Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 115: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the position regarding the preparation of the review of the national biodiversity plan that is being carried out; if it is intended to implement all outstanding actions in the current plan before the new plan is adopted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14469/08]

Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)
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Question 121: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the position in relation to the 91 actions listed in the national biodiversity plan; the actions and the number of these that are the responsibility of his Department that have been implemented; the actions and the number that are the responsibility of the other Government Departments and agencies that have, according to any oversight carried out by his Department, been implemented; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14429/08]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 115 and 121 together.

In November 2005, my Department published a review, setting out the implementation status of the 91 actions in the National Biodiversity Plan, and copies of the review are available in the Oireachtas Library. This indicated that 83 of the actions had either been fully implemented or that implementation was ongoing. Out of the 91 actions in the Plan my Department has lead or partial responsibility for the implementation of 58 actions. Of these, 55 have either been fully implemented or implementation is ongoing. My Department is currently coordinating the preparation of a new National Biodiversity Plan, which will cover the five-year period 2008 — 2012. A public consultation process has taken place and the content of the Plan is being developed in association with other Government Departments. My Department is also working with the Biodiversity Stakeholders Forum, which operates as a Standing Committee of Comhar (the National Sustainable Development Council), who are providing independent input into the development of the Plan. As part of the process for developing the new Plan, a further review of the status of implementation of each of the 91 actions in the current plan is underway and my Department is consulting other relevant Government Departments in this regard. These actions will be included and continued, as appropriate, in the new Plan.