Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South-West, Fianna Fail)

It is a privilege to address the House today to mark National Biodiversity Week, my first since being appointed Minister of State with responsibility for nature, heritage and biodiversity. This week continues to grow in reach and impact, with over 350 events happening nationwide. It is a time not just to celebrate Ireland's rich natural heritage, but also to reflect, take stock and recommit to the urgent task of protecting biodiversity. Since taking up this position, I have been deeply moved by the people I have met across Ireland - farmers, conservationists, local leaders, volunteers and of course National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, staff - who are dedicating themselves to the care of our natural environment. Their passion, knowledge and sense of responsibility are both humbling and inspiring.

In 2019, this House declared a climate and biodiversity emergency. The 2020 programme for Government responded with the most ambitious nature commitments ever made by an Irish Government. Now, as in the 2025 programme, we are accelerating our efforts to meet the scale of the challenge. Since 2020, Ireland has made substantial and measurable progress in biodiversity protection, driven in large part by the renewed capacity and leadership of the NPWS. A major step forward came with the publication of Ireland’s fourth national biodiversity action plan, NBAP, in January 2024. This plan represents a whole-of-government, whole-of-society approach to the governance and conservation of biodiversity. For the first time in the history of the State, the NBAP is underpinned by law, following the Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2023, which mandates both the legal requirement to have an NBAP and to report on its implementation and progress.

Supporting the NPWS is key to supporting biodiversity in Ireland. Since 2020, core funding has increased from €28.7 million to €78 million in 2025; staffing has grown from 349 to 577; and the strategic action plan for renewal, published in 2022, has been delivered. The NPWS now manages eight national parks, including two new additions since 2020, as well as a large network of nature reserves. By making strategic land acquisitions, safeguarding corncrake habitats and expanding Connemara National Park, we are protecting endangered species while promoting sustainable tourism. The NPWS conservation measures programme is developing and implementing conservation measures on special areas of conservation, SACs, and special protection areas in the Natura 2000 network in Ireland, and addressing threats and pressures to the qualifying interest habitats and species in these sites, with conservation measures implemented at over 90 Natura 2000 sites in 2024. The NPWS farm plan scheme continues to grow and to engage with farmers and landowners to support nature on the land, through encouragement, advice and financial supports, with a goal of over 500 farm plans in progress by the end of 2025. The NPWS is also continuing to support community initiatives through the peatlands and Natura community engagement scheme. In 2025, funding of over €800,000 has been awarded to 45 community-led projects.

The local biodiversity action fund, LBAF, operated by the NPWS, has delivered nearly €11 million to local authorities since 2018, supporting 262 projects across 31 local authorities this year alone. Most local authorities now have a biodiversity officer, thanks to the Heritage Council's rollout of the biodiversity officer programme. We have also launched biodiversity duty guidelines to help public bodies to embed biodiversity into everyday decision making. We are seeing powerful partnerships emerge. Coillte and the NPWS have signed an memorandum of understanding for greater collaboration on nature projects. Bord na Móna continues peatland rehabilitation, with over 19,000 of 33,000 ha restored. The Business for Biodiversity platform is fostering private sector engagement. We are developing Ireland's nature restoration plan under the new EU Nature Restoration Law. Cross-border work continues through the shared island and PEACEPLUS initiatives. In addition, our built and archaeological heritage, including vernacular buildings, castle ruins, dry stone walls and earthworks, play an important role in the protection of biodiversity. Increasingly we are experiencing the co-benefits of measures and schemes which lead to improved awareness, care and protection of our built and archaeological heritage while also delivering significant benefits for biodiversity, such as through our community monuments fund, ACRES and farming community-led schemes. Farmers as generational custodians of our remarkable heritage landscape need to be acknowledged and fully supported in this regard.

These achievements offer a powerful snapshot of the heritage division’s enduring commitment to safeguarding biodiversity and restoring nature across Ireland. Under the leadership of the Minister, Deputy Browne, our Department is supporting this work through strong policy, targeted funding and clear direction. We in government cannot do this alone. Real, lasting progress depends on strong partnerships with communities, farmers, local authorities, schools, youth organisations, NGOs and the private sector. A whole-of-society approach is essential if we are to meet our targets for 2030 and beyond. As someone newly appointed to this role, I have been encouraged by what I have seen but I am also realistic about the scale of the work ahead. Biodiversity loss cannot be reversed overnight. It requires long-term commitment, sound planning, investment and sustained action. Our efforts are grounded in science, but must also be rooted in local knowledge and lived experience. The best outcomes are achieved when scientific expertise, traditional practices and community insight work together.

Today also marks Natura 2000 Day, when Ireland joins the EU in celebrating the world’s largest network of protected sites - over 27,000 across Europe, covering nearly 20% of land and 10% of marine areas. To celebrate, the NPWS is hosting a series of events across the country, including at St. Gobnet’s Wood SAC in County Cork on 22 and 23 May. Natura 2000 sites highlight some of the finest examples of the habitats and species we are committed to protecting. This day is also a chance to acknowledge the incredible restoration work happening across Ireland. For example, raised and blanket bogs are being actively restored through various projects. Old oak woodlands are being cleared of invasive species like cherry laurel in the Glen of the Downs SAC in County Wicklow. There is also the clearing of rhododendron at Glenveagh National Park in County Donegal, which is at such an extent that we are starting to see the amazing regeneration and new growth of native species.

