Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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374. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the funding that has been allocated to implement the Nature Restoration Regulation (details supplied) broken down by year, in tabular form. [31621/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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The EU Nature Restoration Regulation entered into force on 18 August 2024. It sets out a framework for EU Member States to restore nature, with binding targets for a wide range of ecosystems including rivers, forests, oceans, urban and agricultural areas, as well as protected habitats and species throughout the State. Ireland has until 1 September 2026 to draft and submit a draft National Restoration Plan (NRP) to the EU Commission, setting out how Ireland intends to achieve its legally binding targets.

As the nature restoration plan is still under development, no funding has been allocated to the implementation of the regulation at this stage.

The way we implement the NRL is via the National Restoration Plan and the costing of the implementation of the NRL is part of the development of the plan. The NRP is currently being drafted; only when that work has been completed, the targets set and measures identified can we determine what funding is required for its implementation. The financial implications of the regulation, and the benefits and costs of implementing measures to reach the targets set down in the NRP are significant. An Interdepartmental Working Group considering the financial aspects of the plan and its implementation to 2030 and beyond has been established to examine the matter. This work will include inter alia a review of existing financial instruments such as The Climate and Nature Fund and exploratory work on potential financial mechanisms and appropriate instruments to fund the delivery of the NRP.