Recommendations from an advisory body on the Nature Restoration Law are due to be published in the coming weeks.

The final meeting of the Independent Advisory Committee (IAC) on Nature Restoration took place today (Wednesday, March 11).

The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has said that the IAC has completed its "deliberations and recommendations".

The committee was formed in late 2024 and was tasked with providing advice to the relevant minister for the Nature Restoration Law, who is Minister of state for nature, heritage and biodiversity Christopher O'Sullivan.

The recommendations will then feed into Ireland's Nature Restoration Plan.

The department said that the committee "has worked constructively and tirelessly" over the last 15 months to develop and agree a series of recommendations.

The recommendations are designed to identify "key enabling conditions and critical priorities" for the delivery of Ireland's Nature Restoration Plan, the department said.

The recommendations are based on the views of the IAC's membership, which included representatives from the farming sector; academia; local, national and EU authorities; and non-governmental organisations.

The advisory committee includes representatives from three farm organisations: the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA); the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers' Association (ICSMA); and the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers' Association (INHFA).

The committee's recommendations also involved stakeholder participation to "ensure they reflect the views of the public, key groups and sectors".

The committee also considered the input of technical, inter-departmental working groups across the themes of land; sea; towns and cities; and finance.

According to the department, Minister O'Sullivan expects to receive the recommendations from the IAC in the coming weeks and publish them as soon as possible thereafter.

He intends to consider them as part of the development of Ireland's Nature Restoration Plan, the department said.

The plan is being drafted on an all-of-government basis and will require government approval before a first draft is submitted to the European Commission in September.

Following feedback from the commission and the outcomes of public consultation, the plan will be finalised in 2027.