Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish to support amendments Nos. 7 and 8. They are extremely constructive. Integrated coastal zone management is missing. The national heritage plan is very relevant when we are talking about our natural and other types of heritage. The marine heritage intersects a little with those points.I refer to the question around the role of community because that is part of heritage as well.

My amendment No. 9 is also in this group of amendments and it attempts to highlight the question of interim measures. We have heard a lot about who has been spoken to in the development of this Bill but the question is, when the legislation is in place with all of its mechanisms, what happens next? Most importantly, what happens in that interim period where we do not have marine protected areas designated but we do have a marine planning framework in place? My amendment seeks to highlight this question and perhaps the Minister of State could clarify what the interim measures will be. I am not referring to the cut and thrust of the general processes that will be there in the long term but for this particular period when we have a particular vulnerability, when we have particular areas that are vulnerable now and which should be marine protected areas. Unless those areas are afforded interim protections in the next two to four crucial years, they could be degraded. We saw that happen in relation to peatlands and other areas on land. Where there are no interim protection measures in place, we can almost create an incentive for areas not to be valuable and then they are degraded. I am interested in interim measures as referenced in amendment No. 9. I was not prescriptive in that amendment but wanted to give visibility to the question of interim measures. I seek assurances from the Minister of State in this regard. If he does not want to include this in the legislation, I ask him to outline the plans in relation to this matter.