Press Release Launch of Pollinator Plan 2026-2030
Ambitious new Pollinator Plan aims to create ‘pockets for nature every 200 metres’ across the island of Ireland
A new five-year plan brings together communities, farmers, businesses, and public bodies to create a more biodiversity-rich landscape.
Today, July 9th, the new All-Ireland Pollinator Plan 2026-2030 was launched at the National Botanic Gardens, Dublin, by Ireland’s Minister for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity, Christopher O’Sullivan TD, and Andrew Muir, Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Northern Ireland. The All-Ireland Pollinator Plan is a voluntary framework coordinated by the National Biodiversity Data Centre and supported by a wide network of partner organisations across both jurisdictions.
Pollinators are essential to both healthy ecosystems and human health. They enable plant reproduction, support biodiversity, and underpin agricultural productivity and food security. However, our 100 species of wild bees are in decline, with one-third at risk of extinction. Actions not only help pollinators but also benefit our wider biodiversity, which benefits human health and wellbeing. Therefore, addressing pollinator decline is both an ecological necessity and a societal priority.
Welcoming the launch, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said: “I warmly welcome the launch of the third phase of the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan out to 2030, supported through the Government’s Shared Island Fund, National Parks and Wildlife Service and Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and by the Northern Ireland Executive. The All-Ireland Pollinator Plan has proved an enormous success over the last decade in bringing together farmers, local communities, public bodies and businesses to help conserve and create a landscape where pollinators can survive and thrive. I look forward to seeing the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan expand and continue this crucial work in protecting sustainable agriculture, food security, and benefitting the island’s unique and precious biodiversity.”
The vision of the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan 2026–2030 is simple but ambitious: to create a landscape that provides food and shelter every 200 metres. This mission reflects the fact that our important solitary bees can only travel these short distances from their nest sites to find food. Achieving this vision will require coordinated action across all land types, supported by strong partnerships and public engagement.
In his launch address, Minister for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Northern Ireland, Andrew Muir said: “Bees, butterflies and our other pollinators are the unsung heroes of our environment, playing a fundamental role across our ecosystems. The All-Ireland Pollinator Plan provides a clear, practical framework to support these busy bugs in enabling nature recovery. By working together, across all landscapes, it is possible to restore pollinator populations and create an island that is richer in biodiversity, more resilient to climate change, and better for people and nature alike. Adopting a more ambitious All-Ireland Pollinator Plan for 2026-2030 will help us play our part in meeting international biodiversity targets, and is key to the success of our Environmental Improvement Plan and forthcoming Nature Recovery Strategy. I am grateful to the Irish government and particularly the Department of the Taoiseach, for their partnership and cooperation in developing and supporting it through Shared Island funding.”
The 2026-2030 phase of the Pollinator Plan is supported through funding from the Government of Ireland’s Shared Island Fund, the National Parks and Wildlife Service, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA).
Dr Sara McGuckin, Head of Natural Science, NIEA said: “Halting and reversing pollinator species decline is essential to securing healthy, resilient ecosystems and sustainable food systems. The Northern Ireland Environment Agency is delighted to continue our strong partnership through the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan to 2030. By strengthening our monitoring of pollinators, we can develop a better understanding of what our rare and threatened species need, and track recovery of pollinator populations across Ireland.”
According to Minister for Agriculture, Martin Heydon: “The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is delighted to fund two Farmland Pollinator Officers under the new Plan from 2026 to 2030, to further support farmers in taking action for pollinators. Agriculture and farmers are key in this wide-scale societal effort to reverse the decline of these important insects. We look forward to supporting the next ambitious phase of the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan.”
The All-Ireland Pollinator Plan has become internationally renowned as best practice, and as successful model that has been copied by other European States in developing their own action plans to reverse pollinator declines. The Plan is built on robust scientific research, and all recommended actions are evidence-based.
“Since 2015, implementation of the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan has been coordinated by the National Biodiversity Data Centre. Thanks to action across all sectors during the first ten years of the Plan, pollinators are now in a much better position, but they still face major challenges. The 2026-2030 phase will be supported by a dedicated team of eight staff within the National Biodiversity Data Centre. Our monitoring schemes and expertise help to provide the scientific basis for evidence-based action and to identify where action will have the greatest impact for our threatened pollinators.” – Liam Lysaght, CEO, National Biodiversity Data Centre
The All-Ireland Pollinator Plan 2026-2030 includes 50 strategic aims and 75 success metrics, which will be reported annually to ensure accountability and transparency. Its 10 work packages cover key sectors such a Farmland, Public Land, Transport Networks, Communities, and Businesses. Together, these work packages aim to drive landscape-scale change, connecting individual actions into a coherent ecological shift towards an island where pollinators can survive and thrive.
In a time of climate and biodiversity anxiety, the Pollinator Plan empowers people to create positive change for our future, and provides all the knowledge and tools to allow anyone to take action for biodiversity. Its ethos is simple:
‘small actions, taken together, can create real change
– helping to restore pollinators in order to build a healthier, more resilient environment for everyone.’
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FOR INTERVIEWS, PLEASE CONTACT:
Juanita Browne, Communications Officer, National Biodiversity Data Centre
[email protected] 086-195 5073
Interviews are available with Dr Úna FitzPatrick, Co-founder of the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan and Chief Scientific Officer of the National Biodiversity Data Centre
PHOTOGRAPHS:
High resolution photographs from the launch are available at:
VIDEO
You are welcome to embed/publish our videos/reels/clips on the new plan from: https://pollinators.ie/media/launchvideos/
Or from Vimeo:
https://vimeo.com/1207698844/3e37899ecd?share=copy&fl=cl&fe=ci
Download the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan 2026-2030
Notes to Editor
The All-Ireland Pollinator Plan 2026–2030 is a coordinated, evidence-based framework that brings together organisations, communities, businesses, and individuals across the island of Ireland to address the decline of pollinating insects. It builds on the strong foundations of the first two phases (2015–2020; 2021–2025), which successfully mobilised cross-sectoral action and delivered measurable progress through 267 actions to date.
The All-Ireland Pollinator Plan was initiated by Dr Úna FitzPatrick (Chief Science Officer, National Biodiversity Data Centre) and Prof. Jane Stout (Trinity College Dublin) in 2015 and has since received international recognition as an exemplar in best practice and as a conservation success story.
Since its launch in 2015, the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan has grown into a widely recognised and successful initiative. Achievements to date include:
- Delivery of all actions in previous plans
- Engagement with over 120 partner organisations across multiple sectors
- Development of extensive free, evidence-based guidance and training resources
- Participation of all 42 local authorities on the island
- Engagement of over 400 businesses and hundreds of community groups
- Establishment by the National Biodiversity Data Centre of national monitoring schemes
- Logging of over 14,000 pollinator-friendly actions from across the island through a public mapping system
There is very strong public support for pollinator conservation, with polls showing the majority of people recognise the importance of pollinators, and express willingness to take action.
Despite this progress, pollinators remain under significant pressure. The 2026–2030 Plan therefore seeks to scale up action, deepen engagement, and better connect efforts across sectors and landscapes.
Pollinators are central to functioning ecosystems, resilient landscapes, and sustainable food systems. Their decline signals wider environmental challenges, but also presents an opportunity for collective action that results in wider biodiversity and societal benefits.
To find out more about the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan, please see: pollinators.ie
To find out more about the work of the National Biodiversity Data Centre, visit biodiversityireland.ie
Many thanks