Two Government ministers have welcomed the European Parliament vote approving the Nature Restoration Law.
While the controversial legislation has a strong land-based focus, it includes important elements aimed at improving water quality in member states.
Minister for Marine Charlie McConalogue and Minister of State for Nature and Heritage Malcolm Noonan have issued a joint statement welcoming the vote in favour.
The proposed regulation, which had completed trilogue negotiations between the European Commission, the Council and the Parliament, was formally approved on Tuesday, February 27th, in a plenary session of the Parliament in Luxembourg.
Eleven of Ireland’s 13 MEPs voted in favour of the law, and Minister Noonan said that the focus “now turns to the development of Ireland’s Nature Restoration Plan”.
“It is my intention to work with the Minister for Finance to ensure that the Government’s €3.15bn Climate and Nature Fund, which was announced as part of Budget 2024, will underpin the implementation of nature restoration measures across the country and deliver real benefits for rural economies,” he said.
Through the National Federation of Group Water Schemes, some 130 Irish farmers are participating in dedicated initiatives to protect water quality.
“It is anticipated that this number will grow substantially to over 15,000 in the coming years as two new projects – the Waters of LIFE Project and the Water European Innovation Partnership (EIP)led by the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine – come on stream,” Noonan said.
The 60-million-euro Water EIP project hopes to bring about improvements in water quality with co-benefits for climate change and biodiversity.
