Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I agree with everything Deputy O'Sullivan has said. In regard to the NPWS, there is a commitment in the programme for Government to a comprehensive review of the role, function and resourcing of the NPWS. The Deputy is correct in saying that there is a resourcing issue, and that is important. In the short time I have been in this office, I have seen some amazing work done by our staff and rangers throughout the country and I am immensely proud of that. The body is under-resourced.

We will explore the possibility of a wildlife crime unit. There has been quite an amount of discussion about that, and I will meet with BirdWatch Ireland and a number of other NGOs over the next number of weeks to try to advance that proposal. We are very fortunate to have in our NPWS a great team of people. I thank the Deputy for the great work he does in a personal capacity. It is fantastic to have that synergy in the Dáil and that we are focusing on biodiversity at this critical time.

See this speech in context