Category Archives for "Press Releases"

Nov 12

PRESS RELEASE: IWT welcomes acknowledgement of the biodiversity crisis and role of healthy ecosystems, including oceans, in the latest draft COP 26 text

PRESS RELEASE 12th November IWT welcomes acknowledgement of the biodiversity crisis and role of healthy ecosystems, including oceans, in the latest draft COP 26 text   The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) welcomes the prominence of nature in the latest draft of the COP text which appeared in Glasgow today (November 12th). The draft acknowledges in […]

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Oct 28

Press Release: As the government heads to the COP26 Climate Summit in Glasgow, new information shows that unlawful turf-cutting remains widespread on Special Areas of Conservation

Press Release 28th October 2021 As the government heads to the COP26 Climate Summit in Glasgow, new information shows that unlawful turf-cutting remains widespread on Special Areas of Conservation   Data from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and acquired by the Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) under Freedom of Information rules, show that […]

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Oct 13

Press Release: Irish Wildlife Trust welcomes restoration of funding to the National Parks and Wildlife Service but much more needs to be done

Press Release 13th October  Irish Wildlife Trust welcomes restoration of funding to the National Parks and Wildlife Service but much more needs to be done   The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) welcomes the announcement in yesterday’s budget that funding for the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has been restored to 2008 levels. This is […]

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Sep 07

Press Release: Irish Wildlife Trust calls on the Government to back key biodiversity protection measures at the IUCN Congress

Press Release 07th August 2021 Irish Wildlife Trust calls on the Government to back key biodiversity protection measures at the IUCN Congress The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) is calling upon the Minister of State for Heritage & Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan, on behalf of the Irish government, to use his voting power at the IUCN Congress (currently […]

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Apr 26

PRESS RELEASE: Irish Wildlife Trust calls for full investigation into fire at Killarney National Park and emergency measures to stop the cycle of infernos

Press Release 26th April 2021 Irish Wildlife Trust calls for full investigation into fire at Killarney National Park and emergency measures to stop the cycle of infernos The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) is calling for a full investigation into the causes and consequences of the fire which has destroyed swathes of Killarney National Park over […]

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Apr 19

Virtual townhall meetings on MPAs

Over the summer of 2021 we held a series of 9 townhall meetings in major Irish coastal counties. We addressed questions and concerns the public had about marine protected areas and encouraged participants to participate in the public consultation on the report ‘Expanding Ireland’s Marine Protected Area Network’ available to download here. The government received […]

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Mar 30

PRESS RELEASE: Wildart 2021 – Express your Creativity with the Irish Wildlife Trust WildArt Competition

Press Release 30th March Wildart 2021 – Express your Creativity with the Irish Wildlife Trust WildArt Competition The Irish Wildlife Trust has launched the second edition of their children’s art competition WildArt. The competition will engage children in the wonders of local wildlife (within their lockdown surroundings of course!). Children up to the age of 18 […]

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Mar 15

Press Release: Irish Wildlife Trust finds that no permits for ‘controlled burning’ were issued in the North, East or South of Ireland in 2020, and only two in the West

Press Release 15th March 2021 Irish Wildlife Trust finds that no permits for ‘controlled burning’ were issued in the North, East or South of Ireland in 2020, and only two in the West The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) has received information from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage from Freedom of Information that […]

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Feb 18

Press Release: Irish Wildlife Trust welcomes Oireachtas report on pre-Legislative Scrutiny of General Scheme of the Marine Planning and Development Management (MPDM) Bill

Press Release 18th February 2021 Irish Wildlife Trust welcomes Oireachtas report on pre-Legislative Scrutiny of General Scheme of the Marine Planning and Development Management (MPDM) Bill The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) welcomes the report on the pre-legislative scrutiny of the MPDM Bill which will provide for development projects in the marine environment, particularly off-shore renewable […]

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Feb 16

Press Release: Irish Wildlife Trust welcomes independent review of the National Biodiversity Action Plan

Press Release 16th February Irish Wildlife Trust welcomes independent review of the National Biodiversity Action Plan The Irish Wildlife Trust today (16/2/21) welcomes the report of the National Biodiversity Forum which highlights serious weaknesses in the state’s approach to biodiversity protection. The IWT particularly welcomes the recommendation that the next National Biodiversity Action Plan be […]

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Feb 03

Press Release: Irish Wildlife Trust welcomes commencement of National Parks and Wildlife Service Review

Press Release 03rd February 2021 Press Release: Irish Wildlife Trust welcomes commencement of National Parks and Wildlife Service Review   The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) welcomes the announcement by Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Malcolm Noonan, that the review of the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has […]

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Jan 26

Press Release: Irish Wildlife Trust welcomes publication of report on Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) but process must be accelerated

PRESS RELEASE 26 January 2021 Irish Wildlife Trust welcomes publication of report on Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) but process must be accelerated The report published today by the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government will advise the government on how to expand Ireland’s network of MPAs. This report is a crucial step towards safeguarding […]

