Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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338. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of educational liaison officers appointed to each of the national parks to work with schools since June 2020 to date in tabular form. [29647/21]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Programme for Government – Our Shared Future commits to appointing Education Liaison Officers in our National Parks to work with schools across the country, to promote the importance of biodiversity and the natural world, and to involve pupils in the work that goes on in our National Parks. My Department is in contact with the Department of Education and Skills to progress matters.  

The National Parks and Wildlife Guide Service which operates from our National Parks and a number of other Centres across the country are a separate matter to this specific measure. These Centres run events for the general public, offer visits for community groups such as senior citizens and scouts and welcome both primary and secondary school groups for nature days and fieldwork. This service has continued over the course of the pandemic, where appropriate, and my Department expects another busy summer for the Parks and Wildlife Centres as the numbers of people holidaying at home in Ireland are expected to remain at a high level this year.