Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 May 2026
696. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if the newly established invasive species bureau, formed between the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, and the National Biodiversity Data Centre (NBDC), have a role in policy decisions regarding the management of invasive freshwater fish species in Lough Corrib SAC, County Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39568/26]
View answerMy Department's National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is responsible for the implementation of the legislative framework around invasive alien species in Ireland, including the 2024 European Union (Invasive Alien Species) Regulations (SI 374/2024) which give effect in the national context to the EU IAS Regulation (1143/2014).
However, management and control of invasive alien species is a matter not exclusively for my Department. Other agencies, such as IFI, have an important role to play.
Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) has the statutory responsibility for the protection, development, and management of Ireland’s inland fisheries and sea angling resources and undertakes a range of work tackling invasive alien species on our inland waters including in Lough Corrib.
On the 19 May 2026, I announced a new partnership between the NPWS and the National Biodiversity Data Centre (NBDC) which will establish, for the first time in Ireland, an Invasive Species Bureau.
The Invasive Species Bureau formalises the partnership between NPWS and the NBDC to support implementation of the EU Regulation on invasive species, and to strengthen Ireland's approach to managing them.
With the new Bureau in place, work will now begin on a new National Invasive Species Management Strategy for Ireland.
