Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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Implementation of the National Landscape Strategy is implicit in many of the actions taken across the built and natural heritage sphere. The current work being undertaken across Government in the context of the land use review will supplant and overtake that strategy.

Meantime, my Department has made very substantial progress on issues of habitat and wildlife protection, which are tied closely to landscape. In particular, I would emphasise the recently launched 4th National Biodiversity Action Plan, which sets the national biodiversity agenda for the period 2023-2030 and aims to deliver the transformative changes required to the ways in which we value and protect nature. This, along with the proposed Nature Restoration Law due to be ratified later this year, will continue to support the delivery of national nature, water, landscape and climate objectives, while at the same time realising co-benefits for value creation in rural economies and communities.

The key enabling action in the National Landscape Strategy is the completion of a National Landscape Character Assessment, which would complement the Local Character Assessments already prepared by Local Authorities. This is also a National Policy Objective set out in the National Planning Framework (NPF). As part of the ongoing NPF Review, my Department is currently considering options for how best to carry out such an assessment.