Pat Casey (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The question I am raising is on the role of State bodies in sustaining the tourism product but also on providing services to the wider society. There is an ongoing review of the National Parks & Wildlife Service, NPWS, and its remit. My question also covers the remit of the likes of the Office of Public Works, OPW, and the National Monuments Service. At the core of the remit of all the agencies is protection. We all know now that they have to perform a role that must cover more than protection. It must include promotion of their products. In the past year, open space and the open landscape have been vital to the mental health of us all. It is not just about tourism but also about us as a society. The review of the NPWS is in the context of ambition for the protection, conservation and restoration of biodiversity in Ireland. I fully welcome that, but we must also consider how we act within that landscape and develop the product as a tourism product and as a product for us as a society. I have spoken to the Minister about this and he agrees we need to expand our approach a little.

The tourism industry is completely shut down so now is the opportune moment for the OPW to consider its remit. Its remit is solely about protection. Many of us who have dealt with the OPW over the years could say it is a bit hard to deal with when trying to get it to move forward in its way of thinking. That is because its role is solely based on protection. What we need to move to now is both the protection and promotion of the vital assets that State bodies hold for us, using them collectively in a more sustainable manner for both biodiversity and for us, as a society.