Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I again thank the Senator for her contribution. Going back to the point on marine protected areas, this Bill does not legislate for this. Marine protected areas are the subject of separate legislation, as we have discussed previously. There is no requirement to conflate the MSP directive with the marine strategy framework directive in one piece of enabling legislation. The latest MSP global international guide on maritime spatial planning, prepared by UNESCO and the EU Commission and published this year, reinforces the distinction between the two maritime governance tools. This is a national plan and further iterations of it will cover the localised issues the Senator has raised.

Migratory species have been, and are being, covered in the marine protected areas, both in the legislation and in how we design the MPAs. We are conscious of species such as basking sharks, which migrate from the North Sea to the west coast of Ireland and how they are protected as a species when they enter Irish waters. There will be a clear level of protection there for iconic species like that but also other species that migrate.