Leading by Example? The State’s Role in Wildlife Persecution First published: 05 August 2026 by Oisín Ó Néill, IWT Nature Advocacy Officer Wildlife crime is a serious, persistent, and growing problem in Ireland. Many protected species are used for illegal sporting activities, birds of prey are poisoned, and protected habitats and species destroyed when they […]
First published online: 15 July 2026 Salmon aquaculture in Ireland is polluting coastal waters, contributing to the collapse of wild salmon and driving overfishing for its feed – all despite organic labelling. Phasing out these open-net farms from our ocean is essential for healthy seas and rivers, wildlife, and coastal communities. Please sign the Sustainable […]
A Living Land – Ambition and Opportunity by Oisín Ó Néill, IWT Nature Advocacy Officer First published: 13 July 2026 Last week the Government published A Living Land (Phase 2 of Ireland’s Land Use Review). The report contains a number of recommendations and ambitious modelled pathways for how Ireland could use its land over the […]
Nature & Society Need More Ambitious Nature Restoration First published online: 10 July 2026 The National Restoration Plan represents a historic opportunity, as arguably the most significant piece of biodiversity legislation to bind Ireland in a generation. The destruction and degradation of the ecosystems around us threatens not just our beautiful wild species but […]
Press Release: This Invasive Species Week, the IWT and Mary Reynolds are asking everyone to welcome native species into their gardens instead of planting invasives Be Plant Wise. Let nature lead. Plant native. 25 June 2026 The National Biodiversity Data Centre (NBDC) coordinates Invasive Species Week. You can learn all about Ireland’s invasive species and […]
Why Ireland’s new Invasive Species Bureau must have teeth to be successful By Oisín Ó Néill, IWT Nature Advocacy Officer First published online: 18 June 2026 Over the June bank holiday, I travelled north from Dublin to spend a weekend in Donegal. I spent a misty afternoon hiking in the Bluestack Mountains (na Cruacha Gorma), […]
River Glyde Fish Kill Exposes Ongoing Failure to Protect Ireland’s Waterways First published online 05/06/2026 Oisín Ó Néill, Nature Advocacy Officer Irish Wildlife Trust calls for prosecution and urgent action to address agricultural pollution On 4 June 2026, news broke of a devastating fish kill in the River Glyde, Co. Louth. More than 20,000 fish […]
Press Release: River Glyde Fish Kill Exposes Ongoing Failure to Protect Ireland’s Waterways Irish Wildlife Trust calls for prosecution and urgent action to address agricultural pollution 5 June 2026 The Irish Wildlife Trust has expressed outrage following confirmation of a devastating fish kill in the River Glyde, Co. Louth, where more than 20,000 fish have […]
Three actions you can take to save marine life this May First published: 08 May 2026 The Irish Wildlife Trust is a proud founding partner in the Fair Seas campaign. Our aim is to see Ireland become a world leader in marine protection, giving our species, habitats and coastal communities the opportunity to thrive. Key […]
IWT welcomes Commission action against Ireland over failure to designate protected areas at seas IWT Press Release 06 May 2026 The European Commission has sent a letter of formal notice to Ireland over its failure to designate protected areas at sea. Ireland has two months to provide a satisfactory response before the Commission decides whether […]
Irish Wildlife Trust calls for urgent action over misleading Sitka spruce forestry materials in schools IWT Press Release 21 April 2026 The Irish Wildlife Trust is calling for immediate action from the Department of Education and Youth to address and revise misleading messaging presented to primary school children by the Society of Irish Foresters, […]
Call to action: Prohibit destructive tangle nets to protect endangered Irish species Published online 13/2/2026 Grace Carr Call to action – Write to the Minister asking him to prohibit the use of tangle nets to prevent the extinction of critically endangered shark and ray species Thousands of endangered and critically endangered species are […]
Committee on Marine Protected Areas First published online: 21 January 2026 Grace Carr, Marine Advocacy Officer On Tuesday 13 January we attended the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Fisheries and Maritime Affairs. An Oireachtas committee is a group of TDs and Senators from all political parties that have responsibility to scrutinise and advise on particular […]
We’re hiring a Nature Advocacy Officer Job Title: Nature Advocacy Officer Organisation: The Irish Wildlife Trust Location: Coleraine House, Coleraine Street, Dublin 7, Ireland (hybrid working supported) Hours: This is a full time 5 day week post Salary Rate: €32 – 40,000 per year (rate determined by level of professional experience) Contract Type: 2 year […]
Nature Advocacy and Policy: 2025 in review First published: 23/12/2025 2025 has been a difficult year for environmental issues. Pressures are appearing from all sides and there have been many disappointing blows to contend with. Those in power nationally and internationally don’t seem to have safeguarding the environment on their agendas and deregulation […]
