What is Environmental Protection?
Under the four programmes listed below, Ireland and the European Union work together to improve the environmental friendliness and sustainability of specific sectors of the Irish economy.
Under the European Regional Development Fund, this funding is used to support Local Authorities in Sustainable Development projects in Ireland’s towns and cities.
To find out more about the Sustainable Urban Development Projects supported by the European Regional Development Fund, go to its page on this website.
Under the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, the European Union and Ireland provide support for environmentally friendly schemes together. To learn about an example of how the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development invests in environmental protection, read this case study on the Organic Farming Scheme.
Funding for Environmental Protection: 1.4 billion euro from the Rural Development Programme and 145.4 million from the EMFF Operational Programme for Ireland.
Examples of Environmental Protection Projects
GLAS and GLAS+
European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development
The Green Low-Carbon Agri-Environment Scheme, or GLAS, is a scheme that aims to encourage farmers to be as environmental and climate friendly as possible. GLAS+ is a strand of the scheme aimed at farmers who take on challenging actions with an exceptional level of environmental benefit, with a higher maximum payment.
To find more information, please go to the Department of Agriculture’s Website
Inshore Fisheries Conservation
European Maritime and Fisheries Fund
This scheme provides financial supports to aid the inshore fishing sector to become more economically, socially and environmentally sustainable.
An example of the funding under this scheme is for V-Notching Lobster Scheme, for funding to aid the process of tracking and protecting Ireland’s lobster stocks.
To find out more, take a look at the Bord Iascaigh Mhara website.
The Burren Programme
European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development
This programme is a locally-led measure aimed at the conservation of the unique landscape of the Burren in Clare and Galway.
Payments are made to farmers based on a scoring of the environmental health of their fields as part of a 5 year farm plan. Higher scores (and better environmental health) will attract higher payments.
To find out more about this Programme please go to its website.
Which Funds invest in Environmental Protection?
Each of the Funds below invests in Environmental Protection. Click on these tiles to explore the other investments made by each Fund.
