Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I too, welcome this motion and the development of the DMAPs. I recognise the enormous amount of work and consultation that went into bringing them about. I also acknowledge the fact that during the consultation period the Minister of State did listen to the environmental groups and took into consideration the environmental assessment needs of these areas.

My comments are probably more to do with processes and the ambition of Ireland going forward. What we see with the production of the DMAPs is reflected in our regulatory system as well, which is a sort of linear approach - that we will do the DMAPS and then we will move on to the next step. In order for us to achieve the ambitions for the potential Ireland has in offshore, we need multiple parts of various agencies working on this so that we get DMAPs done, but we also get the floating offshore designations done, and it is all being worked in parallel.

We are in a race against time. It is not just a race against time because of climate change and the impact in that regard whereby we need to meet our emissions targets. There is also an innovation race against time and a business race against time. We are literally in competition with other countries, which are progressing in their ambitions quicker than we are. The ESB, a State agency, is working off the coast of Scotland, as we speak, on a floating offshore wind development with the Scots. Why are we not doing it here? We have so much potential and we, and the Government, need to grasp it and put in the resources, because it is resource intensive.

There is much talking, discussions and analysis to be done. I urge the Minister of State to put the resources in because this is Ireland's great opportunity to work with the resources we have and to own them, and be a leader in this area. We must see that level of ambition from the Government in terms of where it is putting its money and its trust. The Government must really push for that.

We also need to take risks. We must invest in various technologies. We must acknowledge that some of the projects may not actually eventuate. We may make mistakes. Money may be lost in certain projects, but if we invest enough in innovation we will actually get it right with some of our projects. That is key for us to do.

I wish to raise the recent ESRI study on the impact of deadline times on our ambitions when it comes to offshore developments. It refers also to a linear approach. That is something that must be addressed. We must have a review of the regulatory system. What the ESRI has identified is that developers must go through a certain number of gates, and sometimes the gates only open once a year. We must be able to deal with them on a multiple basis because otherwise, if a developer does not hit that sweet spot at that particular time, they may have to wait for a year in order to pass through the gate again. That is obviously a big flaw in the system we have.

I also want to talk about the marine protected areas and I only have a minute left. When talking about climate or emissions measures I am keen to also talk about nature and biodiversity. We have missed an opportunity to move on marine protected area legislation. It is very disappointing that we have not got it to the floor of the Dáil yet. It has been mentioned that the legislation could potentially be ready at the end of the year, but we all know that will not be the case. We are all ready for an election. The posters are ready. Everyone is ready to go, so it is very disappointing that in the five years of this Government, despite this being a key programme for Government commitment, the legislation is not in place.

I notice that when the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, was talking this week, he said that we have already reached one third of the goal of having 30% of marine areas protected. He sees that as a positive. I agree that it is positive that we have designated 10% of marine areas, but I want to be very clear: we cannot confuse designation with protection. They are two very different things. There are no additional measures put in place to protect marine biodiversity or nature for the majority of the areas that have been designated. We cannot rely on paper parks. That would be a major problem.

I recently met with an international scientist who did a survey just off the Blasket Islands, in one of the new protected areas. He looked at me and said: "What are you doing in Ireland? I have never come across a marine area as depleted of nature as we have here, and this is designated." Designation does not equal protection. We have an awful lot more to do when it comes to protecting marine areas.

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