Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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335. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if her Department and public bodies/agencies that operate under her remit have policies in place to install artificial structures that provide shelter and habitat space for wild species, such as, but not limited to, insect hotels, bat boxes, nesting towers and beehives; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24271/23]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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As part of its Climate Action Road Map my Department has established a Departmental Green Team and also local Green Teams to drive energy efficiency projects for the Department as an energy user across its five offices.

One of the key strands of this action is in relation to biodiversity. There are beehives on the roof of the Department's Offices in Kildare Street, which are shared with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, and work is at an advanced stage for the installation of beehives on the roof of Government Offices, Killarney. The Killarney Green Team has also organised a walk and talk in Killarney National Park by park staff on the subject of encouraging biodiversity.

As the local green teams advance their work programmes I am expecting further projects to emerge that support biodiversity.

In addition to the matters referenced by the Deputy, I have initiated a number of policies in my Department aimed at supporting climate action and biodiversity. These include the collaboration between my Department and the Department of Environment, Climate Action and Communications, on the Creative Climate Action fund as part of the Creative Ireland programme, and a dedicated climate action round of Sound and Vision funding by Coimisiún na Meán.The Sports Capital and Equipment Programme in my Department also has a specific focus on sustainable development of sports facilities, including installation of LED lighting, and I hope to shortly launch a grant programme to assist arts centres in making their buildings more environmentally sustainable. Officials are also working on the development of a new tourism policy which will have sustainability at its core I hope to launch this policy later this year.

In relation to bodies and agencies under my aegis, these are operational matters for the bodies in question but I can assure the Deputy that all bodies under the aegis of the Department are aware of the importance of supporting biodiversity and climate action, including for example Fáilte Ireland, which is undertaking significant work with Bord na Móna on rehabilitation of bogs to restore biodiversity and provide sustainable tourism experiences.

The National Cultural Institutions, as part of their commitment to the implementation of the public sector roadmap under the Climate Action Plan, will be implementing a range of actions including the establishment of green teams. They also play an important role in highlighting the climate and biodiversity emergency with the following highlights from their 2023 programming:

- As part of its role in showing the important links between our cultural heritage and our biodiversity, the National Museum of Ireland is presenting a new exhibition, The Artist, the Saint and the Murmur of the Bees, curated by National Museum’s Keeper of Folklife, Clodagh Doyle in collaboration with Natural History curator and Entomologist, Dr Aidan O Hanlon.

- Additionally, the Irish Museum of Modern Art will launch its second Eco-festival at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham in September.

- As part of a Department supported acquisitions programme, both IMMA and the Crawford Art Gallery are acquiring contemporary art works on a range of themes including the climate emergency.