Ireland has taken a significant step toward repairing its degraded ecosystems with the launch of a new national platform, RestoreNature.ie, unveiled today by Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity, Christopher O’Sullivan.

The website will serve as a public portal for citizen engagement in shaping the country’s Nature Restoration Plan, a major obligation under the EU’s groundbreaking Nature Restoration Law.

With the Plan due to be submitted to the European Commission by 1 September 2026, RestoreNature.ie will act as the central hub for updates, community input, and full transparency as Ireland begins mapping out how it intends to meet legally binding EU targets to reverse biodiversity loss and restore damaged landscapes.

“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity,” Minister O’Sullivan said at the launch. “We’re asking people in every corner of the country to get involved—whether you live in a town, work the land, fish the seas, or simply care about our natural world. This law isn’t just about nature—it’s about the future of our communities, our farms, our floodplains, and our climate resilience.”

Law With Teeth

The Nature Restoration Regulation (EU 2024/1991), which came into force in August 2024, is the EU’s first legally binding framework requiring member states to restore at least 20% of the EU’s land and sea areas by 2030, and all degraded ecosystems by 2050. It puts specific emphasis on carbon-rich peatlands, pollinator-rich grasslands, wetlands, forests, and marine habitats, all of which have been severely impacted by decades of intensive land use, drainage, and pollution.

The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has been appointed by Government to coordinate the development of Ireland’s national Nature Restoration Plan.

Public Voice Central to the Process

RestoreNature.ieThe Government is promising an open, participatory approach—something that campaigners and rural communities have long demanded. Community Conversations, Stakeholder Forums, and Leaders’ Forum workshops will take place nationwide in the months ahead, with RestoreNature.ie providing real-time updates, documentation, and calls to action.

“We are publishing all reports, all meeting notes, and giving people access to the process as it unfolds,” said Dr Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin, Chair of the Independent Advisory Committee tasked with shaping the Plan. “We have a wide range of voices at the table—from farmers to ecologists—and transparency is key to building the trust we need to make this work.”

The Committee will review all inputs from the public engagement process and make formal recommendations to the Minister, ensuring that both scientific evidence and local lived experience are reflected in the final Plan.

A Plan for People and Planet

Director General of the NPWS, Niall Ó Donnchú, stressed that the goal is not a top-down policy imposition, but a co-created strategy that “delivers real, positive and lasting change for nature and for the communities that care for it.”

“This website marks the start of a genuine national conversation. Restoring nature means restoring our health, our water, our soil, and our resilience to climate shocks. But it has to be fair, it has to be inclusive, and it has to be done with the people most affected.”

What Comes Next

The Nature Restoration Plan will outline specific national measures to restore ecosystems in line with the Regulation’s targets. This will include areas such as rewetting peatlands, restoring hedgerows and wetlands, improving water quality, and ensuring climate-adapted land management. The final submission to the EU Commission is due by 1 September 2026.

In the meantime, RestoreNature.ie will be the place to watch.

“The process is live. The conversation is open. And nature doesn’t have time to wait,” Minister O’Sullivan said.

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