Mr. Richard Cronin:

Yes, but at the same time all the information that will be compiled into the revision of the offshore renewable energy plan pre-exists. The information that has been gathered around the range of distribution of species and habitats, for example, already exists. What we will have is a consolidation of it into one location. That information is all freely available at present. The information we have on the status of the marine environment is all fully available. The key point is to ensure that it is accessible and accessed by the decision makers. None of this is information that is in the pipeline; it is actually out there. The most important thing is to create a consolidation of it so that there will be a single point of access based on the publication date in the climate action plan towards the end of 2022.

During that intervening period, the information is still available.

As regards whether we are confident about our status on good environmental status, GES, it is important to look at the Irish maritime space within a European context. In relative terms, it is in very good condition. We have achieved good environmental status for all of the pollution pressures as assessed in 2020 regarding things like nutrification, hazardous substances, contaminants in seafood and the levels of marine litter. We think we can do more, by the way, but based on the assessments carried out in 2020, we have met our GES targets. We are strongly of the opinion that we should be doing more. We are trying to achieve a moving target that needs to become more ambitious. Compared with some neighbouring member state administrations, our marine space is in good condition.

There are a number of pressures on and threats to the Irish marine environment, not least the threat to biodiversity from human activity. This activity happens both inside and outside Ireland's marine space but the effects appear inside the space, so we must take action as a nation and internationally in co-operation with others to restore that biodiversity. In pursuit of this, we have things like the European Green Deal, the biodiversity action plan and the recently published OSPAR strategy to reach 30% marine protected areas and restore species and habitats. We are working on that. We recognise what the problem is and we have a clear pathway, an ambitious target and a mandate to go forward with that.

The other emerging threat we see involves the effects of climate change and ocean acidification and what they mean for biodiversity and what the ocean does for Ireland in terms of the regulation functions we get out of it for our climate. I am confident we are aware of what the problem is and what the solution will look like, and that we know the size of the challenge and believe we can achieve it. That does not mean it will be easy. It is hard work but it is necessary work. If we are to be sincere and ambitious about all these objectives we have, for example, the deployment of offshore renewables, the protection of coastal communities or adaptation to climate, this is an essential part of the jigsaw and we must be serious and face up to it.