section 15(1) of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 to the extent that it considers it practicable, taking account of the emergency nature of the applications. Like my colleague, I believe there is an issue around exceptional circumstances and the emergency nature of applications. This is something I look forward to debating when we get to Committee Stage. However, I welcome elements of the Bill that strengthen the powers and functionality of the EPA. A point was raised on the Blackwater fish kill.”
“While I welcome the response, I urge the Government to continue to give active consideration to, at the very least, signing up to the core treaty and thereafter, to look at its international agreements through the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction agreement, to give full effect to them and to support and resource Ireland's full participation in the Antarctic Treaty.”
“I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive response. As I understand it, the Government is not ruling out, but is still giving active consideration to, acceding to the core treaty itself. I am conscious that signing up to international agreements puts a requirement on the State to have the resources in place to honour such agreements and to resource staffing to meet the requirements of meetings and so on. However, this is important for Ireland. As I said in my opening statement, it is critically important that Ireland plays an active role in international biodiversity and the protection of this unique continent, particularly where there are designs on territorial areas by other countries.”
“Protecting it will ensure it will continue to be a vast repository for global biodiversity. Antarctica is the Earth's only continent that humans have not inhabited and the only one not exploited by us. The Antarctic Treaty is the only means by which we can ensure that it remains as a gift to all of humanity, not to be plundered by a superpower but to be respected for the vital role the continent plays in ensuring that our planet remains habitable for future generations. I ask the Minister of State to urge his Government colleagues to allow Ireland to play its part in the protection of this great continent.”
“The Minister, Deputy McEntee’s predecessor, Simon Coveney, reversed a previously held view that Ireland would not benefit from membership and became an enthusiastic supporter of Ireland joining. He conveyed this to me in writing and in discourse during our time in government together. Ireland has a rich heritage of Antarctic exploration with Sir Ernest Shackleton and the legendary exploits of Tom Crean being among the most memorable. Indeed, this legacy is celebrated in the wonderful Shackleton Experience museum open in Athy. We owe it to their legacy and all the Irish explorers and scientists who have contributed to our ever-expanding knowledge of this great continent. Understanding Antarctica better will help us in our fight against climate breakdown.”
“The treaty also has protected areas, something I hope we will discuss before the summer break in relation to marine protected areas in Ireland. This protects Antarctic flora and fauna and an area in Antarctica may be designated in this regard to protect outstanding environmental scientific, historic or aesthetic or wilderness values. This is a hugely important treaty. In light of the US Administration’s recent brazen and imperious attempt to take over Greenland and desire to exploit resources there, particularly rarer minerals but also oil reserves, I think that Ireland as a peaceful nation, a respected neutral country, could not only benefit from becoming a signatory to the treaty but could also provide an invaluable contribution to the aspiration and the ambition of this unique treaty.”
“There is a protocol on environmental protection to the treaty, which was signed in Madrid on 4 October 1991 and entered into force in 1998. It designates Antarctica “as a natural reserve, devoted to peace and science.” Article 3 of the environmental protocol sets forth basic principles applicable to human activities in Antarctica and Article 7 prohibits all activities relating to Antarctica mineral resources except for scientific research. The environmental protocol established by the committee for environmental protection is an expert advisory body to provide advice and formulate recommendations to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting, ATCM, in connection with the implementation of the environment protocol.”
“Among the signatories of the treaty were seven countries, Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom with territorial claims and sometimes these were overlapping. Other countries do not recognise any claims and the US and Russia maintain a basis of claim. All positions are explicitly protected under Article IV, which preserves the status quo . It states: No acts or activities taking place while the present Treaty is in force shall constitute a basis for asserting, supporting or denying a claim to territorial sovereignty in Antarctica or create any rights of sovereignty in Antarctica. No new claim, or enlargement of an existing claim, to territorial sovereignty in Antarctica shall be asserted while the present Treaty is in force.”
“Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit. The Antarctic Treaty was signed in Washington on 1 December 1959 by 12 countries whose scientists had been active on the ground in Antarctica during the international geophysical year of 1957-58. It entered into force in 1961 and has since been signed by many other nations. The current total stands at 58. Some important provisions of the treaty are as follows: Antarctica shall be used for peaceful purposes only; freedom of scientific investigation in Antarctica and co-operation toward that end shall continue; and scientific observations and results from Antarctica shall be exchanged and made freely available.”
“I thank the Minister of State and her colleague and ask her to take back a positive message from us in opposition and our Cross-Party Group that we are willing to work, and want to work, with the Government to ensure that all of the ambition the Minister of State has outlined in her opening remarks will be realised. We will not be found wanting in supporting that because this is a country that could be a shining light for new and expectant mothers. We should expect nothing less than that and have no less ambition than that.”
