Limerick City and County Council secures funding for biodiversity officer
FUNDING has been allocated to Limerick City and County Council for the creation of a new role as part of the Government's commitment to address the biodiversity crisis.
The local authority is one of 11 local councils across the country which has been given the go ahead to appoint a new biodiversity officer with the intention of ‘driving local action for biodiversity conservation’.
It is anticipated the role will be filled by September of this year and the recruitment process will begin shortly.
The programme to roll out local biodiversity officers across the country is being delivered by the Heritage Council and the County and City Management Association (CCMA) with the support of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the National Parks and Wildlife Service.
Welcoming confirmation that Limerick City and County Council is to receive funding for the new role, Cllr Seán Hartigan of the Green Party said: “I have been fighting to have a Biodiversity Officer, Climate action officer and Tree Officer appointed in Limerick for the past two years, In Ireland one third of wild bee species are close to extinction and 60% of birds commonly occurring in Ireland are now on the red or amber conservation lists, we need to play our part in reversing this trend.”
Four local authorities in Ireland have already appointed Biodiversity Officers while ten others are currently engaged in a recruitment process.
When appointed, the new biodiversity officer will advise the Limerick City and County Council on biodiversity-related issues and aim to protect it by setting out obligations.
In addition, they will help the council to fully integrate biodiversity conservation into all of its policies, plans and actions, through training and provision of expert advice.