The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH) is responsible for housing, local government, heritage and planning. The goal of the Heritage Division, which hosts the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is to conserve and manage Ireland’s unique heritage for the benefit of present and future generations, as a support to economic renewal and sustainable employment and in compliance with legal obligations. DHLGH provides the legislative and policy framework for the conservation of nature and biodiversity. The responsibilities of the Department’s National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) include:
Coillte Teoranta is a commercial forestry business in Ireland, owned by the State. Coillte manages approximately 7% of the national land area. Coillte Nature is the not-for-profit branch of Coillte that is dedicated to the restoration, regeneration and rehabilitation of nature across Ireland. Coillte Nature’s mission is to deliver real impact on the climate and biodiversity crises through large-scale projects based on the best ecological evidence. Coillte Nature is building on 30 years’ experience in forestry, land management and habitat restoration to deliver real impact on the climate and biodiversity crises through innovative projects-of-scale across four
strategic themes:
Coillte’s approach is underpinned by principles of partnership, integrity and accountability, informed by the best ecological evidence, and supported through collaboration and engagement with public, private, non-governmental and community partners. Coillte’s role in the project is as a Beneficiary. Coillte owns and manages approximately 47% of Ireland’s forests on an estate of 445,000ha, nearly 7% of the total land area of Ireland, including approximately 188,000ha of blanket bog. Overall, 20% of the estate is managed for biodiversity. These biodiversity areas vary widely in their ecological value but even areas that currently have low-to-moderate value may have potential to develop into habitats of high ecological value into the future. Some 30,000ha of western peatland forests (situated on peat and/or peaty podsol soils) have been deemed unsustainable for commercial forestry purposes but many show potential for ecological restoration or enhancement.
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine leads the development and regulation of the agri-food sector, protecting public health and optimising social, economic and environmental benefits. It leads on actions to ensure Ireland’s agricultural production is environmentally sustainable include the following:
DAFM is responsible for the development of the legislative and policy framework through which the environment is protected under the Rural Development Programme (RDP). DAFM has extensive experience in developing and implementing Agri-environment schemes. The Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (‘ACRES’) is the current agri-environment scheme, under Ireland’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan 2023-2027, and has been designed to contribute significantly to achieving improved biodiversity, climate, air and water quality outcomes, through both multi-functional prescription and results-based actions.