Bhí mé ag éisteacht le gach duine agus aontaím le go leor rud a dúradh. I will start with the area I represent, Dublin Bay North. I have mentioned previously that Bull Island, in my constituency and a part of the Dublin Bay UNESCO Biosphere, is one of the best places to go to clear the head. Sadly, we have lost the native Irish hare on the island. The last time it was seen was in 2016. The golf club on the island, St. Annes, still has the hare on its crest. I was talking to the club's greenskeeper recently. The Irish hare should be returned there and I am asking for a funded reintroduction programme. I have spoken in the climate and energy committee about this issue. It would be brilliant. Even when we look at the etymology of the Irish word for the hare, giorria, from gearrfhia, it means a small deer. The Irish language and the Irish hare have been hand in hand since we have been growing on this island, and it is sad to see the hares gone from Bull Island. I remember seeing the hares when I was growing up. Hares are actually good for golf clubs because they do not burrow. They do not mess up the courses and loads of golf clubs actually love them. I also want to talk about the red squirrels. I have only seen two in my entire life, in the Dublin Mountains. We need to look at the example of other countries. Research from the University of Galway has shown that the recovery of pine marten populations can cause grey squirrel populations to collapse. Just as the Irish native hare population grew on the island, so too did the red squirrels. Red squirrels can get to branches that the grey squirrel cannot, and red squirrels have grown up with the pine martens. This is something that should be looked at as a nature-based solution. As a beekeeper, I also want to speak about the Protection of the Native Irish Honey Bee Bill. I welcome the contribution from the previous Deputy. My parliamentary assistant, Tracy, was working when the legislation was introduced in the Seanad. She did a lot of work on it. I actually spoke at the agriculture committee, possibly the first time ever for a Dub, supporting the Bill. I love being a beekeeper. I have been stung worse in politics. It was mentioned that there are 98 or 99 species of bee; it depends on who you asg. The honey bee is being well looked after but it is a solo bee. It is the bumblebee that we need to protect. No Mow May needs to be used and the Irish public needs to get out and reintroduce those bees.

Sentiment score: 0.13