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

I get to speak today on investment in our nature and built heritage. The exciting news is that, for the first time ever, funding for nature and heritage exceeds a quarter of a billion. That is extraordinary and something we could not have thought possible a number of years ago. Now, for the first time, we exceed that figure. To put it into context, that represents a 15% increase for nature and heritage in general and brings funding for the sector to €256 million. It is about a two and half-fold increase from 2021, for example, when funding was under €100 million. It also represents a 20% increase for the National Parks and Wildlife Service. This is significant because, for the first time ever, funding for the National Parks and Wildlife Service exceeds €100 million.

This is also massive the context of what we have coming down the line from a nature restoration point of view. The nature restoration plan will be published in the middle of 2026. That is going to have some significant challenges. It means we have to restore significant sections of our habitats across the country. It is all about large-scale habitat restoration. It allows us to acquire land, expand our national parks and improve wildlife, nature and biodiversity within those national parks. It allows us to manage our many designated areas or SACs and SPAs. It allows us to continue the incredible work we have been doing on species recovery, such as the corncrake, which we brought back from the brink with Corncrake LIFE, and through the breeding waders European Innovation Partnership, EIP, where we have seen species like curlew and other breeding waders come back from the brink. The plan allows us to do that on a larger scale. It also allows us to deal with invasive species such as the Asian hornet, which gained so many headlines over the summer. It allows us to put in place management and control plans to ensure that these invasive species cannot get hold in Ireland. It also allows us to deal with things like rhododendron, which is a plague along our western seaboard. The possibilities that this historic budget for nature allows us to do are incredible. I am excited for the potential it brings.

On the heritage side, we see a 10% increase for built heritage and the National Monuments Service. This allows communities across Ireland - north, south, east and west - to invest in national landmarks, significant buildings, churches, castles and houses of significance within their areas through the built heritage scheme, the national monuments scheme, the community monuments fund and the historic structures fund. This is very important.

There is €41 million in the budget for water quality. That allows us to do things like the farming for water EIP. It allows us to improve water within urban areas and to invest in rural water programmes. It is a significant win for biodiversity, nature and heritage.

See this speech in context