Grace O'Sullivan (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his comments. In respect of the petition on the avaaz.orgsite, it is not specific but it is quite close to the motion. It is my view that it is very much in line with the motion. I am very disappointed with the Minister of State's response. I know our motion is ambitious. That is because of the pressures that are on the marine environment. I recognise that we have special areas of conservation, SACs, and natural heritage areas. However, we have to get a move on with the marine protected areas and the OSPAR marine protected areas specifically. We can do that. This motion outlines how we can do so and not keep pushing the can down the road. We keep talking about how we have to go through this and that process but, in fact, we do not. We can work with stakeholders and communities to identify this in a timely way. We are pushing it down the road.