Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 December 2025
559. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the progress made on the recommendations of the review of the NPWS 2021 (details supplied); to clarify their respective roles and interactions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [71616/25]
View answerThe Review of the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) 2021 set out a clear and ambitious roadmap for strengthening the State’s capacity to protect and manage our natural heritage. Implementation of those recommendations has been pursued with sustained focus and urgency across my Department and the NPWS.
In respect of Recommendation No. 11, which calls for the development of detailed operating procedures and Memoranda of Understanding with key partner agencies, substantial and measurable progress has been achieved. The NPWS already has over 30 Memoranda of Understanding and formal cooperative arrangements in place across the public, voluntary and community sectors, reflecting a sustained commitment to clarity of functions, consistency of approach, and coordinated delivery.
These instruments are not simply formalities, they provide clear governance frameworks, defined statutory interfaces, and practical protocols for engagement between agencies whose mandates intersect in complex environmental and marine contexts.
Each of these are being designed to:
• Clearly delineate the statutory functions of NPWS and the partner body, ensuring there is no ambiguity in responsibilities.
• Set out structured channels of interaction, covering communication pathways, timelines, consultation requirements, and escalation points.
• Provide for coherent scientific and ecological input, ensuring NPWS expertise is integrated early and consistently into planning, licensing and assessment processes.
• Support efficient case management, including procedures for data sharing, joint assessments where appropriate, and coordinated responses to complex applications.
These strengthened arrangements reflect the evolving environmental and marine governance landscape, and are essential to ensuring all State bodies with roles in environmental protection, marine regulation, scientific research and planning operate in a fully aligned and mutually reinforcing manner.
This inter-agency work complements the broader transformation underway within NPWS, including enhanced governance structures, expanded scientific capacity, and systematic implementation of the entire suite of recommendations from the 2021 Review.
