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

I have been there three times and will hopefully be back there again to see the natterjack toads in a few weeks time. To respond to Deputies Griffin and Ó Cathasaigh on the sustainability of the jobs, as the Deputies will be aware we are in a process of reviewing the NPWS. Hopefully the outcome of that review will look at the sustainability of career paths within the NPWS. In Connemara last week, we met some of our staff who are retiring after 30 or 40 years of service, some of whom would have come in at an operational grade and moved their way up. The opportunity is there for people to have sustainable and viable careers in the NPWS and we are very grateful to our staff and to our partners on the ground, including the chambers of commerce in Connemara and Killarney. This is a partnership approach and that collaboration will be required to tackle this crisis. I am also conscious, as Deputy Griffin said, that this will require resources, not just this year but next year and into the next decade, which is the decade of ecosystem restoration. That is critically important for biodiversity in this country.

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