Press Release Bad news for bogs as designated areas set to lose protections 4th July 2023 The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) is appalled that the Wildlife (Amendment) Bill 2016 is set to be passed by the Oireachtas (it is scheduled to be presented to the Dáil tomorrow evening, July 5th). The Bill, if enacted, will […]
Three years in government Pádraic Fogarty 1st July 2023 The Government recently celebrated three years in office, how is it doing in meeting nature objectives? I wrote a blog after its first anniversary in 2021 and the same terms and conditions apply to the one you are about to read. A year is not a […]
Press Release European Court of Justice issues damning indictment of Ireland’s failure to protect nature 29th June 2023 The European Court of Justice today issued a damning finding against Ireland for its failure to implement the Habitats Directive. This ruling comes as no surprise to anyone following the deterioration of our natural environment and has […]
Press Release Irish MEPs must support a strong Nature Restoration Law at the European Parliament meeting in July 27th June 2023 Today, MEPs in the European Parliament committee for Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) concluded their voting on the Nature Restoration Law (NRL). The final vote was tied 44-44 which means […]
Press Release Irish Wildlife Trust welcomes Irish Government support for Nature Restoration 20th June 2023 The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) warmly welcomes the strong endorsement by the EU Council of Ministers today in Luxembourg for the Nature Restoration Law. This throws a lifeline to the initiative which has been subject to a negative campaign led […]
Fair Seas, few whales Pádraic Fogarty 17th of June 2023 The south west-coast of Ireland has been identified by Fair Seas as an area which warrants designation as a Marine Protected Area (MPA). The Irish government has committed to protecting 30% of our territorial waters in MPAs by 2030 and legislation to allow for this […]
Press Release MEPs have voted to keep the Nature Restoration Law alive and fought off attempts to quash it by the European People’s Party (Fine Geal’s European group) 15th June 2023 A key vote in Strasbourg has kept hopes alive for the livelihoods of millions of workers and the wellbeing of the planet. Voting […]
Five years after the initial proposal to reform the EU Fisheries Control Regulation, the EU Council and Parliament have finally come to an agreement in trilogue negotiations on the European Commissions proposal. The EU Fisheries Control Regulation helps to ensure that the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) are followed by all those fishing […]
Big parties are failing to lead Pádraic Fogarty June 3rd 2023 Biodiversity week came to a close last week with dozens of events around the country celebrating our natural heritage. It’s hard to know if the irony was lost on some politicians that instead of spending time reflecting on our connection with nature they joined […]
Press Release Irish political leaders must support Nature Restoration in the European Parliament May 25th 2023 The Irish Wildlife Trust is calling on all political leaders in Ireland to ensure that their MEPs support the Nature Restoration Law in the European Parliament This week the European Parliament’s Committee on Fisheries (PECH) and Agriculture and […]
Press Release Irish Wildlife Trust calls on the Government to send the Citizens’ Assembly report to an Oireachtas committee to fast-track action for nature 24th May 2023 The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) is today calling on the Government to ensure the recommendations of the Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss are fast-tracked for action. A […]
The European Nature Restoration Law (NRL) is the first continent-wide comprehensive law to restore Europe’s degraded ecosystems on land and sea. The climate and biodiversity crisis are two sides of the same coin and we must tackle them simultaneously. Having healthy ecosystems will not only help to mitigate climate change it will also offer natural […]
Bringing back the sturgeon Pádraic Fogarty 21st May 2023 Dublin’s wonderful Natural History Museum has a lot to say about our sea fish. The Victorian cabinets that line the walls of the hall on the ground floor speak to not only the great diversity of marine life that once abounded around our coasts but also […]
Press Release Ireland and UK conservation groups unite to call on the Government to reintroduce the sturgeon – Ireland’s lost ‘dinosaur fish’ 19th May 2023 The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) and the Blue Marine Foundation in the UK have jointly published a report, ‘Restoring the Sturgeon to Irish Waters’ urging the Government to examine the […]
Birdwatch Ireland in collaboration with the IWT has created a petition calling on the Minister for agriculture, food and the marine, Charlie Mc Conalogue to block a new dangerous proposal which could have devastating effects on fish stocks and incentivise overfishing and underreporting. It has been proposed that the 10% Margin of Tolerance (MoT) should […]
