Kilkenny TD given new government responsibilities

Green Party TD for Carlow Kilkenny and Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Malcolm Noonan TD, has been delegated new responsibilities following a decision at cabinet this week.

This sees Minister Noonan's official title change to Minister of State with responsibility for Nature, Heritage and Electoral Reform, the first time an Irish government Minister has been designated explicit responsibility for 'nature'.

The areas of marine protection, water quality and protection for Ireland's rivers and lakes now fall within Minister Noonan's brief, bringing the National Parks and Wildlife Service, water quality and marine protection all under the same Ministry.

Speaking about his extended brief, Minister Noonan, commented: "The job of restoring nature is enormously challenging, but it's a challenge that this government has always taken extremely seriously. By bringing the key agencies and action areas definitively under the remit of one Minister, we are better positioned to take on that challenge with a more coherent and integrated approach to environmental policy.

"With Budget 2024 we gave an important signal at an important time of our commitment to protecting and restoring nature, and with this change to my title and the delegation of new responsibilities that are critical to achieving our goals we are rubberstamping our intention to take action," Deputy Noonan concluded.