PJ Murphy
Agricultural Panel · Fine Gael · Ireland
“If issues regarding the day-to-day operation of licensing systems cannot be discussed at the appropriate forum, it is difficult to know where they can be discussed, other than on the floor of this House. I understand a further phase of stakeholder engagement is planned for the coming months.”
“I thank the Minister of State very much for her answer. Although I take on board what the Minister of State has said, there is no doubt but that there are glaring inconsistencies right across the country, even from division to division and from station to station, in the implementation of the existing rules on the granting of firearms lic…”
“These concerns were reinforced at a recent briefing in the audiovisual room in Leinster House, hosted by the National Association of Regional Game Councils, NARGC, and the Firearms Users Representative Group, FURG, which was well attended by Members from across the political divide and from all parties.”
“These concerns include lost or misplaced applications; delays in processing; additional documentation requirements that go way beyond the published guidelines; applicants being told they own too many firearms, despite meeting the legal requirements; and the failure to provide formal refusal letters outlining the reasons for decisions.”
“I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Ardagh, to the House and take this opportunity to congratulate her on her recent appointment. I wish her all the best in her new role. I raise an issue of significant concern to many law-abiding firearm licenceholders throughout rural Ireland.”
“I ask the Minister of State, as a matter of urgency, to meet representatives of FURG and the NARGC, the largest rural pursuits membership organisation in the country and the second-largest sports organisation in Ireland in terms of membership after the GAA, to hear directly from them regarding the challenges facing licensed firearms holde…”
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“According to new EU harmonised legislation, prescribing must be undertaken by veterinary practitioners, who are also permitted to sell and dispense these products. Most importantly, there is no requirement for vets to keep prescribing and dispensing separate from one another, creating a concerning conflict of interest. This shift is not just a regulatory update. It is an economic and structural seismic shift to the many small independent licensed traders across this country. According to the Central Statistics Office, CSO, Ireland's veterinary medicines market is worth approximately €400 million annually. While €300 million of this already ends up with veterinary practitioners, the remaining €100 million goes to a network of small, independent merchants and co-ops found in towns and villages across rural Ireland.”
“I express concerns about what is coming down the track soon with the Veterinary Medicinal Products, Medicated Feed and Fertilisers Regulation Act 2023. From 1 September, the new regulations will deem all antiparasitic veterinary drugs to be prescription only. These are a large number of remedies used on farms on a day-to-day basis, such as sheep dip, dry cow mastitis tubes and ivermectin that is used for treating cattle for worms, fluke and lice. These products are currently available over the counter and have been for many years. The products are on the market under tight Department of agriculture control and experienced well-trained staff provide advice to farmers at the point of sale.”
“The amendment being put forward by the Minister of State will facilitate developments with planning permission that are simply not financially viable in their current form. I commend the amendment.”
“I will address some of the statements made by my colleague Senator Higgins in her contribution. She stated that there is nothing stopping developers proceeding with existing planning permission for apartments. There is something substantial stopping developers proceeding with existing planning permission. It is financial viability. If a development is not financially viable, how can one proceed? We can talk about our aspirational large apartments all we like, but if they are not financially viable, they will not be built and they are not being built. We can talk about these aspirations for large apartments, but for people in their 30s who are still living in their parents' box rooms, these smaller size apartments sound absolutely wonderful compared with their current living situations.”
“There is a lack of development in this sector. We have to address that. Irrespective of what we may see as being the ideal apartment to live in, be it facing north, south or both, if they are not being built, they are no good to anybody. We have to be honest. Apartments that are simply not financially viable to build will not be built and are not being built. These amendments are for facilitating the financial viability of a sector that is not currently functioning properly. I compliment the Minister of State on what he is attempting to do. These are progressive amendments and I congratulate him on that.”