Ireland in 2050 Pádraic Fogarty 6th May 2023 2050 is only 27 years away. It’s at the same point in the future as 1996 is in the past, when Hotmail launched on the internet, Mission Impossible, Twister and Independence Day were in cinemas and the ‘Macarena’ was driving people on to, and away from, the […]
People and wildlife and dogs Pádraic Fogarty April 22nd 2023 In the greater scheme of things, owning a dog is probably seen as at the insignificant end of the biodiversity crisis wedge. Owners of harmless-looking lapdogs or lumbering retrievers do not typically see their beloved pets as destroyers of ecosystems. I’m not a dog owner […]
Will the Citizens’ Assembly change anything? Pádraic Fogarty 8th April 2023 This week’s publication of the Citizens’ Assembly report on Biodiversity Loss is a vindicating moment for environmental NGOs. Over the past year, 100 randomly selected citizens were given the task of making comprehensive recommendations on how we can reverse biodiversity loss, even though many […]
Press Release Citizens’ Assembly report on Biodiversity Loss a damning indictment of the State’s failure to protect nature 05th April 2023 The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) welcomes the publication today (April 5th 2023) of the final report and recommendations of the Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss. It confirms that the State has abjectly failed […]
Irish Wildlife Trust receives Lord Mayor’s Award in recognition of their work 31st March 2023 The Irish Wildlife Trust is honoured to have received a Lord Mayor’s Award in recognition of our work to help make Dublin a better place to live. Lord Mayor of Dublin Caroline Conroy presented three individuals and three organisations […]
Northern Ireland miles ahead of Republic in protecting inshore waters by Grace Carr March 30th 2023 New fisheries management measures were enacted this year in Northern Ireland which will prohibit bottom trawling in nine inshore Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). There will also be measures put in place in these MPAs for static gear such as pot fishing. […]
Press Release Irish Wildlife Trust celebrates rewilding at special event in Longford this weekend 21st March 2023 The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) will hold a special event entitled ‘Rewilling for People and Nature’ this Saturday March 25th at the Corlea Trackway Centre in Co. Longford to discuss rewilding and the enormous potential this has for […]
Press Release 15th March 2023 Irish Wildlife Trust calls for urgent action to ban trawling and dredging in inshore waters The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) has written to Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, and Minister for Biodiversity and Land Use, Pippa Hackett, urging them to act swiftly to protect inshore […]
The Lawless OPW March 11th 2023 by Pádraic Fogarty Emo Court in County Laois is a splendid example of neo-classical architecture completed in the mid-1800s and set within mature trees and manicured gardens. It was also, until recently, home to a nationally important roost for brown long-eared bats. Emo Court is one of dozens of […]
IWT response to MSFD Programme of Measures March 7th 2023 New measures for the Marine Strategy Framework Directive are welcome and needed if we are to achieve Good Environmental Status in all descriptors. It is therefore disappointing to see that some new measures are vague, non-committal and are inadequate for reaching Good Environmental Status. ©Grainne […]
Press Release 06th March 2023 State failing to stop destruction of “protected” bogs The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) is calling for greater law enforcement after new data, released after appeal to the Office of the Information Commissioner, revealed that illegal turf-cutting remains a significant problem in Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) designated for raised […]
Press Release Hill burning season a symptom of political apathy in the face of our biodiversity emergency 02nd March 2023 The depressing predictability of the fires which have engulfed West Cork and Kerry in recent days is a symptom of chronic apathy by government departments in the face of growing frustration in hill areas. Despite […]
Bringing back lost species February 25th 2023 Ireland’s tattered ecosystems are so far down the path of collapse that most people have got used to the idea that our island is not the place for wild nature that can simply be allowed to look after itself. I am used to hearing that what we have […]
New Irish Fishing Quota for Vulnerable Spurdog 23rd February 2023 A new Irish quota for the IUCN listed vulnerable spurdog (Squalus acanthias) for 1,874 tonnes was announced for 2023. Minister McConalogue stated that “When we reopen the fishery, measures will be put in place to require that larger spurdog are avoided to allow them to […]
The Nitrates Bomb January 11th 2023 The joke in 2008, in the forestorm of the economic meltdown that resulted in such pain for Ireland went like this: what’s the difference between Iceland and Ireland? One letter and six months. It wasn’t funny then either. Today it could be reframed: what’s the difference between Ireland and […]
