Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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I welcome the representatives of the National Parks and Wildlife Service to the committee. It is an amazing organisation, which has done amazing work. The Minister of State has left so I will not embarrass him when I say in his absence that the NPWS has a wonderful ambassador in the Minister of State, Deputy Malcolm Noonan. He comes with a great smile, great cheer and great enthusiasm for nature, biodiversity and everything they embody and imbue in the National Parks and Wildlife Service. I do not want to be given the other side of it but from in here, he is an amazing ambassador for the organisation and in his entire portfolio as a Minister of State. I acknowledge that because it is really important. Any time the Minister of State takes a Commencement matter in the Seanad or appears at this committee or in the Dáil, we see his enthusiasm for and commitment to the subject and his absolute integrity. That is an important message.

I also thank the National Parks and Wildlife Service. I am very familiar with the services it provides all over the country. I thank the witnesses for sharing the NPWS national strategic plan 2022 to 2025. It is impressive and, in fairness, the service has a wonderful photographer and the PowerPoint presentation gives a sense of what the organisation is all about.

Regarding the stakeholder engagement, whenever that happens, I wish it well. I sit on the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine so when we talk about nature restoration, particularly of agriculture and ecosystems or, in simple terms, farmlands and places where farmers make their incomes and live, I am conscious that without the active participation, engagement and consent of farmers, we are not going to be successful. There is a greater acknowledgement of that as nature restoration, the protection of our biodiversity and conservation have evolved. That is really important.

Mr. Ó Donnchú touched on the importance of partnership, engagement, inclusivity, the acknowledgement of the rural communities and the significance they have in our nature restoration. Land is used successfully for production but its importance is now recognised in respect of general nature and biodiversity. Some land needs to be left aside to be nurtured. Then there is greater diversity, recreation and keeping some of our countryside open, where possible. Those are some thoughts I wanted to share.

I am particularly interested in the NPWS's plans for education. How do we bring the next generation along? We have a lot to learn from the generations below us but what are the service's exciting plans and vision for how we can tap into our schools, provide education programmes and bring more people out into the field of its expertise? Ultimately, the NPWS acts as custodian on our behalf, and that is recognised. Mr. Ó Donnchú spoke about voluntarism and how the NPWS wishes to develop that. Then there are community programmes. Will Mr. Ó Donnchú set out for us what the plan or vision is to encourage the involvement of younger people and communities? Will he address engagement with the agricultural sector, particularly regarding the more rural and sensitive sites of which the NPWS is custodian?