Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the motion and the spirit in which it is put forward. I will support it. There are parts of it I would ask the Minister to embrace and move further on. The tradition identified in terms of Shackleton and others is important. It is also important to note there is now credible evidence of the Maori people visiting the Antarctic more than 1,000 years ago. In the celebration of the spirit of those such as Shackleton, we should not overly glorify some of the era of exploration which has had a mixed record. Senator Boylan made the point there is no terra nulliusthat is purely for the exploration and the taking. The Antarctic must be protected as being something of global multilateralism and a global good. While the treaty is positive in many senses, it is a document from 1959 that could be somewhat updated and strengthened in some aspects. I will come to that in a moment.

I welcome the fact the Government applied for membership of the Arctic Council. That sets a useful tone for this. I echo the point that Ireland has a particular contribution to make in terms of our history of neutrality. The Pax Antarctica is something we cannot be complacent about. As we see the erosion of the ice floes and resources are potentially uncovered, it is important the principles of an apolitical Antarctic are maintained and that the science conducted there is for the global public good and not for the profit of the few. Much global trust has been lost due to the failure to have a trade-related intellectual property rights, TRIPS, waiver.

I commend a new generation of scientists from Ireland who have travelled. Susanna Gaynor is one I have spoken to and there are many other examples I could give of scientists who have engaged. It is important we do that in the spirit of neutrality. The protection of the principle of peace is important. We cannot be complacent about multilateralism because there is a push in the world at the moment towards a politics of big powers and client states. It is back to that model and away from a politics of principle and multilateralism. We all recall when a certain world leader flew over Greenland and decided he would like to buy some of it. We need to protect against that and that is why things like the Antarctic Treaty are important. We need to strengthen those protections further.

Antarctic marine protected areas are crucial. I commend former Senator Grace O'Sullivan who successfully passed a resolution on Antarctic marine protected areas in the European Parliament. I urge the Minister, as well as supporting the asks in this motion, to ensure Ireland plays an active role in driving forward progress in the negotiations within the framework of the Commission on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources to ensure we have two marine protected areas in the Arctic and Antarctic. A marine protected area framework is a more modern framework in tune with the biodiversity crisis we have acknowledged in Ireland and globally. It is also in tune with issues such as the protection of biodiversity resources and that of fresh water and the role of waters. Oceans, being among the largest carbon sinks, marine biodiversity areas and areas of rich resources for survival on this planet, are crucial. As well as the Antarctic Treaty, we need to copper-fasten marine protection on a global level.

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea has also made attempts to achieve an agreement to protect marine biological diversity. It is an area where I worry we could lose time and opportunity because, in the context of global warming and the discovery and exploration of minerals and resources in the Arctic, there are those who would find old subclauses and claims or new opportunities and points of leverage or pressure and seek to apply those to exploit such resources for national or commercial gain, to the detriment of our global common good.

This is not just a nice thing to do or an appropriate connection for Ireland. The word "paucity" is used to describe others' connections. However, given everyone has a connection with the Arctic and the Antarctic since we share the same globe, I suggest it is not the best word in the resolution. It is also important in a geopolitical sense to place a marker down in terms of our perspective of the Antarctic, how we value it, and our commitment to multilateral co-operation for the public good, science and our common future.