“The Minister of State is very welcome. I thank him for coming to the Seanad this afternoon. Despite what has just been said by the Opposition, I stand here and compliment the Minister of State on the amendments before us. They will do exactly as intended: enable development. I will go to the bones of the amendment: "The holder of permission for residential development may apply to the relevant authority who granted the permission for the certificate certifying that a proposed modification...of the permission is a permitted modification.". We debated this last week. We spoke about the need for apartments of all sizes. As we said last week, irrespective of what ideal sizes and large sizes we may believe are optimum to live in, if they are not financially feasible to be built, they will not be built and they are not being built.”
“I will move on to section 17 and the amendments to apartment guidelines. I am very supportive of these amendments to those guidelines in respect of minimum sizes. We can all aspire to having very large minimum sizes under the guidelines for apartments but, if these large minimum sizes are simply not financially viable for developers, units simply will not be developed. That is what we are seeing in the market at the moment. Aspiring to have very large minimum apartment sizes is no good to anybody if apartments are simply not being built. The proposal that existing planning applications could be altered to make them more financially viable without the loss of any time and without the need to go back to the planning system is very wise and well thought through and must be commended. I believe this to be very common-sense legislation.”
“An extension of duration may only be granted where an environmental impact assessment, EIA, or appropriate assessment, AA, would not be required with regard to the proposed extension. Again, given the delays in the acquisition of finance for large developments, the labour and skills shortages we very often face within the construction sector and the large number of other delays and unforeseen setbacks developers face in staffing large development projects, this is very common-sense legislation. For people who have concerns about the changes in environmental legislation from when the planning permission may have been granted to the date that an extension may be requested, that is very much covered within this section. That is a very good and much-needed measure in this legislation.”
“The prevention of further loss of time by stopping the clock ticking while a judicial review is going on is to be very much commended. Section 16 amends the 2000 Act to enable an extension of duration of up to three years to permissions for housing developments that have not yet commenced and have less than two years remaining on the duration of permission. To encourage activation of housing development, the application for the extension must be made within six months of the commencement of the legislation and the development must commence within 18 months of the commencement of the legislation. In line with existing provisions, a further application for an extension of up to two years may be made once a development is substantially complete.”
“Section 13 extends the pause in the duration of permission during judicial review proceedings to permissions granted under the 2000 Act and subject to judicial review under that Act. It provides that where a permission was or is subject to judicial review, the holder of the permission may seek a suspension of time for the period the judicial review was or is ongoing. Retrospective applications for suspension of duration may be made in respect of active permission where a judicial review has concluded, provided that the person applying declares the development did not substantially commence, which excludes work for the maintenance, security or protection of a development site while the judicial review is ongoing. A lot of delays are currently experienced by developers.”
“I welcome the Minister of State and his officials to the Seanad. Having studied this legislation over the past number of days, I believe it to be a real common-sense and very necessary Bill that will facilitate the building of more homes and streamline extensions to planning permission timelines during this current housing crisis we are all experiencing. Of the 17 sections in the Bill, I will focus on three in particular, namely, sections 13, 16 and 17. Section 13 deals with the time that is lost for the live planning period due to judicial reviews. Bearing in mind that the number of judicial reviews taken against planning decisions has more than trebled over the past six years, this is a very important section of this legislation.”
“What is a simple job to an able-bodied person such as renewing a permit like this is a much bigger job for somebody who is faced with mobility challenges day to day basis. I call on the issuing bodies of these permits, both the Disabled Drivers Association of Ireland and Irish Wheelchair Association, to look at the issuing of these permits to last for a period of ten years for people who have a permanent mobility disability.”
“Just last month in the audiovisual room of Leinster House, one of my own constituents, a fellow south Galway man, Pat Flaherty from Gort, who is a user of the disabled persons parking permit, made a very good point and argument that people who have a permanent disability, a disability from which they will not recover, should not be burdened with the renewal of this permit on either an annual or biennial basis. If the disability is something that is not going to go away and is something the person is going to live with for his or her entire life, there is no reason this permit should not be issued for a period of at least ten years, doing away with the need and the inconvenience of a person to renew this permit.”
