Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate that. I welcome the Minister of State and Senator Grace O'Sullivan's motion. There are few people in this House who are as well qualified to speak as Senator O'Sullivan on this issue. With all due respect to my colleague, Senator Coffey, from the south east, "give us marine protected areas, dear lord, but not just yet", tends to be the Government's answer to most things. It says that it has legislation coming down the line, it will go to a committee, it will talk about it and it will do anything, but in the meantime, our oceans are getting worse. Plenty of people have adverted to the various documentaries on the state of the world's oceans. We have to start moving.

I will throw the Minister of State a lifeline to save blushes all around and to save us from dividing the House. Setting a target of half of all Irish waters is an extremely high bar to set, especially considering the very low amount of Irish territorial waters currently protected. We need to think of the practicalities of setting the target that high and we also need a realistic timeline to get there. My colleague, Senator Paul Daly, was speaking about timelines there. I would hate to be hanging. That is all I can say on the timelines right now. I favour 30%, as does my colleague, Senator Boyhan, who has cosigned my amendment. Some 30% is the target set out by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, IUCN. It is also a target that Ireland has agreed to in principle, so I am not asking the Minister of State to do anything that he has not already agreed to. It is 30% for two reasons. It is scientifically defensible and it represents a real and more realistic level of ambition. I offer the amendment not to weaken the motion but to improve its chances of getting through. I hope it will be accepted with that in mind. I ask the Government to support my amendment as I believe that by achieving the 30% target, we can still make Ireland a leader in this area.

There has been much talk about the Common Fisheries Policy, etc. There will be no fish the way things are going in our oceans. We see thousands of tonnes of plastic being pulled out of the oceans. We see fish being strangled with cast-off nets. We see irresponsible exploration. At the end of the day, we have to start with something. This 30% is a low level to start at and I accept what Senator O'Sullivan has said. I understand for somebody with her commitment that setting the target low is something she would find difficult to accept but, at the end of the day, we have very little. I ask the Senator to consider accepting the amendment. Some 30% is a start. It brings us a long way towards the Senator's 50%. If we make that start, there is some chance. Waiting for legislation is like waiting for Godot. It will just drag on and on, and things get worse all the time. To make life much easier for all of us here this evening and to save me from dividing the House, let us go for the 30% and accept the amendment. It is not an unreasonable request. I think it is one that we can all live with. Given that the Senator already has a principled position that 30% is a target she would seek to reach, I do not see any reason she would not accept the amendment.