Article 17 Report 2025 By Grace Carr, IWT Marine Advocacy Officer First published online: 12 December 2025 2025’s Article 17 report results are as clear as day. Nature is declining in Ireland. The State needs to properly fund and support nature restoration. Every 6 years countries in the EU have to report on the state […]
Support the Bill to Ban Fox Hunting in Ireland By Charlotte Salter-Townshend, IWT Communications & Network Officer First published online: 04 December 2025 Background and Timeline Fox hunting emerged as a topic during the presidential election debates. Most people were aghast at the description of this brutality as a “rural pursuit”. Ireland is now an […]
Press Release 26th November 2025 Irish Wildlife Trust welcomes good news for the Glen The Irish Wildlife Trust has welcomed the news that the National Parks and Wildlife Service have purchased 100 acres of forestry land beside the Glen of the Downs nature reserve. IWT Chief Executive, Kieran Flood commented, “It is very encouraging to […]
Our nature is under attack. The European laws that have been safeguarding our forests, rivers, wildlife and clean air are being quietly dismantled – under the false promise of “simplification”. But what’s really being simplified is the path for those who want to profit from nature at everyone’s expense. The European Commission quietly launched a […]
The Irish Wildlife Trust welcomes the announcement of large vessel trawling restrictions in Ireland’s 6nm zone IWT Press Release 22rd July 2025 The Irish Wildlife Trust welcomes the announcement made today on the long overdue 6 nautical mile (nm) trawling ban. It has been announced that from the 1st of October 2026, trawling by […]
The EU Ocean Pact was proposed by the European Commission and aims to bring coherence across any EU policies which are linked to the ocean. Some of the goals of the pact are to achieve healthy, resilient and thriving oceans and coastal communities and to promote a successful and sustainable blue economy. At […]
Nature Advocacy & Policy – A Look Back on 2024 Published 19th December 2024 By Grace Carr Overall, 2024 has been a disappointing year for nature conservation. We haven’t seen the ambitious change that is needed to tackle both the biodiversity and climate crisis. New political climates at EU level have brought new challenges […]
Citizens’ Assembly Ideas 2023 saw the publication of the “Report of the Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss”. Many impactful solutions to biodiversity loss are found within the recommendations of the Citizens’ Assembly. It is vital that the Government of Ireland act on these recommendations. This series of articles explores ideas found within the Citizens’ Assembly […]
86% of Irish people support stricter protection of Marine Protected Areas Press Release 25 June 2024 New polls released today show that 86% of citizens across 7 EU countries expect their political leaders to prioritise the protection of marine biodiversity. An independent polling company interviewed approximately 1000 people in each of the 7 EU […]
A Historic Day for Europe and Nature Press Release 17th June 2024 The EU Nature Restoration Law is finally passed by the EU Council of Environmental Minister’s after several years of negotiations The EU Nature restoration Law which aims to restore 20% of EU land and 20% of EU seas was finally passed […]
IWT welcomes government support for Nature Restoration Law and calls on other states to step up for nature. Press Release 14/6/2023 The Nature Restoration Law is officially on the agenda for debate and a potential vote in the upcoming EU Environment Council meeting on the 17th June. This is the final meeting of […]
Citizens’ Assembly Ideas 2023 saw the publication of the “Report of the Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss”. Many impactful solutions to biodiversity loss are found within the recommendations of the Citizens’ Assembly. It is vital that the Government of Ireland act on these recommendations. This series of articles explores ideas found within the Citizens’ Assembly […]
Nature Can’t Vote but You Can. Published 28th May 2024 The European and Local elections are coming up on June 7th and we are encouraging everyone to get out and vote. Nature cannot vote but you can, so why not use your vote to help protect and restore nature. Sometimes the EU can seem […]
Ireland’s first Marine National Park – what does it mean for nature? Published: April 25th 2024 On the 22nd of April, Irish Ministers announced Ireland’s first Marine National Park, Páirc Náisiúnta na Mara. This will be Ireland’s largest National Park covering more than 70,000 acres of land and sea. This is an inspiring […]
EU wide campaign launched to end destructive bottom trawling in protected areas Press Release April 24th 2024 A new report, co-authored by Marine Conservation Society, Seas at Risk and Oceana looks at destructive bottom trawling in 7 EU Member States’ marine Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) and urges the European Commission to ban bottom […]
