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LAST UPDATE | 22 Jan 2023
CONCERNS OVER A deal between Coillte and a UK pension fund caused alarm at the last meeting of the Citizens’ Assembly on biodiversity loss yesterday.
The assembly is set to put 100 additional recommendations before the Oireachtas, which will focus on issues such as agriculture, peatlands and forestry.
There was a lengthy debate on forestry and the role of Coillte which has also recently been debated by TDs.
The deal between Coillte and asset management company Gresham House involves the purchase of land from private landowners, including both planted and unplanted land, to increase forestry cover.
The assembly agreed to put a recommendation before the government suggesting that “State-owned woodlands should be recognised and managed as a strategic long-term national asset for the benefit of the common good”.
The assembly members will now vote online on all recommendations before agreeing on the final report, which is due at the end of the month.
The final meeting took place to allow members to further debate on specific measures, following on from a previous agreement on holding a referendum on an amendment to the Constitution to protect biodiversity.
Chairperson Dr Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin paid tribute to the hard work of the diverse group of 100 people who came together to come up with solutions to counter biodiversity loss.
“Alongside the recommendations that were agreed at our last meeting, including a Constitutional amendment and new centralised structures for co-ordinating and implementing national policy on biodiversity loss, the members have truly responded to the terms of reference.
“I look forward to seeing the results of the vote next week and to drafting the final report to present to the Houses of Oireachtas. As with other Citizens’ Assemblies in Ireland, I have no doubt that this Assembly will lead to transformative societal change in Ireland for the benefit of its people and nature,” she said.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar thanked the members of the assembly for their dedication.
“I firmly believe we need a societal response to the biodiversity crisis. This will benefit not just the people of Ireland but the entire ecosystem that we all depend on” he said.
Threats to biodiversity
The assembly was convened last year to consider the threats of biodiversity loss and how to reverse it; the main causes and impacts of biodiversity loss; and how to improve the government’s response and measure progress.
After months of discussions and listening to experts, the 99 members and chairperson Dr Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin voted on over 100 recommendations in November, including a vote that garnered 83% support for calling a referendum on a Constitutional amendment about biodiversity protection.
The assembly’s conclusions included that the State has “comprehensively failed” on biodiversity to date.
At the November meeting, members agreed to seek an extension from the Houses of Oireachtas for more time to debate and vote on recommendations related to agriculture; freshwaters; marine and coastal environments; peatlands; forestry, woodlands, and hedgerows; protected sites and species; invasive species; and urban and built environments.
Biodiversity loss refers to the growing number of animals and plants that are becoming extinct at an accelerating pace due to factors like overexploitation, habitat loss, and the climate crisis.
The Irish government declared a climate and biodiversity emergency in 2019 and passed an amendment calling for a citizens’ assembly, though it took nearly three years for the assembly to be convened.
In an interview with The Journal earlier this year, Dr Ní Shúilleabháin said it would be important that the recommendations provided to the government are put into practice.
“What I’m hopeful for is that the recommendations that we decide on will be something that will be taken seriously by Government and will be actionable,” she said.
“I consider that part of my role as chair to make sure that when we present them, we present them in a way that they won’t be ignored. I don’t want them to be left on the shelf.”
Additional reporting by Eimer McAuley
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So the government make all the right noises regarding biodiversity with declaring a biodiversity emergency and setting up the citizens assembly but their actions say something else with their plans to cover large parts of the country with sitka spruce, which will destroy any biodiversity in these areas and lead to the acidification of the land. If native woodlands were planted instead we would see an increase in biodiversity, better for the environment and also lead to an increase in ecotourism, which will be much more beneficial for the local areas and the country as a whole rather than helping an investment fund increase it’s profits that won’t even stay in this country.
@The next small thing: I don’t think Ireland will ever compete with the likes of the Galapagos Islands or Iceland as an ecotourism destination!
@Pat Barry: Maybe not, but walking/nature watching holidays are on the rise so it could lead to new businesses setting up to meet this demand, a bit like the greenways. It would help employment in rural areas, help increase both central and local government coffers via employment and business taxes and promote Ireland as a green country which will have the knock-on effect on our agricultural products.
We need to remove most if not all of our elected politicians and use sortition instead to make the country running decisions (of which these citizens assemblies are an example). Remove the career politician. Bring real democracy to the country.
@Fran O’Reilly: Sounds like anarchy!
@Pat Barry: not at all. Read up about it.
@Fran O’Reilly: When someone confuses Sortition with Anarchy, I would doubt their ability to read up on anything.
@Fran O’Reilly: U have got to be joking 99 people in a talking shop how are they picked ? Shiuld be much more scrutiny the government passing the buck they are the people elected & the amount of advisers & staff they have thats what they are getting the big salaries for I don’t agree with this & never will
If and when the govt starts telling the truth about agricultures real carbon footprint and gets the owners of the land onside instead of pinning the blame for Irelands carbon totals on them because they are a soft target you might have some chance to improve biodiversity. Incidentally I live in the countryside near a few of these much maligned plantations albeit Douglas fir and larch not sitka and I haven’t seen as much animal life in years, foxes, badger, pine Martin, deer, rabbit, and particularly red squirrel and otter some large predatory birds like buzzard as well. Granted our rivers need some attention and the govt’s cow towing to Europe has seen the absolute rape of our seas but its not all doom and gloom. As a contributer said above our govt particularly Ryan is great at the televised show of virtue signalling but at the end of the day their all fur coat and no knickers when it comes to doing absolutely anything constructive
A recently resigned senior executive (and consummate professional) who recently resigned his position from HSE puts it best:
“The HSE is not the solution, the HSE is the problem. There are a lot of things going right in Ireland…but we’re really challenged in our healthcare system.”
“We are potentially the worst-performing healthcare system in the Northern Hemisphere, so countries like Iran, Algeria, Albania, Serbia, Romania, are ranked as having better healthcare systems and we are spending much more than those countries.”
So, will this be a ban on people cutting their lawns and removing weeds or just another attack on people farmers?
The experience in Wicklow and elsewhere regarding Coillte and biodiversity is tragic. Vast swathes of monoculture Sitka. Horrendous clear felling – particularly in areas of exceptional beauty and very often poor management of the tiny amount of deciduous planting. We so desperately need change.
Hope provision is made for a Biodiversity Officer in all Local Authorities
@Peter Cuthbert: Nah they’ll just issue cut hedge notices to land owners with road frontage and then fine you when you burn down the dried cuttings to potash (excellent soil balancer and fertiliser) in a corner of your field.
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