Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will provide details of the deal he has signed with the British Ambassador to Ireland regarding the agreement establishing a single maritime boundary between the exclusive economic zones and continental shelves between Ireland and the UK; if he will disclose the discussion on details regarding boundary issues between the two countries and the agreement reached; if the protection of Irish fisheries and the marine were included; the implications the agreement has for the Irish development of offshore renewable-energy projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16639/13]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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The Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is the body of water which stretches from 12 nautical miles offshore out to a distance of 200 miles. Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea a coastal state has exclusive rights within its EEZ over fishing (although all EU member states have transferred their competence for conservation and management of sea fisheries to the EU), the production of energy from water and wind, the protection of the marine environment and the conduct of marine scientific research. A coastal state also enjoys exclusive sovereign rights to the recovery of oil and gas from the seabed beneath the EEZ, although this is governed by the separate legal regime of the continental shelf. Since the UK became a party to the UN Convention in 1997 the declared zones of the two countries have overlapped at the edges. Since the UK became a party to the UN Convention in 1997 the declared zones of the two countries have overlapped at the edges. Over the past few years negotiations between Ireland and the UK have been undertaken with the objective of establishing EEZ boundaries between the two countries and I’m glad to say that these have now been successfully concluded. As the Deputy is aware the British Ambassador and I signed t he Agreement establishing a single maritime boundary between the Exclusive Economic Zones and continental shelves of Ireland and the UK in Dublin on 28 March last. This Agreement removes the overlaps between the EEZs of the two countries and now both the EEZs and the continental shelf beneath them will follow the same boundaries. This involved some small technical adjustments to the existing continental shelf boundaries in order to ensure that for any part of the boundary areas the same state exercises jurisdiction over the seabed and the water directly above it.

The Agreement brings legal certainty to boundary issues. This in turn will improve the protection of fisheries. While EU member states have transferred competence to the EU for the conservation and management of sea fisheries they remain responsible for enforcement of EU fisheries law within their own jurisdictions. Under the new Agreement therefore it will now be clear which state is responsible for law enforcement in EEZ areas that previously overlapped. Likewise there will now be clarity about which state is responsible for licensing renewable energy projects within EEZ boundary areas and for protecting the marine environment in those areas.

Before the Agreement can be brought into force the Government must make an Order under the 2006 Sea Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act to prescribe the new EEZ boundaries and an Order under the 1968 Continental Shelf Act to amend the existing continental shelf boundaries. The Orders will then be laid before each House of the Oireachtas in accordance with the relevant provisions of the two Acts. Once the Agreement has been brought into force it will be laid before Dáil Éireann in accordance with Article 29 of Bunreacht na hÉireann.