“I rise to speak about the blue badge parking scheme or what would be more correctly referred to as the disabled person’s parking permit. This permit allows persons with severe mobility restrictions to park in disabled parking spaces in our towns, villages and cities throughout Ireland and is issued by the Disabled Drivers Association of Ireland or the Irish Wheelchair Association. People must reapply on either an annual or a biennial basis to have this permit renewed.”
“On my behalf and on behalf of my colleague, Councillor Killilea, and the people of south Galway, I call on the Minister of State, Kevin Boxer Moran, to intervene and see to it so that, as a matter of urgency, whatever underpinning work or structural supports are necessary are put in place to ensure that no collapse happens in this very important and iconic piece of architecture in south Galway.”
“I wish to draw attention to the condition and structural stability of Ireland's tallest and possibly most iconic monastic round tower, namely, Kilmacduagh in Tierneevin in south County Galway. In documents dating back over 250 years, a slight lean in that round tower was documented. Local archaeologists and local people monitoring the tower have noted a major increase in the lean of the tower over the past 20 years. What is worrying is that, over the past ten years, the rate of increase in the lean has got progressively faster. Local Fine Gael county councillor Paul Killilea has been continuously in contact with the OPW over the past year regarding putting structural supports or the necessary underpinning in place to prevent the catastrophe that would be the collapse of that iconic south Galway structure, but to no avail.”
“On a separate but connected topic, a number of similar websites and, in some cases, the same websites are offering and providing prescriptions for antibiotics to be emailed to a pharmacist of choice, after the provision of exactly the same type of information and, again, without any consultation with a medical practitioner. In this country at the moment, we are moving in the direction of overreliance on antibiotics and there is a build-up of antibiotic residue within the population. These websites require no verification of identification in many cases. Given the overuse of antibiotics in the State and this quite loose means of obtaining prescriptions, I call on the Medical Council to examine the criteria for the issuing of online prescriptions for antibiotics within the State.”
“It will not accept sick certificates that are digitally or automatically generated from a website without a visit to a medical practitioner or, at the very least, a phone call consultation with a medical practitioner. I call on the Medical Council to review the criteria when it comes to the issuing of sick certificates. I also call for an equal playing field when it comes to the criteria for sick certificates that employers must accept and the sick certificates that will be accepted by the Department of Social Protection.”
“I wholeheartedly agree that if an employee is genuinely sick, it should be a very simple matter for him or her to get a sick certificate. However, obtaining that sick certificate must require some form of consultation, be it over the phone, in-person, through Zoom or otherwise, with a medical practitioner, not merely by selecting a sickness from a drop-down menu on a website. Employers are obliged under current legislation to accept these digitally generated sick certificates from their employees to pay up to five days of sick leave annually. However, once those five days have been paid by the employer, the sick payments then become the responsibility of the Department of Social Protection, which applies a completely different set of criteria to what it requires on the sick certificate.”
“I wish to raise a topic that has been mentioned in the national media in recent days, which is the issuing of online sick notes in the State through websites that require no consultation whatsoever with a registered medical practitioner. A number of websites are offering a service where people can go online, submit their personal details, submit the details of their employer, select the dates they want the medical certificate to apply to, select from a drop-down menu what sickness they want to appear on the medical certificate, make a payment of €25 to €35, and, within a number of hours, have a sick certificate forwarded to their email address without any consultation or conversation whatsoever with a medical practitioner.”
“The housing crisis is the greatest challenge facing this State. It is an emergency, and emergencies call for immediate action. This Bill, I have no doubt, will help many tenants renting around Ireland. As somebody who lives in and has represented an area within a rent pressure zone for the past six years, I have some concerns about accidental landlords and the fact that inclusion in rent pressure zone regulations might act somewhat as a disincentive to some people to renting out their properties. However, overall, this Bill and these amendments will, in the bigger picture, help tenants right across Ireland. As Fine Gael spokesperson for housing in the Seanad, I commend this Bill to the House.”
