Minister Christopher O'Sullivan
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What is Ireland’s draft nature restoration plan and why was it sent to the EU?
But we're going to start with October's budget and nature. On the 1st of October, a few weeks ago, Ireland sent its draft plan for restoring nature to the European Commission. Every EU country has to do the same under the nature restoration law, which sets binding targets to restore damaged habitats on land in our rivers. And at sea. But to get there, of course, is going to cost money. Anything up to an estimated 700 million euro each year. Ireland ranks in the bottom 10% in the world for biodiversity intactness and spends one of the lowest shares of GDP of any EU country on nature. Well, the budget is on the 6th of October and it's then we'll hear how much will be given to this plan, if anything at all.
I spoke earlier to the Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity, Christopher O'Sullivan, and I began by asking him, for farmers and fishermen and women, what under this plan might change?
Well, look, first of all, I would say that there's absolutely nothing to be afraid of, whether you're a... In the fishing sector or whether you're a farmer, the message I'm trying to get through to the farming sector in particular is that there's nothing to be afraid of here in terms of the nature restoration plan. The reason I say that is we're going to very much follow the recommendations of the advisory committee. And those recommendations were, number one, that we would start on state-owned land. And that's what we'll do. whether it's National Parks and Wildlife Service land or National Parks, whether it's Quilta land, whether it's Bordamola land, that's where the initial effort is going to be made.
So very much that's where we start. But then when it comes to private land, yes, we would love farmers in particular to get involved in nature restoration. But what we're saying is that it will be done only on a voluntary basis. So that's what I'm saying. No one is going to be compelling anyone to be involved, but we hope... that through a mechanism of funding and through schemes that we can actually, it'll make sense for farmers to get involved in nature restoration.
The Independent Advisory Committee also said that the state needs to put a lot of money here.
How will the plan affect farmers and fishermen – will participation be mandatory?
They're 450 to 700 million a year. A plan without a proper budget is in many ways nothing more than a press release. And I just wonder how much money is going to be allocated in the budget next month?
Yeah, so as you can imagine, budget talks, we're deep in budget talks at the moment. There's a lot of meetings happening I've met all stakeholders, the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste, Minister Jack Chambers, to ensure that we land on an appropriate figure, because you're absolutely right. There is no point announcing a plan with bells and whistles without putting money behind it. And I think that's really important. It's also important to say that this is in the context from a farm farming point of view, where CAP negotiations are still ongoing. And what I've always said is that CAP has to be rings, feds for farmers in terms of farm payments. When it comes to nature restoration, it's very important to say that we are not intending to fund nature restoration from cap payments.
That's absolutely vital to say that.
But that
figure,
450 to 700 million a year, is that what you're asking Jack Chambers to give?
There's a job body work going on at the moment and we're very nearly completing it in terms of the amount of money that's already going into nature restoration. So if you think of any farmer along the west of Ireland who's in an acres cooperation scheme, there's already nature restoration funding there. I've just announced a project down in Tralee, in Tralee Bay, for the restoration of oyster beds and also eelgrass. That's an eight million euro project. So we have to quantify that. It's how much additional extra that we'll need is where we have to land. We have a figure in mind. I'm not at liberty to share that at the moment, but we are in negotiations. And look, I'm confident that I have the backing, certainly, of the Taoiseach Micheál Martin to ensure that we get a figure that's appropriate, that we can roll out over the next six, seven, eight years to ensure that if we do want farmers to get involved in particular, that they're paid.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is Ireland’s draft nature restoration plan and why was it sent to the EU?
0:00–2:02
2
How will the plan affect farmers and fishermen – will participation be mandatory?
2:02–3:56
3
What funding range is being discussed for nature restoration and how is it linked to the upcoming budget?
3:56–5:23
4
How will the government incentivise farmers to join voluntary restoration schemes?
5:23–7:17
5
Which state‑owned lands and agencies (e.g., NPWS, Coillte, Bord na Móna) will lead the restoration work?
7:17–9:14
6
What role do enforcement, pollution control and derogation play in the plan?
9:14–11:02
7
How are water‑quality targets being met through the Farming for Water EIP and other measures?
11:02–12:29
8
When will the final Nature Restoration Plan be submitted and what are the next steps for funding and implementation?
12:29–14:18