{"id":492027,"date":"2026-05-19T08:32:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T08:32:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/492027\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T08:32:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T08:32:11","slug":"bureau-to-tackle-invasive-species-set-up-in-waterford-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/492027\/","title":{"rendered":"Bureau to tackle invasive species set up in Waterford \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

A bureau to tackle invasive species in Ireland has been set up in Co Waterford<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Species such as Rhododendron ponticum, North American mink and Japanese knotweed, pose a threat as they damage native species of plants and wildlife.<\/p>\n

They can also impact agriculture, fisheries, forestry, transport and tourism sectors. <\/p>\n

The bureau will support the implementation of European Union<\/a> regulations on invasive species and says it will strengthen Ireland\u2019s approach to managing them.<\/p>\n

A new strategic approach for managing any future occurrence of the Asian hornet in Ireland has also been established. Last year, hornet nests were located and removed in Co Cork<\/a> after reported sightings were made. The Asian hornet, native to Southeast Asia, has spread through continental Europe since its accidental introduction in France in 2004. It poses a major ecological risk to native pollinators. A single nest can devastate local honeybee populations. <\/p>\n

The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage<\/a> said the rapid-response model for Asian hornets is a new roadmap that will co-ordinate efforts to ensure it doesn\u2019t take hold in Ireland. <\/p>\n

The bureau announcement was made by the Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity, Christopher O\u2019Sullivan<\/a> in a new partnership between the National Parks and Wildlife Service<\/a> (NPWS) and the National Biodiversity Data Centre<\/a> (NBDC).<\/p>\n

The public can now report suspected sightings of invasive species at invasives.ie<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0How to recognise an Asian hornet and what to do if you see oneOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Launching the bureau at the NBDC in Waterford, O\u2019Sullivan said: \u201cLeft unchecked, invasive species are a major threat to nature and a threat to livelihoods.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of my top priorities for the bureau will be to develop an invasive species management strategy and support its implementation. This will provide us with solid data, co-ordinate key agencies and stakeholders and unlock the power of citizen science so that we can spot these species early and stop them from spreading.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe remain vigilant about the Asian hornet given the threat it poses to native pollinators. This roadmap does just that, it ensures that we are well prepared to prevent it from gaining a foothold in Ireland,\u201d said the Minister.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/environment\/2025\/08\/28\/more-sightings-of-asian-hornet-confirmed-as-response-intensifies\/Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Chairperson of the NBDC John McCarthy said: \u201cContributing to improved national co-ordination of evidence-based actions will slow the rate of introduction of new invasive species and limit their negative impact on our native species and habitats.\u201d <\/p>\n

Representatives from the NPWS and the NBDC signed a memorandum of understanding which sets out the objectives, terms and scope of the work to be undertaken by the bureau. <\/p>\n

With the new bureau in place, work will now begin on a national invasive species management strategy for Ireland. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A bureau to tackle invasive species in Ireland has been set up in Co Waterford. Species such as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":492028,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[269],"tags":[1868,49772,18,440,2219,19,17,2969,31340,133,5049],"class_list":["post-492027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-biodiversity","tag-christopher-osullivan","tag-eire","tag-environment","tag-european-union","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-national-biodiversity-data-centre","tag-national-parks-and-wildlife-service","tag-science","tag-waterford"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116600317354233295","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/492027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=492027"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/492027\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/492028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=492027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=492027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=492027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}