“Mothers from minority backgrounds, particularly the Traveller community, many times have to go home to difficult living conditions. The range of support being put forward now is important, but we are nowhere near where we need to be. That is why this motion is important. I welcome the commitment the Minister of State has given on perinatal mother and baby units. That is important to build on the pilot schemes that have already been rolled out. I welcome that there is funding to do this work, and she is committed to spending it. Today is a positive day. Unusually in this House we have cross-party support and Government support for this motion.”
“Once again, Senator Ryan has articulated her view so eloquently this afternoon and I wish her well in her time ahead. When she spoke to this motion for all expectant and new mothers, it was more powerful than any of the words the rest of us could say this afternoon. I welcome that the Minister of State has responded so positively. Usually in this House it is supposed to be partisan, but the Minister of State has brought forward a positive response to a motion that is something my colleague and the Cross-Party Group feel strongly about. I thank Aolish Gormley and the Year of Care campaign, which has done a wonderful piece of work by shining a light on a serious challenge for some mothers. I listened to Senator Flynn.”
“Ar dtús, ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil le mo chara as an tairiscint seo. I thank my colleague Senator Cosgrove for bringing forward this motion as part of our Cross-Party Group motion. I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Murnane O'Connor, and her colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, for their very positive response. Our youngest daughter is 11 years old. I do not think this range of services for young mothers was available at that time. We have come a long way. We have to recognise that, and it is important. It is supposed to be a happy time for a young mother. They came home with their new baby and there are the lovely new baby smells, the baby powder, the Milton and all of the babygros which I loved when they came into our house. A young mother is supposed to be happy, but it is not always the case.”
“All it requires is the Minister to make a political commitment that the Government would look at this dispatch-down energy and work with EnergyCloud. EnergyCloud does really wonderful work with energy retailers at pilot scale in bringing dispatch-down energy to households, but it could be done at a much larger scale given that 380,000 households up to November 2025 were in energy arrears, and approximately 410,000 households are receiving the fuel allowance. This energy could be used but it is being wasted. We need a debate on energy poverty in this House. I would welcome the opportunity for the Minister to be invited in to do so.”
“It has huge potential for embodied carbon but also from environmental growing of the crop. I would welcome an opportunity to have a debate with the Minister for agriculture about this. There were calls in the Chamber last night to have the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment in with us. I ask that there would be a specific debate on energy poverty. We have statistics from EnergyCloud this week. In the 314 days since the programme for Government was enacted, 1,169 GWh of renewable energy has been wasted in this country through what it calls dispatch down. The approximate retail value of this is €414 million, equivalent to 390 million tanks of hot water that could be deployed to low-income households. This is a scandal.”
“I have two issues I want to raise. We have had a lot of discussion on modern methods of construction. We have potential in Ireland to grow a crop here that could be used in many applications through paper and packaging, construction and building materials, agriculture, gardening, bioplastics and composites, health and nutrition and environmental and industry applications, and that is industrial hemp. There does not appear to be any interest in the Department of agriculture or in government more generally about this absolute wonder crop that could be grown at scale in Ireland. A number of farmers are growing it in trial crops, and there have been certain attempts through Teagasc in Oak Park to grow it. I really think the Government should be giving active consideration to the growing of industrial hemp at scale in Ireland.”
“It is critically important that the Government looks at this. As we look towards the nature restoration plan and the land use review - I am not sure where that is - we should incorporate works under the nature restoration plan in with the next CAP strategic plan so that we have flood defences working with nature. We could also look at the planning code, through the Planning and Development Act, to adopt nature-based solutions in our urban areas, to install permeable paving in our car parks and to put in rain gardens. All of these proven measures could be deployed now while we are waiting for schemes to be implemented.”
“The one thing I want to speak about in the few minutes I have relates to the use of nature-based solutions. I was a member of the local authority when we were considering the Thomastown and Graiguenamanagh schemes. At that time, I mentioned the idea of using and working with nature, because nature is our first and best line of defence against climate chaos. There are projects right across the UK, such as in Pickering in Yorkshire, that we can consider. Here in Ireland, the Inishowen Rivers Trust is using what they call "leaky dams". In Gissing in Norfolk, they are actively using and working with nature to attenuate the water and slow the flow for a period. Similar projects could be up and running while we are waiting for these schemes to be deployed. Not every community is going to be able to get the hard engineering OPW solutions.”
