Reports of habitat destruction almost doubled in the past five years without any corresponding increase in prosecutions.
Figures obtained by Social Democrats TD Liam Quaide show the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) received 301 reports in 2021, with the number rising steadily to 581 last year.
Incidents typically involved burning of land and vegetation, hedgerow removal, illegal peat extraction, unauthorised drainage works and land clearance, and damage to protected habitats
Despite the dramatic rise in reported cases, the number resulting in prosecutions varied little. Prosecutions numbered 33 in 2021, rose to a high of 38 in 2023 and fell to a low of 17 in 2024.
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Last year there were 28 prosecutions – one for every 21 reported incidents.
Quaide, who represents Cork East, said the figures raised questions over whether the NPWS had the enforcement capacity required to investigate cases.
However, when he asked the NPWS’s parent department, the Department of Housing, for details of staff vacancies by role and region, he was refused.
The reply from Minister for Housing James Browne said: “Given the enforcement roles discharged by certain staff in the NPWS, for reasons of operational security, my Department does not provide details of staffing in the manner requested.”
The reply said there were 110 conservation rangers around the country and it was the intention to increase that to 121.
“In addition, my department is currently running internal promotion competitions for district conservation officers and regional managers,” the reply said.
Quaide said the reply lacked transparency and did not explain whether regional variations in reports and prosecution rates were due to understaffing in particular areas.
His own county had 10 prosecutions since 2021 – six in that year, none in 2024 and just one in 2025.
“The public is entitled to know whether there are staff on the ground to investigate wildlife crime, respond to it and enforce the law,” he said.
“Reports of alleged unlawful habitat destruction have almost doubled since 2021, while prosecutions have not kept pace.”
The data shows three counties – Leitrim, Monaghan and Cavan – had no prosecutions from 2021 to now. Five – Waterford, Sligo, Meath, Longford and Kilkenny – had just one each.
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Galway had the highest number, with 29, followed by Laois at 16, and Mayo and Kildare with 13 each.
Reported incidents are presented by NPWS region but are not directly comparable as the regions were restructured from five to seven after 2021.
The northeast had by far the greatest number of reported incidents, but no corresponding high number of prosecutions.
