Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 June 2023
726. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of local authorities that have undertaken hedgerow surveys; if targeted funding is available to councils to undertake this work; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27824/23]
View answerMy Department does not have overall responsibility for hedgerow surveys. Teagasc, however, has undertaken hedgerow mapping on a national scale, and while no comprehensive national survey has been carried out to date, a number of local authorities have commissioned hedgerow surveys at county level.
The Local Biodiversity Action Fund (LBAF) operated by my Department provides funding to assist local authority biodiversity officers, or heritage officers in local authorities without a biodiversity officer, with the implementation of projects that promote actions contained in the National Biodiversity Action Plan. Funding of over €2.5m has been awarded to date in 2023 to local authorities for a variety of biodiversity-related projects. Since the Fund was first launched in 2018, several local authorities have applied for and secured funding to carry out hedgerow work, including surveying, providing recommendations for the protection, restoration and enhancement of hedgerows and raising awareness of the importance of hedgerows as refuges for biodiversity. For instance, Dún Laoghaire Rathdown received LBAF funding in 2021 to initiate a hedgerow survey which was continued with further funding in 2022. 11 local authorities have been awarded funding in 2023 for hedgerow related work.