“Yes. Like others, I want to commend the emergency services and local authorities in Kilkenny County Council, as well as other local authorities, on their response in support of communities during Storm Chandra. Prior to the Kilkenny scheme, I had family members who were caught in the flooding cycle there. Local knowledge was hugely important then. Bernadette Kiely, an artist who is based in Thomastown, spoke about that local knowledge when the floods were coming in there. We certainly knew when the floods were coming up. We were ready to put the couches and the sofas up and wait for the floodwaters to go out. It is no longer acceptable for communities to have to put up with this. Unfortunately, the frequency of these events is making the chance of it all the more prevalent.”
“Reference has been made to the fact that there is perhaps an opportunity for fishers to be involved in monitoring programmes in terms of the health of ecosystems, such as the restoration of sea-grasses and marine ecosystems. Perhaps there is an opportunity, through the MPA LIFE project, which I mentioned, for fishers to be centrally involved and not have fishing vessels tied up when they could be used in an important way. I ask the Minister of State to take that with him and consider the opportunity that may exist in the MPA legislation. We know important work is ongoing. I will not say that nothing is happening; quite a lot is happening, and I appreciate that. I ask that the Minister of State take those points away.”
“The Minister of State will not be surprised to hear that my final point relates to our marine protected areas, MPAs, and MPA legislation. My understanding from the Minister of State's response to a Commencement matter is that he has given a commitment that the heads of a Bill will be drafted before the summer break. I ask him to try to speed that up because it would be important to get that legislative process moving before the summer recess. I would hate to see it drag on into the autumn and into the budgetary cycle and all sorts of other priorities. We have waited for the MPA legislation for a long time. The issues we are discussing in terms of the marine, fisheries and healthy oceans are all interconnected. We know there are positive spillover effects from MPAs in terms of fish stocks.”
“The farming for water EIP was mentioned. It is a positive way forward and I welcome the ongoing commitment of the Government on that. We also have to get a commitment that the Government will fight tooth and nail to ensure that dedicated LIFE funding is maintained in the next European multi-annual financial framework out of the next EU budget. There is a very real threat to stand-alone funding streams, which are vital. We see that with the Lough Carra, Wild Atlantic Nature and many other environmental LIFE projects. If we lose that dedicated fund, I fear that a lot of the money for the competitiveness fund will instead be diverted to other priorities in other member states. I ask the Minister of State and the Government to fight to ensure that the dedicated environmental funding is there to support landowners to restore our waters.”
“This is one of the largest fish kills in the history of the State. If we do not have the mechanisms in the State to go after the offenders in this case, we will see more of them. I hope the commitment the Minister of State gave in his opening statement is met. It is critical that we have confidence in the system. I was sent a video from an angler in my county, Kilkenny, of a slurry tanker parked off a roadside pouring slurry into a field high up into the air while there was still heavy rainfall, very near the River Nore special area of conservation, SAC. That is unacceptable in this day and age. From our perspective, as a collective as we are now establishing our river trust and want the State and Government match our commitment to restoring our waters. We are doing work week in and week out on invasive species, etc.”
“Separately, some of the pilot projects initiated over the past number of years need to happen at scale. It is important. On the work that is ongoing, our River Nore trust met a few weeks ago. It is wonderful to see anglers, activists and environmentalists coming together with a shared vision for water quality that will do wonders to establish or re-establish our waters as healthy places for fish. The climate committee will produce its report on the Blackwater fish kill. To me, the response has been wholly inadequate. It beggars belief that the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, still has not revoked a licence for a repeat offender. We know there is a repeat offender in this case and we know where the source is coming from. It has to be the case that, if incidents like this continue, they be dealt with.”
“The Minister of State is very welcome. I want to make a few points, starting with inland fisheries. The issue around water quality has been mentioned. In his opening statement, he mentioned the Blackwater fish kill. All around the country, river trusts are being established. Some now connect to the water action plan, for which community catchment fora will be established. This will provide us with a mechanism and basis under which we can work collaboratively to restore our rivers, as the previous speaker said. The benefits that can be accrued from restoring nature at scale, in particular in our waters, will have knock-on positive benefits for inland fisheries, in particular removing barriers to fish passage and spawning, which was a clear commitment in the water action plan I launched a couple of years ago.”
“While many of the communities have been waiting on OPW hard-engineering schemes, we could have been working with landowners, local authorities and communities to work with nature to help. Rather than blaming others, Government should be leading.”
