Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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401. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the fund available in 2022 for the farm plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53193/21]

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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I am pleased that, as part of the overall allocation of just under €6bn for the Department, heritage funding for 2022 will amount to €133.5m (a 36% increase on the previous year) across capital and current, contributing to the conservation of Ireland’s heritage for present and future generations.

The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), which has responsibility for biodiversity, is the single largest component of that allocation, at over €47m. This represents a total increase of 64% since I became Minister – bringing funding for biodiversity and nature back up to a level not seen since before the financial crisis.

Discussions on the distribution of this allocation across NPWS work areas, schemes and programmes, including farm plans, are ongoing, having regard to a range of priorities, workforce planning and existing commitments.