Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements
Dail Éireann — 2025-12-16
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Liam Quaide (SD), Cork East

We heard a lot during the last Government about how much more investment went into the National Parks and Wildlife Service but in east Cork and Waterford, the level of under-resourcing has been baffling. In east Cork, we have had no ranger for approximately 12 of the last 15 years. There has been no district conservation officer for 18 months and no regional manager in place for years over east Cork and Waterford. It is difficult to give precise figures for these vacancies, because the Department has been incredibly opaque in response to questions I have submitted on recruitment to the NPWS. In one response, the Minister referred to "perceived vacancies", as if we were all imagining those roles being vacant. Also, bizarrely, the Department will not give details of staffing by geographical area for "operational security reasons". This is akin to An Garda Síochána not sharing numbers of gardaí employed in a given division. The Department also will not give any information on recruitment campaigns being undertaken. Meanwhile, hedgerows and trees are being trashed with impunity and the whole idea of habitat protection looks more like a bad joke in this country. When are we going to see more transparency from the Department of heritage on staffing of the NPWS? When are we going to see those crucial roles in east Cork and Waterford filled?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2025-12-16/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:28+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-12-16