Parks and wildlife service set for revamp with money and staff allocated in new plan 

Ministers Darragh O'Brien and Malcolm Noonan at the launch of the Strategic Action Plan for the National Parks and Wildlife Service

A €55m investment in the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) will see the "early recruitment" of 60 key staff.

The Government has today published a Strategic Action Plan for the NPWS that sets out a timeline for a full organisational restructuring of the service.

The plan will establish the service as an executive agency within a Government department and change its internal structure so “that it is fit to meet current and future challenges”.

In December, the Irish Examiner reported that a lack of resources within the NPWS means it could not meet its current obligations. The report, unpublished at the time, noted a shortfall in staffing numbers undermined its efforts, despite having a hard-working workforce.

Today's funding announcement was made at Ballykeeffe Nature Reserve in Co Kilkenny and Minister of State for Heritage Malcolm Noonan said the renewal of the NPWS is “the keystone action in this Government’s response to the biodiversity emergency”.

“I’m delighted to confirm that the NPWS will be established as an Executive Agency, giving it a strong identity and voice to speak for nature,” said Mr Noonan.

He added that funding for the NPWS has increased to €47m in 2022 as he stated that the Government “has endorsed future underpinning investment of up to €55m over the coming three budgetary cycles to realise this plan.” 

Mr Noonan said the funding will enable the NPWS to embrace Ireland’s ambitions for nature and help to begin to turn the tide on biodiversity loss.

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Darragh O’Brien, the Minister for Housing and Heritage, stated that the NPWS has a “proud history” despite being “a relatively small organisation”.

Currently, the NPWS has a team of 400 staff, spread across 32 office locations in 19 counties.

The team “carries a complex range of responsibilities, ranging from significant policy and advisory functions, to operational responsibilities in our National Parks, conservation, enforcement, licensing, biodiversity protection and as a statutory consultee on planning,” said Mr O’Brien.

He added that it is "vital that we have a resilient and effective NPWS” to perform those functions.

Both ministers highlighted how funding for the NPWS is now back to a level “not seen since before the financial crisis”.

The plan will also see an overhaul of the HR capability and practice within the service and set up an expert group to establish the human resourcing requirement of the NPWS on an international, best-practice basis.

The priority recruitment of 60 staff in key roles including rangers, scientists, general operatives and key managerial, HR specialists commences as a matter of urgency following the announcement, a statement revealed.