Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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Question 162: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the action he is taking to promote wider co-operation on North-South and British-Irish biodiversity strategies and plans; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5278/06]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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My Department is undertaking a number of actions to promote wider co-operation on North-South and British-Irish biodiversity strategies and plans. My Department is represented on the Northern Ireland biodiversity group and nominations are being sought for reciprocal representation on our biodiversity forum, the establishment of which I announced recently. These complementary structures are charged with the task of overseeing the implementation of the NI biodiversity strategy and our national biodiversity plan, in recognition of the fact that the island must be treated as one biogeographical entity in these matters.

The national biodiversity plan also contains a number of specific actions which are intended to be developed through a joint or co-ordinated North-South approach and a number of worthwhile initiatives have already been taken by my Department. A jointly commissioned report on invasive alien species — one of the greatest threats to biodiversity — has been produced. We are now moving towards implementation of its recommendations, which will be jointly funded by my Department and the Environment and Heritage Service of Northern Ireland.

In 2005, four North-South species action plans were published — for the corncrake, the Irish hare, the pollan freshwater fish and the Irish lady's tresses orchid. Work on the implementation of these species action plans has commenced and, during 2006, it is envisaged that work will continue on the production of further plans for the red squirrel, trichomanes or Killarney fern and a number of bat species. A project has also been established for the propagation of the threatened freshwater pearl mussel in Ireland, with the assistance of expertise developed by pioneering research in Northern Ireland. In addition to these specific actions, regular liaison meetings are held between officials of the national parks and wildlife service of my Department and their counterparts in the Department of the Environment and the environment and heritage service in Northern Ireland to share experiences and explore further possibilities for co-operation.

Turning to the British-Irish dimension, an informal structure has been in place for some years whereby officials of the national parks and wildlife service of my Department and representatives at both government department and agency level from the United Kingdom meet twice a year to discuss a wide biodiversity agenda, to share experiences and to agree on co-operative actions where warranted. An Ireland/Wales INTERREG IIIA/ERDF funded project on integrated constructed wetlands is progressing, with work continuing in Ireland and in Wales.

Informal contacts take place on matters of common interest with agencies such as English Nature. Moreover, ongoing informal contacts are at present being maintained in regard to the risk of the spread of avian influenza by migratory wild birds.