“We should be looking at light rail infrastructure by now between Sixmilebridge and the Shannon Airport terminal. Recently, as the Minister knows, the north west was redesignated by the European Union as a lagging region. We need urgent measures to ensure we in the north west get our fair share of the pie. The infrastructure I have spoken about in the western rail corridor is shovel-ready. It is widely expected that it will form part of the national development plan. We must have no further postponements of this. I know the Minister is a supporter of this project. He is a west of Ireland man and I urge him to proceed with this project as a matter of urgency and use all his influence within the Cabinet and the transport Department, etc., to ensure this much-needed project for the west of Ireland proceeds as a matter of urgency.”
“In phase 3 of the western rail corridor between Claremorris and Sligo, and I must add that Sligo is the second largest town in Connacht, again all land required for the reopening of this section of rail is under State ownership. An eight-minute shuttle bus journey between Charlestown station and Knock Airport terminal would provide a service that is found in every modern airport throughout Europe. On that note, when we talk about shuttle buses between rail stations and airport terminals, since the opening of the first phase of the western rail corridor between Limerick and Athenry, we have still not seen a shuttle bus put in place between Sixmilebridge Station and Shannon Airport terminal. Not only should that shuttle bus be long in place, we should be gone beyond that.”
“Despite considerable negativity about the project at the time, it has proven to be a very successful and transformative project for my area and other villages that have been serviced by it. Phase 2 of the western rail corridor between Athenry and Claremorris is a shovel-ready project as the Minister knows, and I know he is a great supporter of that project. The land is under State ownership and the estimated cost is approximately €20 million. That is one tenth of the cost of delivering the same stretch in km of motorway. It would serve Claremorris, Tuam and, quite importantly, Abbeyknockmoy, which could provide a park and ride hub to Galway city for commuters coming from the Roscommon side. Phase 2 of the western rail corridor is something that must be progressed as a matter of urgency.”
“It is nice to be able to speak about balanced regional development with a Minister who is also from the west. As my colleague just mentioned, in the north west we have indeed 17.6% of the nation's population. As was also mentioned, between 2016 and 2024, our share of investment in public tenders worth more than €1 million was a mere 9.9%. To make matters worse, between 2016 and 2024, our share of investment in public tenders worth more than €20 million was a paltry 5.7%. Coming from a place called Ardrahan in south Galway, the very southern end of the western region, my own village benefited some years ago from the reopening of the first phase of the western rail corridor between Limerick and Athenry.”
“I urge the Minister to make these three boglands subject to an ARC within the next week to allow these people to get back in to save the turf that has already been cut and that is sitting wet on the banks. I call on the Minister to intervene quickly to lift the fear from these people on these three bogs in south-east Galway and to let them get back to doing what they have been doing to heat their homes for generations.”
“A High Court injunction was granted within 48 hours ordering them to desist from doing what they have done for generations. As law-abiding people, they did so. They desisted and they have not returned to save the turf that is sitting, wet, on the turf banks. These are law-abiding people. They do not want trouble. The National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, is attempting to force people to stay off their own property and to stop doing what they have done over for generations. I call into question the legality of the SAC status that the relevant authorities are trying to enforce here. This problem can be solved very easily, the fear can be taken from these people and they can return to their bogs if an activity requiring consent, ARC, order is signed by the Minister allowing them to return. I urge that common sense prevail.”
“I wish to draw attention to the questionable special areas of conservation, SAC, protection status of three bogs in south-east Galway, namely Ardgraigue, Barroughter and Clonmoylan bogs. These were designated to be sites of community importance, SCIs, in 2002. Under the habitats directive and EU rules, if SCIs are intended to be made SACs, this must be done within six years of them being designated SCIs. These three bogs, where local families have cut turf for decades, if not centuries, were made SCIs back in 2002 but were not made SACs until 2021. Under of the habitats directive and other EU regulations, that was 16 years too late. In April of this year, local families went to cut turf as they have done every year in the past.”
