Minister of State for heritage and electoral reform, Malcolm Noonan, has welcomed MEPs voting to adopt the proposed EU Nature Restoration Law in the European Parliament today (Wednesday, July 12).
336 MEPs voted in favour of a revised version of the draft law, while 300 were against and 13 abstained during a tense sitting of the parliament in Strasbourg, France.
The outcome of the vote resulted in jubilant scenes from MEPs who had strongly supported the proposed law.
The EU Parliament’s largest political group, the European People’s Party (EPP), had initially sought to have the law rejected outright.
However, this was defeated by a tight margin with 324 MEPS voting against rejecting the law outright and 312 voting in favour, while 12 MEPs abstained.
The proposed law will not proceed to the final stage of negotiations, known as the ‘trilogues’, involving the EU Parliament, Commission and Council.
Nature restoration
Green Party Minister Malcolm Noonan said that the outcome of today’s vote is an “important step forward” to restore nature across the EU.
“This wouldn’t have been possible without the tireless and passionate efforts of so many across the EU and at home in Ireland,” he said.
“I know that there are some communities who will be very concerned at today’s news.
“Let me be clear: Nature restoration can only be delivered with the full support of the farming, forestry and fishing communities who own and/or manage our lands and seas.
“This support is something that, with the help of colleagues across government, I intend to earn,” Noonan said.
“My objective now is to find the common ground between the farmers, foresters, fishers, NGOs [non-governmental organisations], businesses, scientists and the public to develop a National Restoration Plan that will benefit people and nature in Ireland.
“I will do this through a broad and deep public participation process, informed by robust ecological and socio-economic impact assessments in order to enable honest debate,” the minister added.
Noonan also said that he will continue to push for a separate national fund to underpin the implementation of long-term nature restoration measures.
The minister said that the EU Parliament had echoed the Dáil’s support for the Nature Restoration law as agreed by the European Council.
“It’s a great day for nature, for society and for our collective future on this beautiful planet,” he said.
Meanwhile, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), Pippa Hackett described today’s decision by the EU Parliament as a “significant step”.
The Green Party senator said that it is “critical that the final text delivers for nature and that all sides in Ireland come together to make it work for communities across the country”.