OCEAN Hero Awards

CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY PLEASE

Speech by

MINISTER DAMIEN ENGLISH T.D.

Minister for Housing and urban Development

at the OCEAN Hero Awards

on

21st November 2017 at the Royal College of Physicians, Kildare Street, Dublin 2 @ 13:00.

Michael John, Clean Coast volunteers, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.

It is my very great pleasure to be invited here today to present the 2017 An Taisce’s Ocean Hero Awards and I hope that you enjoyed the range of excellent and interesting contributions which were presented here this morning. Events like this provide a great opportunity to build networks and share experiences and most importantly, honour the invaluable contribution that Ireland’s coastal communities have made towards conserving our spectacular coastline.

For an island nation with one of the largest maritime areas in the European Union, the importance of the sea to Ireland cannot be overstated. We deeply value our marine and coastal environments in all their beauty and diversity, but increasingly we are aware of the growing threats from human activities that face complex marine ecosystems some of which remain unknown to science.

In this context, litter accumulating in the marine environment is a significant environmental issue facing the World today. The exact quantity of litter, including plastic in the ocean and volumes entering the ocean from waste generated on land or lost or discarded at sea is unknown and is the subject on ongoing extensive national and international research. Estimates vary widely, but there is no doubt that it exists in vast quantities with undetermined impacts and that levels of marine litter are growing at an unacceptable rate.

My Department is committed to working, both nationally and internationally, with our EU and OSPAR partners and national stakeholders, to determine the key sources of marine litter, the pathways by which it can enter the marine environment and the harm it causes. This will inform the development of our national and international measures to address the problem.

Ireland is already implementing a suite of measures identified in our Marine Strategy Framework Directive Programme of Measures to address this issue. This will be reviewed and updated on an ongoing basis as new marine litter sources and pathways are identified. Ireland will also continue to identify ways of treating plastic waste as a resource.

Ireland also supports the aims of the Plastics Strategy in the Circular Economy which aims to address the challenges posed by plastics across the value chain and take into account the entire life cycle. The implementation of programmes such as the Circular Economy package will, I believe, be a key measure in reducing marine litter inputs in the future.

Because of the transboundary nature of the problem, Ireland continues to cooperate collaboratively with international partners to try and identify the extent and impact of the problem and to develop solutions to address the issue in tandem with our EU partners under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and the OSPAR Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic.

It is important to note that the problem of marine litter is only one aspect of our marine environmental policy. We are also are working to ensure that :

• Biodiversity is maintained
• Non-indigenous species do not adversely alter the ecosystem
• The population of commercial fish species is healthy
• Elements of food webs ensure long-term abundance and reproduction
• Eutrophication (the impacts of sewage and nutrients such as fertiliser leading to loss of oxygen in the water is minimised
• Sea floor and seawaters are not altered in such a way as to harm ecosystems
• Contaminants in seafood are below safe levels
• Introduction of energy and underwater noise does not adversely affect the ecosystem

However, the problem of marine litter remains a particular focus for us at this time.

Raising public awareness and effecting societal change in environmental behaviour is very important when it comes to issues such as reducing marine litter. That is why my Department has a long-standing relationship with An Taisce and we are pleased to support initiatives administered by An Taisce, such as Clean Coasts and the Two Minute Beach Clean programmes. The recent Love Your Coast photography awards and similar projects represent just some of the many high profile and high value initiatives that An Taisce operates. These are tremendous vehicles for encouraging public participation and fostering a sense of environmental responsibility. They are considered exemplars in their field and worthy of support at home and replication abroad

It is also worth noting that exciting developments are ongoing in relation to the Green Schools module on marine environmental issues, especially litter. This is also administered by An Taisce and supported by my Department. It was piloted in a number of schools in 2016 and is currently being rolled out, on a nationwide basis, involving over 250 schools. I am convinced that this internationally ground breaking module will augment and dovetail with the current suite of green school offerings and will further educate the children of today and improve the environmental behaviours of tomorrow.

