Minister O’Sullivan welcomes record 15% increase for nature and heritage in Budget 2026
- Published on: 8 October 2025
- Last updated on: 8 October 2025
- Record €256 million boost for nature restoration and heritage, up by 15%
- 20% increase in funding for the National Parks and Wildlife Service – a key enabler for the upcoming Nature Restoration Plan
- Heritage investment strengthened by a 10% increase.
Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity, Christopher O’Sullivan TD has welcomed a historic allocation of €256 million for nature restoration and heritage in Ireland. This figure represents a record 15% increase on the 2025 Budget allocation that supports the work of agencies that protect Ireland’s nature and heritage, including the National Monuments Service, National Built Heritage Service, the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), the Heritage Council and Waterways Ireland.
Welcoming this across-the-board investment, Minister O’Sullivan said the NPWS would play an even greater role as the custodians of our natural heritage.
"The 20% increase for the NPWS is significant and underscores the State’s commitment to our upcoming Nature Restoration Plan. It will enable large-scale habitat restoration, strengthen species recovery and invasive species removal programmes and enable continued investment in our National Parks and Nature Reserves for visitors and nature lovers alike. It also brings the core NPWS budget above €100 million for the first time—a symbolic milestone in sustained investment in nature.”
Minister O’Sullivan also welcomed an increase in funding to the National Monuments Service, the National Built Heritage Service and the Heritage Council.
“This increase in funding will allow us to protect more of our national monuments and to enable our communities to restore the natural and built heritage of their areas. Our funding to agencies will ensure that vital infrastructural works will be carried out on our inland Waterways and it will also allow The Heritage Council to do more of its invaluable work in our towns, villages and schools.”
“Budget 2026 will support even more communities across the country to protect and conserve their local built heritage and archaeological monuments. The 10% increase in funding here will have a knock on effect for local community employment, with the preservation of monuments and restoration of built heritage of their areas creating thousands of traditional building person-hours for our skilled craftspeople and their apprentices.”
Minister O’Sullivan continued:
“The Government has delivered a record budget for nature and heritage this year. This is a very clear statement of this Government’s commitment to nature and heritage with the overall increase both historic and emblematic of its intent in this critical area. In protecting our monuments and waterways, our parks and wild places, we are not just preserving and protecting the past – we are planting the seeds of a living legacy, where built and natural heritage thrive together for generations yet to come.”
“The 15% increase in our heritage allocation year on year means that the work of our National Monuments Service, National Parks and Wildlife Service, National Built Heritage Service, along with the Heritage Council and Waterways Ireland have not only been endorsed - they have been reinvigorated,”
he said.
The €256 million Heritage allocation includes the following key measures:
- A 20% increase in funding for the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), including a 27% uplift in capital investment in Ireland’s National Parks and Nature Reserves and its Natura sites. The funding will support the presentation of our National Parks and Nature Reserves, seed investment in the forthcoming Nature Restoration Plan, support fire patrols and combat wildlife crime and help to manage invasive species. Targeted action to protect species and habitats will also be taken with this funding.
- A 10% increase for the National Built Heritage Service and the National Monuments Service, enabling continued investment through the Historic Structures Fund, the Community Monuments Fund, and the Built Heritage Investment Scheme, working in partnership with communities and local authorities to preserve, maintain, and conserve valuable local heritage infrastructure.
- A 9% increase in the funding of the Heritage Council, ensuring it can continue its work across the heritage sector and within communities throughout the country.
- A 4.3% increase in funding for Waterways Ireland, supporting its work in upgrading, maintaining, and presenting the island’s inland navigable waterways for the enjoyment of all.
ENDS