Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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83. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht her views on whether the present resources allocated to the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, is sufficient to meet its remit to protect Ireland's wildlife and biodiversity; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4178/17]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I am advised that staffing levels across my Department are kept under regular review and resources required to meet my Department's business needs are assessed through the workforce planning process, having regard to Department of Public Expenditure and Reform directives, guidelines and circulars on staffing, as well as to emerging business priorities and the availability of payroll resources. It was necessary, as a result of the severe economic downturn, to impose a strict embargo on public service recruitment over a number of recent years. This inevitably resulted in a reduction in staffing levels across the entire public sector and across many areas of my Department, including the NPWS.

I am pleased to inform the Deputy that my Department is currently in the process of a number of recruitment campaigns, including, through the Public Appointment Service, for additional staff at Conservation Ranger level in the National Parks and Wildlife Service. A number of General Operative posts in the National Parks are also being filled, while recruitment for seasonal staff to manage our National Parks is currently underway.