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Jan 10

Press Release: Irish Wildlife Trust welcomes Government commitment to ‘High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People’ at today’s One Planet Summit

PRESS RELEASE 11 January 2021 Irish Wildlife Trust welcomes Government commitment to ‘High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People’ at today’s One Planet Summit The One Planet Summit, which takes place today at the initiative of French president Emmanuel Macron and which will be attended (virtually) by Malcolm Noonan, Minister of State for Heritage and […]

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Nov 12

Press Release: New information shows that unlawful turf-cutting remains widespread on Special Areas of Conservation

Press Release 12th November 2020 New information shows that unlawful turf-cutting remains widespread on Special Areas of Conservation Data from the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (DCHG), and acquired by the Irish Wildlife Trust under Access to Information on the Environment rules, shows that mechanical turf-cutting continues to be a widespread issue on […]

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Oct 15

Press Release: Budget marks a significant change in direction in the state’s approach to nature protection

Press Release 15th October  Budget marks a significant change in direction in the state’s approach to nature protection The Irish Wildlife Trust has welcomed this week’s announcements in the budget which will start to address our biodiversity crisis. New funding announcements have been made across a range of sectors which will address historic shortfalls, most […]

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Oct 09

PRESS RELEASE: Irish Wildlife Trust calls for moratorium on all trawling within six nautical miles of the coast following High Court ruling

PRESS RELEASE 09th October 2020 Irish Wildlife Trust calls for moratorium on all trawling within six nautical miles of the coast following High Court ruling Following the High Court ruling [i] that has overturned a decision to prohibit trawling by larger boats within 6 nautical miles of the coast, the IWT has written to Minister […]

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Oct 01

IWT calls on Minister O’Brien to take urgent measures to prevent destruction of protected marine habitats

Press Release 01st October 2020 IWT calls on Minister O’Brien to take urgent measures to prevent destruction of protected marine habitats The Irish Wildlife Trust has released a report which highlights Ireland’s failure to manage and successfully protect the inshore network of marine protected areas (MPAs) [i]. Collating evidence from surveys conducted by the National […]

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Sep 25

PRESS RELEASE: Fix the problems in forestry before silencing objectors

PRESS RELEASE 25th September 2020 Fix the problems in forestry before silencing objectors The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) is extremely concerned about the undue haste with which new forestry legislation is being rushed through the Oireachtas. This legislation proposes to introduce fees for objectors for the first time and was part of a broader set […]

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Aug 07

PRESS RELEASE: Irish Wildlife Trust call on UNESCO to remove ‘Biosphere’ label from Killarney as Kerry County Council withdraws support

Press Release 07th August Irish Wildlife Trust call on UNESCO to remove ‘Biosphere’ label from Killarney as Kerry County Council withdraws support The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) has written to the UNESCO Man and Biosphere (MAB) committee calling on them to immediately remove Killarney from its list of ‘Biosphere Reserves’. The call follows the revelation, […]

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Jul 21

Press Release: Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) calls for sheep to be taken off the hills to allow restoration of upland and peatland ecosystems

Press Release 21st July Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) calls for sheep to be taken off the hills to allow restoration of upland and peatland ecosystems IWT is calling on the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Dara Calleary, Minister for Land Use and Biodiversity Pippa Hackett and Minister at the Department of Housing Malcolm […]

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Jul 01

Press Release: Disbelief as Green ministers hand nature protection to Housing Department

Press Release  01/07/2020 Disbelief as Green ministers hand nature protection to Housing Department BirdWatch Ireland, Irish Wildlife Trust, Friends of the Earth, An Taisce, SWAN and the Environmental Pillar make joint call to #BringNatureHome Leading environmental NGOs have expressed disbelief at the new Government’s proposal to move responsibility for nature to the Department of Housing. […]

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Jun 16

Press Release: The Irish Wildlife Trust welcomes the Programme for Government as potentially transformative for the Irish landscape.

Press Release 16th June The Irish Wildlife Trust welcomes the Programme for Government as potentially transformative for the Irish landscape.   The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) is welcoming the Programme for Government (PfG) presented by Fianna Fáil, the Green Party and Fine Gael as containing a number of elements which are potentially transformative in addressing […]

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Jun 12

Press Release: IWT Wild Oceans Photography Competition

Press Release 12th June 2020 The Irish Wildlife Trust is inviting submissions for a Wild Oceans Photography Competition In honour of World Oceans Day this June and to coincide with the easing of travel restrictions, the Irish Wildlife Trust have launched a marine themed photography contest. The aim of this competition is to raise awareness […]

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May 08

Press release: IWT welcomes the leaked EU Biodiversity Strategy on the anniversary of Ireland declaring a climate and biodiversity emergency

Press Release 09th May 2020 Press release: IWT welcomes the leaked EU Biodiversity Strategy on the anniversary of Ireland declaring a climate and biodiversity emergency On Thursday May 9th 2019 Ireland became the first country to declare a climate and a biodiversity emergency. On its first anniversary there is sadly little to show for this […]

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