I am pleased to highlight some of the fantastic events happening in County Cork during National Biodiversity Week, including a citizen science workshop at the Lifetime Lab and a bat walk in Blarney on 23 May. There will be marine biodiversity sessions at Fountainstown beach and birdwatching at the Lough in Cork city on 24 May.

Too often, biodiversity is seen as something external, separate from human life, but the truth is clear. Our choices directly affect the health of ecosystems. The loss of biodiversity does not just harm other species; it undermines our well-being, our food security and our resilience in the face of climate change. This Department remains firmly committed to halting biodiversity loss and reversing it. Our efforts must be rooted in science, informed by local knowledge and supported by community energy. We continue to support LIFE projects at European level, which have delivered significant positive outcomes across Ireland. At the same time, it is both fitting and essential for this Government to continue to invest in national projects, particularly those led by the NPWS. The valuable work carried out within our national parks and on our nature reserves supports biodiversity not only through direct conservation, but also by offering educational opportunities and increasing public access to nature. As Minister of State, I have seen at first hand the extraordinary work being done. Farmers are restoring hedgerows, communities are planting for pollinators, landowners are rewetting bogs and schools are instilling a sense of environmental responsibility in our children. These local actions are vital but they must be matched by strong national policy, sustained investment and effective enforcement. The national biodiversity action plan gives us a roadmap, but it will take all of us, across every sector and every community, to ensure that Ireland's natural heritage not only survives but thrives.

I am under no illusion. We have not solved the biodiversity crisis. Species are still in trouble. Habitats are still under threat and many trends are going the wrong way. However, we have an opportunity to fix that. We are putting together a nature restoration plan and we should use it as an opportunity first and foremost to improve outcomes for biodiversity, but it should also be done in a collaborative way. We need to include landowners, farmers, stakeholders and conservationists. Collaboration is the key. That collaboration is why we have set up the biodiversity council, chaired by Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin, which has those stakeholders, including conservationists, NGOs and farmers. It will not be a top-down approach. We need to do this from the grassroots. It has to be bottom-up. We have to listen so that we come up with a plan that is beneficial to biodiversity, species and habitats, but is also right for the people. In doing that we will remove any misinformation. Already, we are seeing some of that misinformation emerge, especially in the area of rewetting. Some people would have you believe that all farmers in Ireland will have to rewet their land. That is absolutely not the case. Rewetting, under the nature restoration plan, will be done on State-owned land and any rewetting outside State-owned land will be done on a completely voluntary basis and there will be incentives. That has to be clear.

I have seen first hand the results of collaboration between farmers and conservationists. It can be absolutely incredible, particularly for the LIFE projects I mentioned earlier, such as the Burren LIFE programme, the LIFE on machair project or the corncrake LIFE project, which is an extraordinary example of how farmers and conservationists can work together with amazing results. Corncrake LIFE was a difficult journey at the start. There was distrust between the conservationists and the farmers. It was a frosty relationship, but now we are the stage where those same farmers and conservationists are having cups of tea in the farmers' kitchens and depending on one another. They need one another. It has not only resulted in a good outcome for farmers with them benefiting financially, but we are seeing it have a benefit for an extraordinary bird, the corncrake, that has such an important place in Ireland's history. We are seeing their numbers increase significantly in some areas because of this collaboration. It is a model for how Ireland should move forward to benefit nature.

At the Annagh Marsh reserve in County Mayo, a simple measure, predator-proof fencing, has absolutely transformed the area. A marsh formerly depleted of any biodiversity is now bustling with wildlife and buzzing with insects. You cannot hear yourself for the sound of skylarks singing at this time of year. On every post, there is a snipe displaying. It is an extraordinary wildlife experience and it has happened through these simple measures, including collaboration. We can do this. There is a way forward and young people are leading the way. Their voices are powerful. One of my favourite parts of my role has been visiting schools, talking to children and listening to their passion and ideas for nature. We need to nurture that and make sure the future generation is our generation of ecologists who look after nature.

This is National Biodiversity Week, but as far as I am concerned, every week should be biodiversity week. I suggest that for people's sanity and mental health they spend two hours in nature. It will be good for them. That message could go to a lot of people in this House. It is a stressful job. We know that as TDs. If Deputies spend two hours in nature, they will not regret it. That goes for the general public as well. Nature is good for us. We can get benefits from nature so I suggest that this week and every week from now, people get a pair of binoculars and head to their local estuary to spend a couple of hours trying to find waders or tell the difference between a curlew and a whimbrel, or head to their local patch of woodland to listen to the dawn chorus. They do not have to try to identify the different species; they can just let it wash over them and they will get serious enjoyment out of it. Perhaps they could join a local biodiversity group or go kicksampling in a stream where they will find the incredible monsters that live beneath the surface. It is rewarding. There are many things we could do, such as heading to a headland in County Cork, for example. That would be a good place to start. At this time of year, if people spend time there and give it time, they will see the most amazing things. Basking sharks can be seen at this time of year, and dolphins. There is a chance people could see one of the great whales, finback whales or humpback whales. Give nature a chance. The more people immerse themselves in nature, the more they will appreciate it and the more of us who appreciate nature, the better the outcomes for nature. Happy biodiversity week.

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