‘Council goes bats’, but that’s not the real issue

IN response to your report headlined ‘Council goes bats with taxpayers’ money’ (November 28), it is important for the public to appreciate that spending public money on nature conservation is not a waste of resources.

The variety of life on earth, known as biodiversity, is vital for providing clean air, water, fertile soils and flood control as well as food and recreation, ie, the support systems that make life possible. In Ireland, biodiversity underpins the tourism, agriculture and marine-based economies, and was estimated by the Government to be worth at least €2.6 billion each year.

This is provided free of charge and generally goes unnoticed.

How the Lesser Horseshoe Bat helps in providing these essential services may not always be clear, but it is well known the more species that are present in a landscape, the better it functions in doing so.

The degradation of our water quality is proof of how this can happen and the consequent costs of remediation to the taxpayer. This case does not represent a choice between bats and housing. Our natural heritage has long been undervalued by society and the relatively small amount of public money that is spent on conservation is more than recouped through the bounty that nature contributes to our daily lives.

Pádraic Fogarty

Chairman

Irish Wildlife Trust

Sigmund Business Centre

93A Lagan Road

Glasnevin

Dublin 11