No. For those reasons I am not accepting the amendment.

This gets to the nub of how prescriptive we get in primary legislation. This is about not tying our hands in respect of the strategic environmental assessment and that process. Serious consideration will have to be given to this species. I am familiar with it and I have a tree on my land at home, which is in an old graveyard. That is where the individual specimens tend to be located.

They may have been put in place where people could not afford a headstone back in the day, unfortunately. I know the danger yew trees pose to livestock, but the point here, in the context of the connection with hazel and the holly, is that the Department wishes to keep this option open and not rule it out at this stage.

Serious consideration will be given to this aspect, however, and it will not be mandatory.

On this amendment, which proposes that hawthorn and blackthorn be added to the list of native species specified in Schedule 2, the list of native trees specified there includes all native tree species. Hawthorn and blackthorn are considered shrub species and therefore they have not been considered for inclusion in this scheme, along with other native tree species such as elder and spindle. It is important, however, to note that since the introduction of agri-environmental schemes in 1994 the establishment of 6,605 …

I thank Senators for their comments. On Senator Boylan's point, Scots pine is still a recommended species in our afforestation scheme but monitoring of that disease is ongoing. The Senator highlighted the damage the likes of Dutch elm disease have done before. We are acutely aware of the challenges in those areas and are keeping a close eye on them.

Will the Senator say that again?

The response I have here is that full consideration of the types of soil to be afforested will be given during the strategic assessment and the appropriate assessment. It is about the land types for afforestation. Documents set out the potential eligibility of land for support under the scheme. The response refers more to the suitability of the land in terms of individual species. The reference to birch was as an example that naturally occurs on peat. I am not sure beyond that. I will ask for clarification from the…

I will bring the point on licensing back to the Minister of State, Senator Hackett. On section 8, it is an amendment to Schedule 3 of the Act of 2013. The Department seeks to licence marts by way of secondary legislation to ensure the health and welfare of animals in marts.

It is by way of secondary legislation. That will come through. I do not have more details. Maybe it can be revisited on Report Stage.

I have what I have in front of me. No amendment was put down in relation to this. I would probably have a more detailed note if there had been amendments put down on it.

The detailed view of the provisions of the Bill has been discussed here and on previous occasions. The legislation will prohibit fur farming and makes provision for a fair and reasonable scheme of compensation that my Department will make available to the three farm businesses affected by the prohibition which currently operate legitimately. The forestry provisions introduce a limited exemption from a licence around small-scale tree planting which takes place as part of a scheme. This can contribute to Ireland's ta…

I thank Senator Boyhan for giving me the opportunity to address the Seanad on the Dublin eastern bypass corridor from Booterstown to Sandyford and the possibility of alternative uses being considered. I am sure he will acknowledge that there are a number of different actors within this sphere and that a lot of work has taken place over the past number of years. That work remains ongoing. The national development plan identified the southern port access road as one of the projects to be progressed through early plan…

The material that was prepared for me by the Department of Transport does not deal with the question of the use of the corridor for housing. That is more properly a matter for the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. In regard to the wider active travel measures being promoted by the Government, I am pleased that this year has seen another increase in the Department of Transport's overall funding for cycling and walking facilities, in line with the Government's prioritisation of active travel and gr…

I thank Senator Murphy for clearly articulating the importance of the N61 project. The Minister for Transport has responsibility for overall policy and Exchequer funding in respect of the national roads programme. I am responding on his behalf. Once funding arrangements have been put in place with TII under the Roads Acts 1993 to 2015 and in line with the national development plan, NDP, the planning, design, improvement and upgrading of individual national roads is then a matter for TII, in conjunction with the loc…

Senator Murphy can rest assured that I will bring the points he articulated clearly here about the importance of this road to the Minister. Approximately €616 million of Exchequer capital funds have been provided to TII for national roads in 2022. In line with the NDP and Government policy, TII is allocating national roads funding to local authorities for 2022 in a manner which seeks to achieve the following outcomes: protection and renewal of the existing national road network; progress major projects in or near c…

I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley. I thank Senator O'Loughlin for raising this important matter. As the Senator will be aware, Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools, DEIS, is the main policy instrument of the Department of Education to tackle educational disadvantage at school level. DEIS schools benefit from a range of supports, including a DEIS grant, access to home school community liaison officers and a school completion programme, in addition to priority acce…

In the draft response I received, there was no reference to Scoil Na Naomh Uilig but I will bring it back to the Minister's office. The school will have the appeals mechanism there. I emphasise that the DEIS programme focuses on targeting additional resources towards schools with the highest concentration of students at risk of educational disadvantage. The Department is committed to ensuring all schools are treated equally and fairly in the manner they are assessed for inclusion in the DEIS programme. There will b…

It is an interesting one. I can most definitely empathise with Deputy Moynihan's points regarding the importance of community facilities. I am taking this response on behalf of my colleague, the Minister of State with responsibility for local government and planning, Deputy Burke. The title of this Topical Issue matter was picked up and taken by the planning department. The points raised by the Deputy, however, are much broader than the planning aspect necessarily. I accept completely what he said. I am not going t…

Again, I thank Deputy Moynihan for raising this important topic today. I concur and I will bring these points back to the Minister of State, Deputy Burke, and his officials in the planning department. There should be uniformity of approach here. Community groups looking to go through the planning process to deliver a community facility should not have different experiences depending on what local authority they are in or the mood or approach of the relevant chief executive, director of services and officials throug…