Erin McGreehan (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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258. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government how the recent IUCN reclassification of apis mellifera as endangered will influence Ireland's national biodiversity and pollinator strategies; and whether specific protections for wild honey bee colonies will now be prioritised in national biodiversity policy. [60659/25]

Erin McGreehan (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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259. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the engagement taking place with the National Parks and Wildlife Service to map, monitor, and protect remaining wild populations of apis mellifera in Ireland; and if dedicated funding will be allocated to support their conservation. [60660/25]

Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South-West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 258 and 259 together.

Ireland has over one hundred different bee species, including Apis mellifera. The native Irish honey bee, Apis mellifera mellifera, also known the black or dark honey bee, exist predominantly as managed populations in Ireland, with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) providing supports for beekeepers through a variety of initiatives, including a free honey bee health diagnostic service. Research into the survival of wild honey bee populations in Ireland and across Europe is ongoing, with researchers in University of Galway leading the Biodiversa+ ‘Free-b’ project seeking to understand the status of wild honey bee populations by investigating the biological, behavioural, and environmental factors that bolster survival of these colonies.

The honey bee is an efficient pollinator of a wide range of plants, but there are many native plant species that require wild bees to effect successful pollination. The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) of my Department works, with others, to support of a range of pollinator monitoring and conservation initiatives. In 2022, Ireland become the first country in the EU to implement a full national pollinator monitoring scheme, the Irish Pollinator Monitoring Programme, co-funded by the NPWS and DAFM and managed by the National Biodiversity Data Centre (NBDC). The Programme monitors a variety of species, including bees, hoverflies and butterflies, across a range of 42 sites. The EU Nature Restoration Regulation has introduced additional pollinator monitoring obligations beyond the current programme that will come into effect in late 2026. Under this Regulation, Member States, including Ireland, must carry out enhanced monitoring and take measures to improve pollinator diversity and reverse pollinator decline by 2030, and achieve an increasing population trend thereafter.

The island of Ireland has positioned itself at the forefront of pollinator conservation efforts in Europe through the success of the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan (AIPP). Listed as an action for delivery under the National Biodiversity Action Plan 2023-2030, the AIPP is a voluntary framework that brings together different sectors across the island of Ireland to create a landscape that supports pollinating insects and wider biodiversity. Managed by the NBDC, the Plan has had two successful phases (2015-2020; 2021-2025) and has garnered support across the country in communities, businesses and schools. The next iteration of the Plan has a greatly increased ambition to support a larger range of initiatives, and to engage more widely across society.