Mr. Niall ? Donnch?:

I thank the Deputy for his interest in this area and for those questions. Funding levels are now back ahead of where they were in 2008 which was the zenith of previous funding. To put the growth of the organisation in perspective, at the end of 2020, there were 349 staff members in the National Parks and Wildlife Service; as of the last counting, there were 472. Therefore, there has been very significant growth and recruitment, including as a result of the programme for renewing and refreshing the National Parks and Wildlife Service which the Government agreed last May.

I cannot really address the pay issue, in the context of the ranger grade. Front-line staff are absolutely crucial to us. They are the first among the troops within the National Parks and Wildlife Service. They cover 87,000 ha of national parks and nature reserves, as members will know.

Some 14% of the country is designated for either birds or wildlife and that is a very significant footprint for which we, in the NPWS, with partner organisations and the farming community, have responsibility. The targeted ranger cohort is 120. Now we are at approximately 80. We are in the middle of two recruitment competitions for rangers. We had nine new rangers assigned to us in the past fortnight. A Public Appointments Service process is ongoing and we are taking people from those panels as quickly as we can ------