We regard these programmes as international best practice models and are keen to present them as such to our international partners in the EU and further afield. In recognition of this fact, the Government has committed to continue to support the Coast Care and Green Schools Global Citizenship Marine Environment programmes into the future. At the “Our Oceans” Conference in Malta in October, Irelandundertake to incorporate these initiatives among our formal measures to address the marine litter and environmental protection targets of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

But today is about you, the Coast Care groups, Businesses, Schools and individuals, who give of your time and energy to make the marine environment a better place. The contribution of local communities and community based enterprises cannot be overstated. Your efforts are crucial in achieving and maintaining the aesthetical appeal and the amenity and economic value of the coastal resource. The work of coast care groups is actually making a tangible difference to the quality of our coastal environment, removing nearly 200 tonnes of litter from our coast annually. As well as environmental benefits, this has tremendous social and economic benefits, not least for our tourist industry.

I understand that there are over 600 active Coast Care groups, involving 18,000 volunteers, and representing a quarter of a million hours are dotted around the Irish coast. Your tireless activities, augmented by environmentally focussed enterprises and schools are both civically admirable and environmentally beneficial, and are rightly being recognised here today.

Attaining Ocean Hero awards does not come easily. It requires a lot of commitment, a lot of effort and a lot of civic spirit, which makes the achievement all the more satisfactory and recipients here today should be justifiably proud of their achievements. These awards are a tremendous example of community school and business collaborations and local and individual pride harnessed for the improvement of the marine environment. I think that the recipients here today, in the various categories, should feel enormously fulfilled in achieving these hard-won and much-sought-after accolades.

We, as current custodians of the marine environment have a duty and a responsibility to pass on a resource to be sustainably developed and enjoyed by future generations. But there is no room for complacency and as a society, we need to redouble our efforts in identifying and implementing environmentally sustainable solutions to current and future environmental challenges.

So, in conclusion, I hope you had a thought-provoking and enlightening seminar and I hope that you had an opportunity to share information and experiences over lunch. I am confident that, with the help of marine conscious stakeholders, like yourselves, that we are well positioned to deal with the significant environmental issues ahead.

It only remains for me to congratulate all those who have been nominated and will receive awards here today. You deserve recognition for the trojan efforts that you have made to help improve the quality of the marine environment.

Go raibh maith agaibh agus comhghairdeas.

Statement by Minister English regarding Water Pipe burst in Navan

Tuesday, 1st August 2017

Like many Navan residents I am very concerned by the Main Water Pipe
burst at Proudstown early this morning. I am in my Department this
morning.  I have had discussions with officials and a full briefing on
this crucial issue for Navan.

Irish Water have assured my Department that they are working on site
to repair the major burst, and that they expect full supply to be restored
later today. I will continue to liaise with Irish Water, my
Department, and Meath County Council throughout the day to monitor
progress on the repairs.

If Irish Water fails to meet their target of today, I have asked Irish Water, my Department and Meath County Council to ensure their back up plan is then ready to implement.

ENDS

Visit to Kerry, Thursday 25th August 2016

Pleased to announce €30m investment in Kerry Central Water Supply – Safe & Secure water for 62,000 residents, 1.2 million tourists, local businesses and future inward investment.

Speech to the Dáil on Sinn Fein’s Domestic Water Charges Private Members Motion

This motion has given us the opportunity, yesterday and tonight, to hear everyone’s views on this issue in a much calmer environment than we had eight to 12 weeks ago and to talk it through. There is much common ground here. If we get tonight’s vote out of the way and people do what they have to do, we have nine months ahead in which we can discuss this and see if we can focus in on the common ground, where there is consensus.

