News

Government publishes response to recommendations of the Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss

Date Released: Friday, November 1, 2024

  • Over 90% of recommendations are ‘In progress’ or ‘Implemented’
  • Work will continue across Government to address gaps, including through the forthcoming national Nature Restoration Plan
  • Report also includes responses to the ‘Calls to Action’ from the Children and Young People’s Assembly on Biodiversity Loss

On 30th October 2024, the Government adopted a report responding to the 159 Recommendations of the Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss (CABL) and the 58 Calls to Action of the Children and Young People's Assembly on Biodiversity Loss (CYPABL).

Collated by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, the report shows that over 90% of the recommendations of the CABL and the CYPABL are considered to be either implemented or in progress, meaning that elements of the recommendations are incorporated into existing Government policies and strategies, such as the National Biodiversity Action Plan.

Welcoming the publication of the report, Minister for Nature, Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan TD, said:

“The work of the Citizens’ Assembly and the Children and Young People’s Assembly showed very clearly why we need to take an ‘all-of-government, all-of-society’ approach to reversing biodiversity loss. Deliberative democracy is a powerful tool for society to explore complex problems from new perspectives, and the insights that the Assemblies presented were enormously beneficial in helping the Government to shape a new National Biodiversity Action Plan for Ireland. We made great efforts to work collaboratively, across Departments, and to deeply consider the recommendations that they made. The report being published today shows that we have listened: over 90% of them are either implemented, or in progress.

“It’s vital that voices from all across society are reflected in our policymaking processes. I’m proud that this is the case for Ireland’s biodiversity policy, and I think it’s stronger for it. Others agree too: our National Biodiversity Action Plan was among a selection of national policies recently assessed by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and, believe it or not, it was found to be the best in Europe and one of the best in the world. If that’s not an endorsement, I don’t know what is! I’d like to thank the members of the Citizens’ Assembly and the Children and Young People’s Assembly for all their amazing work.”

Additional Information

  1. The Report on the Recommendations and Calls to Action of Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss and the Children and Young People's Assembly on Biodiversity Loss is available on gov.ie.
  2. The Citizens Assembly on Biodiversity Loss was one of four Citizens’ Assemblies committed to in the Programme for Government. Formally established in February 2022, it comprised of 100 members, including 99 members of the public, randomly selected from households across Ireland, and an independent Chairperson appointed by the Taoiseach. At its final meeting in January 2023, the Assembly voted on a series of propositions and agreed 159 recommendations, including 73 high-level recommendations and 86 sectoral-specific recommendations. Its final report was laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas in March 2023.
  3. The Children and Young People’s Assembly on Biodiversity Loss was established by Minister for Nature, Malcolm Noonan, as a parallel process to the main Citizens’ Assembly. It brought together 35 randomly selected members aged 7 to 17 over two weekends in October 2022 to explore, discuss and create calls to action on how to protect and restore biodiversity in Ireland. The Assembly published its 58 Calls to Action in April 2023.
  4. For detail on the World Wide Fund for Nature assessment on National Biodiversity Action Plans, see the WWF Website.