Duchas – the Heritage Service – has sought, so far without success, to fill this vacancy both internally from within its serving staff and externally from an existing competition panel drawn up by the Civil Service and Local Appointments Commission. The commission will continue its efforts to fill this and other vacancies from this existing panel. My Department has also asked that the necessary arrangements to establish a new panel of suitably qualified people to fill vacancies occurring in the conservation ranger grade are put in hand as soon as possible.