EU nature restoration hangs in the balance. It is unclear at this stage what the ultimate law will look like after the final vote was postponed at the EU environment committee this morning. If it is undermined, there will be plenty of blame to go round. The Minister's party's coalition partner, Fine Gael, has been among the chief critics of the proposed law. Instead of supporting the measures, the Taoiseach has slated them. He has propagated fears that farmers will be forced to rewet their land as part of the law. He has done so despite the fact that he knows, or at least should know, that this is not true. The Taoiseach is not alone in cynically politicking on this. Sinn Féin MEP Chris MacManus also joined in and voted against one of the of the most important pieces of legislation in EU history at the agriculture committee. Like the Taoiseach, he chose to pit farmers against nature and stated there is too much ambiguity about the impact the law would have on farmers. If there is any ambiguity, most of it has been caused by MEPs like Mr. MacManus and the Taoiseach, who chose to ramp up fears rather than alleviate them. Also centrally engaged in project fear was Fianna Fáil MEP Billy Kelleher. He has been at the forefront of Irish media in recent weeks arguing that the law threatens the livelihoods of farmers. Mr. Kelleher has made these claims in the absence of any evidence. In fact, the nature restoration law aims to provide new funding streams for farmers to ensure the viability of farms long into the future.

I hope the Minister is as concerned about this matter as I am. Let us be clear that there is no future for farming unless we protect our ecosystems and biodiversity. I should know because I am a farmer. My mother is also a farmer. I have lived and worked on a farm for my entire life. I am deeply committed to ensuring that farmers have a future in this country. That means being deeply committed to protecting our critically endangered habitats and biodiversity. I do not see these things as being in any way in conflict with each other. It is quite the opposite. They are intrinsically linked. I have to say that the kind of dangerous distortions about nature restoration coming from some in government and in the main opposition party are worrying. We only have to look at the results of yesterday's Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, report for evidence of the huge problems we face. The EPA report found unacceptably high levels of pollution in our rivers and lakes due to human activities. We cannot credibly claim we want to deal with that and with all of the other immense climate challenges while arguing against the nature restoration law.

The Minister has responsibility for biodiversity in his Department. Is he also concerned about the scaremongering from his own party and from Fine Gael and Sinn Féin about nature restoration? Are Fianna Fáil MEPs going to vote for nature restoration – a law with teeth?

I thank Deputy Cairns for raising this important issue. I believe, as does the Government, that the proposed regulation to which she refers provides an opportunity for transformative change with regard to achieving nature restoration in Ireland and in the EU as a whole. That is absolutely to be welcomed. She made reference to yesterday's EPA report and the challenges we face when it comes to water quality in watercourses across the country. Healthy ecosystems provide food and food security, clean water, carbon sinks and protection against natural disasters caused by climate change.

As previously outlined, Ireland remains absolutely supportive of the ambition and principles underpinning the regulations. There is a challenge involved in meeting the ambition proposed, and that remains significant. One need only look to the debates that are happening across the European Union and in the European Parliament to see that is the case. Among the challenges we face are the extremely tight timeframes for quantification of targets and measures for the preparation of national restoration plans and the delivery of targets. There will be a need for a considerable level of scientific data collection, collation and analysis, including emerging information from the land use review. The resources required for preparing, implementing and monitoring the national restoration plan are not currently in place.

Anything farmers will be asked to do will be voluntary, and they will be supported financially in the context of any measures that need to be taken. The Deputy is right to raise that issue, because it is not a question of pitting farmers against biodiversity. My experience in north County Dublin and across the country is that farmers, in the main, are protectors of the environment and biodiversity. They understand it, as do our communities. For argument's sake, we can take the success of the agri-climate rural environment scheme, ACRES. Some 46,000 farmers signed up to its largest ever agri-environmental scheme. This shows that farmers are leading from the front and playing their part. They are being rewarded for taking measures to combat climate change. Rewetting is one of the many tools, and this is a matter in respect of which there has been scaremongering. It is one of the many tools to meet our restoration commitments. Under the Council's proposals for regulation the extent of rewetting required would be at the discretion of the member state. Ireland will be relying on State lands, such as those owned by Coillte and Bord na Móna, to facilitate the majority of rewetting required. There should be no fear in the sector of measures being taken without individual farmers or farming communities having the choice to op in voluntarily. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy McConalogue, has outlined both the significant flexibility under the Council's proposals and the fact that agriculture production is not expected to be significantly or adversely affected. State lands will contribute almost all of the initial commitment in this space. This is an important time for the member states of the European Union to act together positively with regard to nature restoration. There are discussions and debates happening, which is appropriate.

I thank the Minister for his reply, but he has again made clear one of the major problems we face, namely, that there is no shortage of supportive rhetoric from the Government but very few results. We are repeatedly told the Government is committed and has passed one of the most ambitious climate action laws in the world. However, we are missing all of our targets. Our emissions are going up. Our rivers and lakes are choked with pollution. Our biodiversity is in crisis. More than half of native plant species are in decline. More than 60% of Ireland's wild bird species are in decline. The failure of successive Governments to address biodiversity loss has left us with little time to reverse it. The time to act is now. I agree with the Minister that farmers know exactly the risks they are facing in terms of biodiversity loss. They know those risks better than anybody. They are constantly underestimated and spoken for as one homogenous group in this Chamber, when that is not the case. Actions will speak louder than words. I return to the question I asked in my first contribution. Will Fianna Fáil MEPs vote for the nature restoration law?

Ireland has not been on the sidelines in this, nor indeed has this Government. We brought forward the most comprehensive climate action plan. We underpinned that in law.

All the targets have been missed.

Some parties decided to vote against it. Reversing the loss in biodiversity and tackling climate change is the single biggest challenge the world faces. Doing so is this generation's responsibility. This is probably the last generation that can actually do something about it. There will be tough choices. I want to give the Deputy a couple of examples of where we have already moved.

I asked the Minister a question.

We have made substantial progress in delivering over 13,000 ha of rehabilitated peatlands in Bord na Móna ownership. The Climate Action Plan 2023 has committed to a further rehabilitation of 77,000 ha by 2030. There are many measures being undertaken and these are just examples. I attended the Committee on Environment and Climate Action this morning for my own Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and we were looking at what we are doing to ensure we are reducing emissions within the housing and local government sectors through retrofitting measures. This Government supports the nature restoration law. The European Parliament is separate from this Parliament.

All I would say to the Deputy is that I agree completely as to the importance of this matter and that Europe acts as a whole in a very considered but also in a very effective way.