“River trusts are looking at how best to use natural flood plains. There are a lot of great small schemes out there, often led by local communities. What we need from the Government is a nature-based solutions plan. We need a fully funded nature restoration plan that recognises the co-benefits of restoring peatlands, uplands and nature in cities. We need county development plans to be changed. We need a well-resourced NPWS, nature-based solution teams in local authorities, and more funding for LAWPRO. We need to put permeable paving in all new projects and include nature-based solutions in all new developments. Most of all, we need a land-use plan. Where is it? Come to think of it, where is the urgency on any of this?”
“There is, however, much we could be doing that could at least help and certainly would do no harm. Nature-based solutions are nothing new. Many cities globally have been implementing them for decades. The basic concept of working with nature to slow down water, attenuate it and allow it out to sea in a controlled way is something we should be moving from small pilot schemes through the local authority water programme, LAWPRO, towards scalable solutions in catchments and in our urban areas. In Dublin, communities like Stoneybatter are piloting schemes. Dublin City Council is retrofitting streets with landscaping and plants to help to slow down and filter water run-off. I visited an amazing project in Cobh where something similar is being done. We have seen the beginnings of a riparian planting scheme in the upper reaches of the Dodder.”
“He spoke about the ring road in Galway but did not once mention the causation of these weather events and how facilitating more growth in car travel is contributing to the problem and the congestion. The Minister blaming environmental law, EU regulation and Met Éireann smacks of a Government in a tailspin. He talks of adaptation and mitigation. He does that a lot now since he has abandoned Ireland's commitment towards meeting our climate targets, but we cannot do that. What can we do right now? These weather events are now part of our everyday lives and we will have to adapt. I have heard the frustration of the people of Enniscorthy regarding the delays in the flood relief scheme. These hard-engineering solutions are complex, take a lot of time and have a lot of environmental regulation attached.”
“Communities across the south and east coasts have been left devastated with the fallout from Storm Chandra. Tá an talamh sáite tar éis seachtainí de bháisteach. We are most grateful to emergency services, local authorities and communities who have rallied to help the vulnerable. For the first time I can recall, I heard a non-Green Party Cabinet Minister use the words "climate crisis" in relation to a weather event. It was welcome, because we all know the first part of addressing a problem is admitting there is one. He also bizarrely pointed the finger of blame at Met Éireann. The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, yesterday on national radio spoke about another M50 and putting in extra culverts.”
“Before I ask the Minister of State to respond, I had some oversight on this in my previous role. Certainly my understanding at the time, giving direction to the NPWS, was on the ban on use of lead over wetlands. It was quite specific and there was to be stakeholder engagement as far as I am aware.”
“I thank the trade unions for supporting this legislation. I am disappointed that Government has chosen to oppose it, but I am proud to work with the Cross-Party Group to bring it forward.”
“This Bill is about creating parity and equality and ensuring they are valued as apprentices from day one and feel they are part of a team and a bigger picture. Other Members have spoken about the drop-out rates, which are significant and should be of concern to the Government, not just from the perspective of an economy going at full tilt but from the perspective of the well-being and self-esteem of those young people. This Bill will not bring those drop-out rates to zero, but it will ensure that young people - apprentices in precarious financial situations - will be able to make better and more informed decisions, not based simply on being able to afford to keep going. That could set young people back a great deal in life. I thank Senator Cosgrove and my other two comrades in the Cross-Party Group.”
“Some weeks ago, I attended the Kilkenny and Carlow Education and Training Board apprenticeship awards ceremony in Kilkenny. It was a proud day for those young men and women and their families. The ceremony added greatly to the significance of their collective achievements. I do not need to tell the Minister of State how much we need these young apprentices in our economy right now, an economy that is running at full tilt. I saw in a previous role, particularly in the heritage sector, young apprentices in thatching, sign writing and stonemasonry working side by side with professional contractors. The contractors were paying them well because they knew they would stay, and they needed those young people.”
“Many organisations, community groups, farmers, fishers and foresters are out working on the ground, trying to get involved in this great big nature restoration project. However, if there is not funding there to support them to do it, how can they be involved? I urge the Government to support what is a really important task for the nation. This report certainly makes for sobering reading. However, it is hardly surprising, given where the State has come from over the previous 30 to 40 years. It is critical that this investment cycle continue and that the funding be found to support the nature restoration project.”
“It was something we fought hard for in the previous Government and to allay the fears of farmers and farm organisations in being involved in this great nature restoration project. I am not calling for a debate on this but it needs to be prioritised by the Government. The report sees a deterioration of habitats right across coastal and peatland areas and the grassland deterioration of many important habitats throughout Ireland. Unfortunately, unless we put that investment in, we are going to see further deterioration in the next reporting cycle. Ireland assumes the Presidency of the European Union in the second half of next year. It would be wonderful if we could start telling the good news stories because there are many.”