Grace O'Sullivan (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Equally, they can be seen off the Irish coast. We are talking here about the great marine space. I agree wholeheartedly with Senator Coffey that this is a tremendously exciting time for Ireland.We have a significant opportunity to recognise the value of the biodiversity around our coast in terms of climate change. Seaweed is a sequester of carbon. I do not like the word "harness" but how will we look at it? How will we mind our natural marine resources for the State and for the people? I refer to the recent issue of Bantry Bay and the mechanical harvesting of seaweed. I am not opposed to the development of technology and mechanics, but I am opposed to systems that lead to the unsustainability of our natural environment. The people of Bantry have put up a fight against it and the matter has gone to the courts. I know the Minister has been very involved. We may take action and recognise along the way that we are on the wrong path and we need to reflect, review and reassess and, therefore, change course. That happens. It is a strong Government or person who can do that.

I had the pleasure of being on Lough Melvin in County Leitrim this weekend. I surfed on Rossnowlagh beach, where I had surfed back in the 1980s. I had the pleasure of standing under a waterfall with a group of women who are involved in ocean development, Dr. Easkey Britton and Dr. Ruth Brennan, Irish people who have so much to contribute to this debate. I will be bringing them to the Minister's attention to ensure that we have the best of expertise. Senator Coffey is right, when one is dealing with terrestrial planning, one looks to the local authorities, however, with marine planning, do whom do we look? I would like to hear the Minister's comments on the Marine Institute and the different agencies around the coast, particularly the community fisheries. There is a necessity to have stakeholder involvement. We need the creativity of fishermen and small farmers.

On the issue of plastic in our oceans, I had a conversation recently with a heritage fisherman in Cheekpoint, County Waterford. Mr. Sean Doherty had the idea that if we put nets on the weirs, which are 500 years old, they would catch plastic. One can use the weirs, an old system that has a heritage value which needs to be maintained not only for natural resources of catching fish but also for other purposes. That is what I want to see for the marine environment in Ireland. I want to see significant innovation and a stop to practices that are causing a bad effect on climate change. I will nail it. It is the fossil fuels exploration and exploitation, which is leading us on the road to nowhere. As Senator Coffey stated, we have every opportunity with renewables. The offshore wind turbines act as marine protected areas, because the base of the structure attracts a wildlife habitat. If there is a no-go zone around them, there is a real benefit in terms of fish nurseries and fish stocks. The species will leave the area and the fishermen can really profit from the spillover of the marine life.

It is an exciting time. It is exciting for health, wellness, tourism, biodiversity and climate change. I embrace the process, albeit a little bit late in the day in respect of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive 2008. We need to get on with it, but let us try to get it right. We are an island nation. We are strategically important in European terms because of our marine environment. We need to work the system in the European Union to give us the recognition of an island nation. Let us embrace our marine spatial environment and plan its future well for all the people of the island.