The Bioeconomy Implementation Group's First Progress Report to Government has been published by the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Richard Bruton.

The Bioeconomy Implementation Group, which is jointly chaired by the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, has a mandate to oversee the development of the bioeconomy in Ireland.

This First Progress Report sets out the progress made since the publication of Ireland's National Policy Statement (NPS) on the Bioeconomy in May 2018, which laid down the guiding principles for the successful development of the Bioeconomy in Ireland. The National Policy Statement committed to build greater policy coherence across all relevant sectors and to tackle fundamental challenges to the development and expansion of Ireland's bioeconomy.

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Minister Bruton said: "This Report highlights progress to date in realising the Government's vision to grow Ireland's ambition to be a global leader for the bioeconomy. It begins the coordination of an approach that harnesses both Ireland's natural resources and our competitive advantage."

The Minister acknowledged the cross-sectoral nature of the bioeconomy and highlighted the potential to build on Ireland's distinct natural advantages and well-established enterprise base, including agriculture, marine, biopharmacy and forestry. The First Progress Report's recommendations and actions reflect and complement activity in other policy areas such as the government's Climate Action Plan, the Minister noted: "Developing the bioeconomy will also help us achieve our carbon mitigation objectives by reducing our reliance on fossil fuels, decarbonising our society by promoting more sustainable bio-based products, and growing rural and regional businesses and jobs. A successful transition to a low-carbon and circular economy will depend on integrating sustainable economic development into our economic model. The Climate Action Plan 2019 recognises the potential of our agriculture and forestry sectors to make more use of our resources, in particular wood-based products and derivatives, and I am keen to see the Bioeconomy Implementation Group drive actions that will decarbonise our society. It is clear that the bioeconomy in Ireland has enormous potential in this regard."

The First Progress Report aims to capitalise on this potential by setting out an Action Plan for the period 2019-2020 that will drive forward the development of the bioeconomy in Ireland.

(MH/JG)