Ireland's bioeconomy

On Friday, 28 July, the Department of the Taoiseach published a discussion document on the bioeconomy – the part of the economy that uses renewable resources from land and sea. Submissions are invited on the document, which will inform a National Policy Statement to drive developments in the area.

The National Mitigation Plan, Action Plan for Jobs and Action Plan for Rural Development all contain commitments to the strategic development of Ireland’s bioeconomy.

Ireland has numerous renewable biological resources with the potential for the creation of high value products. The bioeconomy uses these resources to produce food, feed, biomaterials, chemicals, pulp and paper, energy and fuels.

Developing Ireland’s bioeconomy

Developing Ireland’s bioeconomy will help reduce carbon emissions, create high-skilled engineering and science jobs and contribute to global food security. It also presents an opportunity for indigenous economic development, exports and job creation while reducing our dependency on natural resources and imported materials.

Relevant submissions to the Bioeconomy Discussion Document will input into the drafting of a National Policy Statement on the bioeconomy. The bioeconomy cuts across a number of sectors and departments, and the objective of the policy statement is to ensure greater policy coherence and assign responsibility to departments for specific elements of the bioeconomy.

Written submissions should be sent before 15 September 2017.

Submissions can be sent to:

Please note that all relevant submissions and comments submitted to the Department of the Taoiseach for this will be placed on the department’s website.

Consultation on the Bioeconomy - Submissions