Mr. Ken Norton:

The all-Ireland pollinator plan was drafted in 2015 and runs to 2020. It was drawn up with the National Biodiversity Data Centre. The Federation of Irish Beekeepers Associations is one of the signatories to the plan, as are Bord Bia, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Heritage Council. Various other Government-funded organisations are involved. They attend various events, as we do, explaining hedgerows for pollinators, how to create and manage a wildflower meadow and how to create wild pollinator nesting habitats. They also try to get the farming community involved in planting more plants and flowers on farmland. The plan is intended to encourage everybody to get involved. The initiative has also been rolled out in schools and colleges. There are various versions, including a junior version, and a website, www.pollinators.ie. Most of the material is free. Users can download it and print it out or get a hard copy as they wish.

Our main issue is to try to promote the pollinator plan more. When the plan first appeared it featured every day in newspapers, on television and so on. As with everything, however, funding ran out and only pops up now every now and again. The plan needs to be in the public's face so that people can see what to do, for example, they should not cut their grass every two minutes, as a lawn is not a football pitch, and they should let weeds grow as they benefit insects.