Westmeath to get biodiversity officer

Ten local authorities, including Westmeath County Council, have been awarded funding to appoint biodiversity officers to deliver and drive local action for biodiversity.

The new biodiversity officers will have a wide variety of responsibilities. Among other things, they will be required to develop and implement a county biodiversity plan, advise the local authority on biodiversity related issues and the authority’s obligations in relation to protecting biodiversity, to establish a county biodiversity forum and to assist local authority departments in integrating biodiversity into their actions and policies through training and supporting information dissemination

The new officers will also be expected to promote new biodiversity initiatives based on best conservation practice

Once appointed, this will bring the total number of biodiversity officers employed in local authorities around the country to 14, with funding for a further 15 officers to be provided as part of efforts to take greater action for biodiversity at the local level. A full national rollout is expected to be completed in the next three years.

Today’s move represents a further practical step in the acceleration of the State’s response to the biodiversity crisis and follows several measures taken by Government to address biodiversity loss this year. This includes the publication of the 4th National Biodiversity Action Plan, which is currently out for public consultation, as well as Heritage Ireland 2030 published in February this year.

Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan, TD, said: “It’s fantastic to see the next tranche of Biodiversity Officers are now being recruited around the country. These ten new posts, and the funding for a further 15 that I announced as part of Budget 2023, will have an enormous impact on the ground in helping to deliver action for nature at the local level.

"The declaration by the Dáil of a biodiversity emergency in 2019 sent a clear signal of how seriously we as a country need to take the biodiversity challenges ahead, and our objectives in the Programme for Government demonstrate this urgency.

"Today’s announcement is another step in the right direction and it reflects my commitment to ensuring that these objectives are fulfilled and that all local authorities have a sufficient number of heritage and biodiversity officers among their staff complement.”

Chairperson of The Heritage Council, Martina Moloney, said:

“The vision for biodiversity, as stated in the National Biodiversity Action Plan, is that biodiversity in Ireland is valued, conserved, restored and sustainably used, maintaining ecosystem services, sustaining a healthy planet and delivering benefits essential for all people. This is a vision shared by the Heritage Council and our work in ensuring the continued progression of the Pilot Biodiversity Officer Programme is a reflection of our own objectives.”