Madam, – In its appallingly limited consideration of pressing environmental issues, I note that the Fine Gael-Labour programme for government includes a commitment to “allow an exemption for domestic turf cutting on 75 National Heritage Area sites subject to the introduction of agreed national code of environmental practices”.
So, are we to take it then that, when our new Government asks Europe to alter the terms of the financial bailout, it will also be seeking to renegotiate our commitment to EU environmental policy?
Are we to be exempted from key provisions of EU law on nature conservation? And what about our commitments to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity and its recently agreed 10-year global strategy for conservation, which Ireland committed to last October? Is that something our new Minister for Foreign Affairs will be raising with the UN General Assembly? Or is it planned that Ireland will simply continue to renege on such responsibilities? Plus ça change . . . Yours, etc,