Parks and wildlife services 'neglected for decades', scathing report finds
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A lack of resources within the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) means it cannot meet current obligations, not to mind future targets in the recently enacted Climate Bill and EU biodiversity strategy.
That is the stark conclusion of experts who carried out a review of the NPWS in an as yet unpublished report, which was handed to the Department of Housing, Local Government, and Heritage back in June.
The NPWS review was led by professor of botany at Trinity College Dublin Jane Stout, and Dr Micheál Ó Cinneide, a former director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
It had more than 3,000 submissions and was the first time ever that such a review took place in size and scope.
October's budget saw Heritage Minister Malcolm Noonan announce an allocation of more than €47m for the NPWS, which will allow it to beef up staffing to pre-financial crisis levels. That funding boost is an increase of 64% since he became minister in 2020, he said.
In the review of the NPWS, the authors said "in its current form, the NPWS is not aligned effectively to deliver on its current demands and future mandate".
Its executive summary said: "There are major strategic, structural, capacity and resource issues, meaning the NPWS cannot meet current obligations, let alone plan for and respond to future challenges and legislation, including the Climate Action Bill and EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2030."
Staff within the NPWS are not to blame for the current predicament in the face of a biodiversity crisis, the authors said, but they are hamstrung by resources.
"It was clear from listening to stakeholders that there is broad consensus that the NPWS staff work incredibly hard, and are doing an admirable job, considering the resource constraints under which they are operating."
Political apathy has been at the heart of the problem, the report added.
"However, stakeholders also perceive that they, and the service they work for, have been neglected for decades, in a political system that did not value nature and biodiversity.
"There needs to be urgent reprioritisation in Government and substantial investment in the service that coordinates the restoration and conservation of nature. Like investment in health and education, investment in nature has a long-term public benefit."
A long period of under-investment in the NPWS has contributed to the failure to properly implement all aspects of the EU Nature Directives, it said.
"Our six national parks represent the face of Ireland’s nature, and can play a key part in Ireland’s tourism industry, but unless the management of their ecosystems is prioritised, their ecological condition will deteriorate further."
Some 24 recommendations were made to the minister within the report.