Most speakers I have listened to on all sides of the House agree with the concept of having greater and more investment in water infrastructure. It is very clear that we all agree on that point. Everyone agrees it should be in public ownership. There is total agreement in that regard although there are different discussions on whether we should charge for it and who pays for it. Some are totally against the concept of charges because of genuine beliefs. I totally accept and understand that. Others are against them for other reasons. It is hard to accept that, but that is fair enough. Many people here are against privatisation. I listened to Deputy Gino Kenny. That was not and is not our agenda but I accept that the Deputy believes that it is. There is a bit of work here for us to explain that it is not the agenda and to work on that. That is fair enough and we accept it.

In six or nine months’ time, if Deputies want to vote to get rid of Irish Water or water charges, that can happen. The Deputies can have that vote. The process was set out by the Minister, Deputy Coveney, last night. We will have a commission that will assess information. We will share with a committee that reflects the make-up of the Dáil and is not controlled by anybody. All of us have an equal say in it and then we will have a vote in six or nine months’ time. Perhaps we could use that time when there will be no charges, because they will be paused in a couple of weeks’ time, to analyse the data, go through all this, listen to the experts, both from Ireland and all over the world, listen to our own committee members, listen to new Deputies from all backgrounds and parties, and Independents, and then have a vote on it in six or nine months’ time and make a decision then.

In the meantime, we should respect each other’s position on this and understand we have different views. The shouting and roaring has got us nowhere in the past four or five years. I accept that people oppose this purely on the way the previous Government brought it in. We accept mistakes were made but we should park all that and have the conversation. Is it right or wrong? Has Irish Water provided any useful service? I believe it has and that massive improvements have been made. The facts indicate we are saving nearly €40 million a day because of less leakage. That is a benefit which we should regard as a good achievement by Irish Water. If Members want to say Irish Water has done some bad things, fair enough. We should analyse them but there is a process in place now to bring a shape to this, achieve consensus, get agreement on some parts of it and see where we go in the coming months.

I firmly believe in the concept of a single utility to drive this agenda. Others might not but if we listen to everybody’s views, we might find that we all believe in that. I was on a council and the debate was not very functional in terms of who would have water when it came to a county boundary and so on, never mind wastewater and charging. We are talking about counties charging each other to deal with wastewater in a small country like Ireland.

There is a good deal of common ground here, so we should put aside political differences and see if we can get a solution to this because there is an opportunity in terms of whether to charge for water or not but there is also the question of gaining investment. This was not just about making money or privatisation. It was about conserving water and making sure that people think before deciding what to do with their water. I accept most people probably use water in the correct fashion. They do the right thing because it is very expensive. Others choose to wash their car or do other things with it. That is not the best choice to make in terms of using water that is treated by the State using taxpayers’ money and other charges. A charging regime might force people to think twice about that. Other countries have no access to water. I want to be clear. We do not charge people for rain water. People are charged only for water that is treated, on which we spend a fortune. In many cases, that water is equivalent to Ballygowan in that the same cost is involved. That is what we charge for.

The final point I would make, and Deputy Fitzmaurice made it earlier, is that one way or another everybody is paying for water, either through direct taxes, indirect taxes or charges. The metering has other benefits separate from charges, so I would defend metering till the cows come home. One way or another, we are paying and we should not fool people by telling them they are not paying for water because they are and we should analyse that as well.

Members talk about 90% ofpeople voting against Irish Water. They did not. That is an over-simplistic view of the election. People voted for many reasons. People in rural Ireland have been paying for water all their lives. People in rural Ireland did not just vote for this Government, Sinn Féin, Fianna Fáil or Independents. They voted for a mix of us all and yet they are paying for water in most cases. Members should not tell me that people just voted in the election to get rid of Irish Water. That is not a true reflection of the election.

I respect every Member’s mandate and the percentage of the vote they got. Anybody who got involved in the formation of this Government had a role in terms of policy influence and so on—–

—–but we had to respect the percentages. We got approximately 25% of the vote – 50 Deputies. Did all of those people vote to keep Irish Water? If the Members opposite believe they voted for them to get rid of it, that is the opposite to what we believe.

Our vote is respected as well. Let us tease out this issue and this House can decide in nine months’ time in a normal manner.