Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 March 2026
103. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the funding opportunities available for projects relating to citizen science; if his Department have engaged with groups promoting citizen science projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19618/26]
View answerThe key role of citizens and communities in achieving environmental and climate goals is valued and understood by Government. My Department engages with several groups involved in promoting citizen science. The work of these groups contribute to our understanding of our natural environment and the responses necessary for its protection.
In 2025, €3.127 million was provided through the Circular Economy Fund to the Irish Environmental Network (IEN), an umbrella organisation whose 41 members are nationally active environmental NGOs.
Examples of IEN member organisations that ran successful citizen science projects include:
• Birdwatch Ireland where citizen science is a key input into the annual Irish Garden Bird Survey;
• Irish Wildlife Trust where volunteers contribute citizen science data identifying species including plants and insects;
• Native Woodland Trust where citizen science has contributed to the search for potentially disease-resistant Wych Elm trees; and
• Sonairte, an organisation which mobilises citizen science in the recording of outdoor air quality.
Other IEN members using citizen science and who benefit from this funding include An Taisce, Green Economy Foundation, Green Sod Ireland, Irish Whale and Dolphin Group, Vincent Wildlife Trust and Leave No Trace.
Furthermore, strand 2 of the Community Climate Action Programme, funded by my Department’s Climate Action Fund, supports projects that enable local climate action. One of these, Beaches & Dunes for Climate Adaptation, delivers training for community groups on how to protect and enhance beach and dune ecosystems as a nature-based solution to coastal flooding and erosion. One output is an online citizen science map to collect data on dune ecosystems.
The EPA, which operates independently under my Department, is active in several important projects which use citizen science to collect data on projects in areas such as clean air and water, sustainable living, and biodiversity monitoring and mapping.
