Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity, Christopher O’Sullivan has welcomed an allocation of €256 million for nature restoration and heritage in Ireland.

This figure represents a 15% increase on the 2025 Budget allocation that supports agencies including the National Monuments Service, National Built Heritage Service, the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), Heritage Council and Waterways Ireland

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 also brings the core NPWS budget above €100 million for the first time—a symbolic milestone in sustained investment in nature.”

There was also an increase in funding to the National Monuments Service, the National Built Heritage Service and the Heritage Council. 

Minister O'Sullivan added: “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.” 

"... 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.”

Funding for heritage and nature

The €256 million heritage allocation includes the following key measures:

A 20% increase in funding for the 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 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;
A 9% increase in the funding of the Heritage Council;
A 4.3% increase in funding for Waterways Ireland.