Survey on future of parks service due to close today

Recent gorse fires and incidents involving animals and habitats have put the power of the NPWS in the spotlight.

Submissions from members of the public in Munster have led the way into the review of the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), the expert tasked with overseeing the process has said.

Professor of botany at Trinity College Dublin (TCD) and director of Natural Capital Ireland, Jane Stout, encouraged people with an interest in the future of the NPWS to partake in a survey before today's deadline, or submissions directly on the review by April 2.

The chair of the NPWS review is Prof Stout, while stakeholder consultation is under Dr Micheál Ó Cinneide, a former director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The survey can be found at the NPWS website.

In addition to the survey, written submissions before April 2 are also welcome, the review team said, with up to 1,000 words accepted. 

Prof Stout said that up to last Friday, Munster was leading the way with more than a third of the 770 responses. 

Nature conservation

The NPWS manages Ireland’s nature conservation responsibilities under national and European law and international commitments. 

Its mandate is to protect, preserve and present our natural heritage, the Government said upon the review's launch.

The review will "assess the remit, status and funding of the NPWS...in the context of unprecedented ambition for the protection, conservation and restoration of biodiversity in Ireland", the Department of Housing, Local Government, and Heritage said.

There have been growing calls in recent months for the NPWS to be given more teeth to act as Ireland's commitments to combatting the climate and biodiversity crisis grow.

The purpose of the review led by Prof Stout "is to appraise the current operational model of the NPWS and to identify any issues, including structure, resourcing, staffing and governance", while it will also compare it with similar agencies in different countries.

The NPWS has 72 conservation ranger posts stationed across the country, and a new recruitment panel for rangers is being set up, with interviews due to be held shortly, the department said.

In 2020, NPWS’s funding was 70% down on what it had been before the financial crisis in 2008, according to heritage minister Malcolm Noonan. 

He said upon the review's launch that he had increased its funding by 80% in Budget 2021, but conceded "there is much more to do".

Recent gorse fires and incidents involving animals and habitats have put the power of the NPWS in the spotlight, while a new separate wildlife crime unit is also being established.

Prof Stout is due to conclude her review in the summer.