Ciarán Ahern (Dublin South West, Labour)
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922. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the means by which he will encourage and incentivise local authorities to deliver a greater focus and budget on nature restoration; and the enforcement measures available should local authorities not comply with their obligations in this regard. [11930/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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Ireland’s 4th National Biodiversity Action Plan (NBAP) was published in January 2024. The Plan strives for a “whole of government, whole of society” approach to the governance and conservation of biodiversity. The Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2023 places the NBAP on a statutory footing and prescribes an obligation for listed public bodies, including local authorities, to have regard to the objectives and targets of the NBAP in the performance of their functions. Local authorities must integrate biodiversity into their plans, policies and programmes and report annually on measures adopted and progress made in support of the objectives of the Plan. The first such report is due in July 2025. I look forward to the engagement of local authorities in this process.

To fulfil the requirements of the EU Nature Restoration Regulation, Ireland must develop a Nature Restoration Plan (NRP) by September 2026. Local authorities will play a key role in shaping how the NRP will impact on the sector. Possible implications for local authorities arising from the NRP will be considered over the course of the NRP development process.

Local authorities play a vital role in advancing actions at a local level to address biodiversity loss and nature restoration. The Local Biodiversity Action Fund (LBAF), operated by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) of my Department, acknowledges the important role that they play and provides funding to assist local authorities with the implementation of projects that support the objectives of the NBAP. In 2024, the LBAF supported local authorities in carrying out 221 biodiversity projects, including invasive species control, habitat surveys and species conservation.