Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I have a couple of final questions on which I wish to get the views and opinions of the witnesses. Earlier, we spoke about the planning system and the interaction it has with the protection of nature. We are doing a planning Bill at the moment. The witnesses will be aware of that. While there was not a lot of mention of biodiversity and nature protection in the planning Bill when the first draft came out in January 2023, they have been integrated into it. Subsequently, the national biodiversity action plan was issued on a statutory footing. We now have sections in the planning Bill under the national planning framework, the national planning statement and the regional spatial strategies about the pursuit, achievement and integration of the national biodiversity action into the various subsidiary plans as well as the preservation and protection of the environment and the integration of the national biodiversity action plan.

In the witnesses' view, in the context of nature protection and the work the National Parks and Wildlife Service does, what is the impact of having the biodiversity action plan on a statutory footing and stated in primary legislation?