Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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435. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the total cost of funds provided to complete hedgerow surveys; the average cost per successful applicant to complete a hedgerow survey; and the median cost per successful applicant to complete a hedgerow survey in 2020, 2021, 2022 and to date in 2023, in tabular form, as part of the local biodiversity action fund. [55035/23]

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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436. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the total cost of funds provided to local authorities to complete hedgerow surveys; the average cost per local authority to complete a hedgerow survey; the median cost per local authority to complete a hedgerow survey in 2020, 2021, 2022 and to date in 2023, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55036/23]

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 435 and 436 together.

My Department does not have responsibility for hedgerow surveys. Teagasc has undertaken hedgerow mapping on a national scale, and a number of local authorities have commissioned hedgerow surveys at county level.

The Local Biodiversity Action Fund (LBAF) operated by my Department provides funding to assist local authority biodiversity officers, or heritage officers in local authorities without a biodiversity officer, with the implementation of projects that promote actions contained in the National Biodiversity Action Plan. A fund of €3m was made available in 2023, double the amount available in 2022. 11 local authorities have used the funding to carry out hedgerows survey from 2020 to 2023, as outlined below.