The proposed Regulation, which had completed trilogue negotiations between the European Commission, the Council and the Parliament, was formally approved this week in a plenary session of the Parliament in Luxembourg.
Minister McConalogue said: “The current proposals differ in a number of important respects from those originally presented by the Commission, and are much more balanced and practical. Farmers can have confidence now that no changes will be forced on them and that they can continue to produce the high quality food that Ireland is renowned for.”
Minister Noonan said: “The vote is extremely positive news. Not just for nature and wildlife across Europe, but for all of us as well. The future of human civilisation depends entirely on healthy, functioning ecosystems, but these life support systems are declining dangerously. We are in a biodiversity emergency. The Nature Restoration Law will bring unprecedented action and investment to this challenge, and not a minute too soon.
“We can be proud that Ireland has demonstrated real leadership on nature restoration throughout this process. Eleven of our 13 MEPs voted in favour of the NRL today, and they should be commended for that. The Government has also supported the Nature Restoration Law at every step, as has the Dáil - members voted 121 to nine in favour of nature restoration last year.
“Our focus now turns to the development of Ireland’s Nature Restoration Plan. It is my intention to work with the Minister for Finance to ensure that the Government’s €3.15bn Climate and Nature Fund, which was announced as part of Budget 2024, will underpin the implementation of nature restoration measures across the country and deliver real benefits for rural economies.”