An issue central to filling knowledge gaps of many aspects of biodiversity is capacity building. Research and surveying tend to deal with conspicuous biological groups which are accessible to the majority of recorders. The greatest body of biological diversity, however, occurs within the biological groups of the smaller, less conspicuous organisms for which there is only patchy knowledge. For these groups, the challenge lies in developing the expertise to identify and describe the organisms that occur in Ireland.
Another issue common to many aspects of biodiversity is the need for an Integrated Land Information Management System, linking biodiversity data with environmental and land use information. Such an integrated system could enhance the value of individual datasets by providing important contextual information and provide enormous added value.
There is a need for additional national monitoring programmes, and where possible these should build upon existing national programmes and should be designed to delivery multiple outputs to achieve greatest efficiencies.