Ireland's Corncrake Rebounds with €5.9M LIFE Project; EU Funding Faces Scrapping
Ireland's corncrake population has significantly rebounded, reaching 281 territories in 2025, thanks to a €5.9 million EU-funded LIFE project. Despite this success, the European Commission proposes merging the LIFE program into a new fund, sparking concerns from environmental groups and Irish officials about the future of dedicated environmental funding.
The corncrake, once near extinction in Ireland, has seen a remarkable rebound. From a low of 161 territories in 2021, numbers rose to 281 in 2025, the highest since formal censusing began. This success is attributed to a €5.9 million Corncrake/Traonach LIFE project, 73% EU-funded, which involved a 14-person team collaborating with 250 farmers across 1,500 hectares in west Mayo and Donegal.
The project implemented measures such as predator control, conservation grazing, sowing early cover crops, and restoring abandoned grasslands. John Carey of the project stated that EU LIFE funding provided the tools to bring the corncrake back, making it a symbol of rejuvenation and cooperation in rural landscapes.
Despite such successes, the European Commission plans to scrap LIFE as a stand-alone program, intending to roll it into a new European Competitiveness Fund (ECF). Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall assured that LIFE activities would remain under the ECF, but critics like the WWF call the move inexplicable, fearing defunding of vital nature and climate action. WWF's Beate Aikens highlights LIFE's 30-year success in bringing stakeholders together and implementing environmental legislation, warning its disappearance would be detrimental.
Irish Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity, Christopher O’Sullivan, expressed strong disappointment, stating it is disheartening that the EU proposes removing its only dedicated environmental funding instrument just as member states develop nature restoration plans. The proposal requires support from the European Parliament and member states to pass, with several committees and national ministries already advocating for LIFE's retention.