“We have to figure what is wrong with the system, as opposed to doing away with it completely. The proposal to do away with certification of the design and construction of the building works by a registered construction professional and a competent builder might be a backward step in the enforcement of building standards. We may need to look at why there is a problem with getting these certifications as opposed to doing away with them completely. While I am very supportive of the vast majority of this Bill and think it needs to be implemented in the long term, I will support the amendment to push back its Second Reading.”
“This group of staff will administer the application process, to be known as a town centre first application. Certain things relating to the costs and the funding and staffing of that need to be looked at. I am supportive of the idea behind it but certain details need to be figured out. The proposal to do away with certain requirements of the building control regulations is another concern I have. The exemption from obtaining a fire safety certificate is an important aspect in the context of many old multistorey buildings like this. I agree that there are a lot of inconsistencies and flaws in the systems through which these fire certificates are given out in each county. However, we cannot throw the baby out with the bathwater and do away with them completely.”
“Creating a system for informing owners of a property’s potential and streamlining the system around planning applications in what would effectively be a one-stop shop is fantastic idea that I am supportive of. It is very much needed. The Bill also sets out steps whereby local authorities may acquire derelict sites, which is also much needed. It adds that the Minister must be notified when a site has been on the register for more than two years. That is all very positive. That being said, I have a number of concerns about the Bill as well. My colleague, Senator Curley, has proposed an amendment that it be delayed for a year while some concerns are considered. The Bill proposes the establishment of a planning authority with its own body of staff.”
“I second the amendment. As Fine Gael’s spokesperson on housing in the Seanad and as the owner of a construction business that specialises in the conservation and restoration of historic buildings, having read the Bill, I believe it is a well-considered Bill. I am very supportive of the vast majority of this Bill. Given the extent of dereliction in our towns and villages around the country, this is a Bill we are very much in need of implementing, as soon as we can get it right. I agree with the Senator that the Derelict Sites Act 1990 is not fit for purpose. The Bill’s ambition to expedite planning applications and permits of derelict buildings has great merit. Creating an online register of sites and the process behind the sites becoming derelict, which can be viewed online, would also be most helpful.”
“During the May plenary session of Galway County Council following questions again by Councillor Paul Killilea, it was stated by the CEO of Galway County Council: "We need a government commitment to fund the project to take the castle back into use and we as a council have committed under our capital programme to keep our end of the bargain but without a government commitment, our budget cannot absorb the costs to get it back into use and meet regulations." This will be the third tourism season that the castle remains closed. I call on the Government to make allocations as soon as possible to Galway County Council for the money required to meet the building and tourism regulations so that Dunguaire Castle can open to the public before this tourism season is out.”
“This is one certain stop they make to get their selfies and other photos at Dunguaire Castle, yet busloads of tourists are disappointment because the castle remains closed. Galway County Council had undertaken an extensive and comprehensive due diligence process in quarter 4 of 2024 to progress the project but it needs government funding and a commitment from Government to get the castle in line with current regulations so that it can take the castle over and get it opened. The Minister, Deputy Patrick O'Donovan, in his latest communication to local Councillor Paul Killilea and Kinvara Community Council stated that Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland along with other bodies under their remit had been assign moneys accordingly. Those moneys have not yet been assigned.”
“I would like to raise the continued closure of one of Ireland's most iconic coastal castles, Dunguaire Castle, on the Wild Atlantic Way in Kinvara. Until 2023, Dunguaire Castle was open to the public throughout the tourism season and was run and managed under the ownership of the Shannon Group. In 2023, a decision was made that the ownership of Dunguaire Castle would be handed over to Galway County Council. From that day until now, that transition of ownership has not been completed and the castle has remained closed to the public. Dunguaire Castle is the most photographed castle in Ireland by international tourists. Several busloads pass by every day travelling between Galway city and the Cliffs of Moher.”
