1797. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the way in which he is supporting councils and public bodies to take a collaborative approach to the removal of invasive species, particularly along river banks which cross multiple local authority areas and require a whole-of-river strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58031/26]

My Department's National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is responsible for the implementation of the legislative framework around invasive alien species in Ireland, including the 2024 European Union (Invasive Alien Species) Regulations (SI 374/2024) which give effect to the EU IAS Regulation (1143/2014) in the national context.

Management and control of invasive alien species is primarily a matter for landowners. While my Department carries out considerable work on controls in National Parks and Nature Reserves, it does not have the resources or the powers required to extend such work into urban areas or the wider countryside. Much of the work in tackling invasive alien species happens at local level and is carried out by local authorities in their areas through their own biodiversity action plans.

The Local Biodiversity Action Fund, operated by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, supports a diverse range of local authority-led projects, and many of these projects deal with invasive alien species control.

Other agencies, such as Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI), have an important role to play. Inland Fisheries Ireland maintain responsibility for rivers and lakes in Ireland and undertake a range of work tackling invasive alien species on our inland waters.