The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has purchased 7,060ac of land since 2020, new figures show.
In the last five years, the State body has spent €30.1m on land for conservation, the equivalent of €4,263/ac for some of the most valuable land for nature in the country.
Many of the sites bought are special areas of conservation (SACs) or natural heritage areas (NHAs).
The NPWS has ramped up the amount of land it is buying in the last two years, snapping up 1,734ac in 2023 for a total of €13.9m and a further 4,768ac last year, which had a price tag of €14.3m.
To date in 2025, it has spent €1.1m on 166ac of land across nine counties.
Land acquisitions
Almost 3,000ac of land was bought in Kerry over the last five years to the tune of €9.73m. One of the most high-profile sites bought by the body in Kerry includes the Conor Pass in Dingle which cost €5.95m or €4,286/ac.
It also bought the nearby 686.2ac Owenmore Fisheries near the Conor Pass for €1.5m. These lands now help make up part of Ireland’s largest national park – Páirc Náisiúnta na Mara – which comprises a total land and sea area of 70,000ac.
In 2023, the State body purchased 553ac at Dowth in Co Meath for €11m (€19,885/ac).
The sale also included Netterville Manor and had been owned by Devenish Nutrition where it carried out research with UCD. That land is to be turned into a new national park.
Lands at Dowth, which the State now owns.
Last October, the NPWS announced it had acquired the 164.99ac at Cullahill, Co Kilkenny, for €600,000. The lands are within and beside the Cullahill Mountain SAC and will be designated as a nature reserve called Gale’s Hill Nature Reserve.
Described as a site of high ecological significance by then-Minister for Heritage Malcolm Noonan, the site is home to species-rich grassland habitats and features a selection of wild native plants, rare invertebrates such as the marsh fritillary butterfly and unique fungi, such as waxcap mushrooms, as well as a host of bird species.
“At a time when 30% of our semi-natural grasslands have been lost in the past 10 years, this represents a hugely valuable investment,” Minister Noonan said.
In Longford, the NPWS owns a number of islands on Lough Ree. It bought the 62.24ac Black Islands in 2023 for €427,000 and 44.48ac Clawinch Island this year for €325,000.
Other land purchases over the last five years include four tracts of land covering 1,029ac in Wicklow for €1.17m, Westmeath bogs covering 84.26ac for €291,053 and 780ac of land in Galway for €1.76m.
The land acquisition data was revealed in a parliamentary question by Minister for Housing James Browne in response to Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty.
Read more
State to buy 50ac island on Lough Ree for birds
State buys 552ac Devenish land in Meath for new national park
NPWS completed 14 land acquisitions last year
The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has purchased 7,060ac of land since 2020, new figures show.
In the last five years, the State body has spent €30.1m on land for conservation, the equivalent of €4,263/ac for some of the most valuable land for nature in the country.
Many of the sites bought are special areas of conservation (SACs) or natural heritage areas (NHAs).
The NPWS has ramped up the amount of land it is buying in the last two years, snapping up 1,734ac in 2023 for a total of €13.9m and a further 4,768ac last year, which had a price tag of €14.3m.
To date in 2025, it has spent €1.1m on 166ac of land across nine counties.
Land acquisitions
Almost 3,000ac of land was bought in Kerry over the last five years to the tune of €9.73m. One of the most high-profile sites bought by the body in Kerry includes the Conor Pass in Dingle which cost €5.95m or €4,286/ac.
It also bought the nearby 686.2ac Owenmore Fisheries near the Conor Pass for €1.5m. These lands now help make up part of Ireland’s largest national park – Páirc Náisiúnta na Mara – which comprises a total land and sea area of 70,000ac.
In 2023, the State body purchased 553ac at Dowth in Co Meath for €11m (€19,885/ac).
The sale also included Netterville Manor and had been owned by Devenish Nutrition where it carried out research with UCD. That land is to be turned into a new national park.
Lands at Dowth, which the State now owns.
Last October, the NPWS announced it had acquired the 164.99ac at Cullahill, Co Kilkenny, for €600,000. The lands are within and beside the Cullahill Mountain SAC and will be designated as a nature reserve called Gale’s Hill Nature Reserve.
Described as a site of high ecological significance by then-Minister for Heritage Malcolm Noonan, the site is home to species-rich grassland habitats and features a selection of wild native plants, rare invertebrates such as the marsh fritillary butterfly and unique fungi, such as waxcap mushrooms, as well as a host of bird species.
“At a time when 30% of our semi-natural grasslands have been lost in the past 10 years, this represents a hugely valuable investment,” Minister Noonan said.
In Longford, the NPWS owns a number of islands on Lough Ree. It bought the 62.24ac Black Islands in 2023 for €427,000 and 44.48ac Clawinch Island this year for €325,000.
Other land purchases over the last five years include four tracts of land covering 1,029ac in Wicklow for €1.17m, Westmeath bogs covering 84.26ac for €291,053 and 780ac of land in Galway for €1.76m.
The land acquisition data was revealed in a parliamentary question by Minister for Housing James Browne in response to Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty.
Read more
State to buy 50ac island on Lough Ree for birds
State buys 552ac Devenish land in Meath for new national park
NPWS completed 14 land acquisitions last year
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