“However, all those decisions made at municipal district level are only recommendations and must go through to plenary to be discussed. Consideration should be given to installing powers to make binding decisions at that level. The lump-sum payments to councillors on retirement or the loss of their seat are not made until the retired councillor reaches 50 years of age. If a councillor is first elected at 20, holds that seat for ten years and retires at 30, he or she must wait another 20 years until the lump-sum payment is made. During those 20 years, the payment is not benchmarked and is not earning interest. It devalues on an annual basis through inflation. This would not be tolerated in any other sector. It is an issue we really must examine.”
“As it stands, many councillors feel they do not have that voice or ability to hold the chief executive and directors to account. Another issue is the need to strengthen the framework and powers of municipal districts and area committees. During my five and a half years on Galway County Council, it worked very well and very efficiently in terms of the operation of municipal districts. There is a local knowledge of everything that is discussed within the municipal districts. Galway is a huge county, with a two-hour drive from Clifden to Portumna. Councillors simply do not have knowledge of issues happening two hours away from them. Those issues can be discussed efficiently, and decisions on them made efficiently, at municipal district level.”
“Third, I wish to look at increasing the accountability of the chief executive and directors of services to councillors for executive decisions. This is often a source of great frustration for councillors and locally elected representatives. Councillors feel they take the hit from the public locally if things do not work out as a result of decisions made by the executive. There are sometimes poorly made and ill-judged decisions that councillors had no hand, act or part in making, but they take the rap on the knuckles from the public on a day-to-day basis. We need a standardised system whereby the chief executive and the directors of services are answerable to elected representatives through a pre-established process.”
“When it comes to the reserved and executive functions, there is a huge amount of frustration on the part of locally elected councillors with the grey area in between. There is a set number of reserved functions laid out that councillors decide on, and there is a set number of executive functions the executive decides on. In many cases, however, the executive treats everything that is a grey area as an executive function, and councillors feel excluded from the decision-making process in those grey areas. There has to be greater clarity provided on what exactly is a reserved function, what exactly is an executive function, and for those things that are neither, what exactly is the function of both the elected representatives and the executive in that decision-making process.”
“Second is rebalancing power between elected councillors and executive officers to ensure elected officers have a right to be consulted on a greater range of discussions and the right to know of all other decisions in a timely manner. Let us look at the issue of devolving more powers to local authorities for local services. We have had experience with Irish Water taking the responsibility for water services and wastewater services from the local authorities. There have been mixed experiences across the country on that. There was a huge amount of local knowledge within the local authorities on both the water network and wastewater provision. I feel that taking from local authorities and giving to it to national authorities like that is a reprehensible move in many cases.”
“I thank the Minister of State for coming in to discuss this matter. As somebody who served five and half years as a local councillor in Galway County Council before my election to the Seanad, I greatly welcome that the Government will convene this local democracy task force, which will bring forward proposals to Government to consider for the reform and strengthening of local government. As the Minister of State outlined, there are a number of focus points outlined for this task force to make recommendations on. I will briefly discuss four of these points. First is increasing the range of reserved functions and consideration of devolving more powers to local authorities for services.”
“As politicians, we need to give responsible leadership so that future generations of Irish people can enjoy the magnificent natural living wonders of this beautiful island home that we live in.”
“This is a bird that up until a few years ago I had only ever seen in pictures online. Now, due to improved habitat across the western seaboard, we are seeing them more commonly right around the area that I live in. Barn owl numbers are also on the rise throughout Ireland, as are those of most other native birds of prey, including the peregrine falcon which almost disappeared completely from this island in the 1990s. This being said, we must never get complacent. The curlew and lapwing numbers have been declining sharply over the last ten years. Work is being done on this but numbers continue to decline nationally. As farmers we must find a way to be productive in our industry while also making room for nature.”
