Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I want to raise with the Taoiseach the delay in advancing the urgently needed legislation to identify and guard marine protected areas as required under the marine strategy framework directive. As the Taoiseach will be aware, Ireland has no legal tool with which to define, identify, designate or manage marine protected areas. As a result, many species, habitats and processes occurring in our extensive marine area have fallen outside the scope of area-based conservation, with consequent risks to marine biodiversity and ecosystem services that benefit people and nature.

These are not my words. This is the advice of a senior Department official to a recent meeting of an Oireachtas committee. It is also worth noting that under the directive, Ireland's marine protected area should have been identified and underpinned in legislation two years ago. Nearly three years have passed since the Dáil declared a climate and biodiversity emergency, yet numerous targets set out in the national biodiversity action plan have not been met. Again, the Taoiseach will know from his keen interest in biodiversity that international best practice dictates that the marine planning framework should have been delivered in tandem with the marine protected areas legislation. In addition to the marine biodiversity protection targets that Ireland has missed and has yet to meet, there are seven renewable energy legacy projects, as well as new planning applications, that will be dealt with in the absence of the marine protected areas legislation.

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