“When these walls go, they are gone forever and with them the fragile local ecosystem that they have sustained over the centuries. All is not negative, however. In recent years due to fantastic voluntary efforts and State assistance, with particular credit due to my colleague here, Senator Noonan, we have seen the successful reintroduction of a number of key raptor species. The golden eagle, the white-tailed eagle, the red kite and the osprey now grace Irish skies again after decades, and in some cases centuries, of absence. Due to improvements in habitats on cutaway bogs, the common crane has now resumed its place in the Irish countryside and the little egret, which was rarely sighted just 20 years ago, is now a common sight throughout Ireland. This winter, a pair of glossy ibis made a temporary home on my own farm in south Galway.”
“The Burren lowlands of south Galway and north Clare are, on a European scale, the most important habitat for bumblebees. Our limestone walls and pavements have for centuries, if not millennia, provided critical nest sites for these creatures. Over 80 species of bumblebee are found in this very small geographical area but one in five is now endangered. One in seven of these species is deemed to be near extinction and one in ten is deemed to be vulnerable to extinction. Due to poorly considered regulations by our Department of agriculture, hundreds if not thousands of kilometres of stone walls are condemned to disappear from the west of Ireland in an attempt to promote hedgerows that do not naturally have a place in this part of our landscape.”
“In my own municipal district of south Galway, we have two salmon rivers, the Dunkellin which runs through Craughwell and Kilcolgan, where it enters the sea, and the Clarin which enters the sea at Clarinbridge. These three settlements are not serviced with wastewater treatment facilities and water quality in these salmon rivers is declining year on year, along with the salmon numbers in the rivers. It is also worth noting that these two rivers enter the south of Galway Bay at the world famous but very vulnerable St. George oyster beds which are also seeing problems because of water enrichment in the estuary. I raised the issue of wastewater servicing of these settlements with the housing Minister in this House on two occasions but I have yet to receive an answer of any substance. Silence is what I received.”
“The seas and coasts surrounding our island support vast colonies of seabirds, abundant fish and cold water coral reefs, whales and dolphins, as well as rich algal and invertebrate communities. On land there is a wealth of species in our mountains, peatlands, turloughs, woodlands, grasslands, lakes, rivers and coastal habitats. Over 31,000 species have been recorded in Ireland and its surrounding seas and I have no doubt there are many more yet to be discovered. However, half of our rivers and two thirds of our estuaries are not in good ecological health. Very often in this and the other House of the Oireachtas people point at farmers when it comes to water quality but maybe we need to look at municipal wastewater treatment in our towns and villages and in rural Ireland.”
“With good management, not only do we retain these key native species, but we retain our traditional ways of life as well. Over the millennia, species have come and gone naturally. However, the current extinction rate is unprecedented and accelerating. Species decline and extinction are beginning to affect the ecosystems services that we, as humans, depend on. All of these ecosystems are themselves dependent on biodiversity, from the tiniest microbes to the largest mammals, and their interactions, which together make up the web of life that we have all around us. Ireland is home to globally important populations of birds, fish, mammals, invertebrates, plants and fungi across a wide range of terrestrial, freshwater and marine habitats.”
“Our salmon stocks and our red grouse and grey partridge numbers, all key game species in this country, have declined in the past 40 years. That does not need to be the case. Through good fisheries management in catchments such as the Erriff River on the border between Galway and Mayo, we have seen how salmon numbers can be sustainable and how angling can be sustainable in well-managed fisheries. Through several projects with red grouse in Wicklow and Galway, we have seen that with good management and predator control, populations can be kept sustainable. The same can be said for the Lough Boora project with the grey partridge, where we have seen the almost extinct Irish grey partridge brought back to population numbers where they have been able to be reintroduced to other parts of the country.”
“As a commercial beekeeper for more than 20 years, I clearly understand the problems and threats posed by both the deliberate and accidental introduction of new species to our island. We need to be much more restrictive on honey bee imports in particular. I am quite concerned about the lackadaisical approach taken by both this Government and the previous Government in advancing through the Dáil the legislation that passed through this House more than two and a half years ago on restricting and limiting the imports of queen bees into Ireland. As an angler and a hunter, I am aware that our traditional country sports are sustainable only while there is a surplus to be harvested within nature. Year on year, we see these surpluses diminish.”