Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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228. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the timeframe and process for the introduction of new marine protected areas. [18438/18]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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My Department is responsible for national marine environmental policy in Ireland, principally through the implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). The aim of MSFD is to integrate environmental considerations into all aspects of marine activity to maintain or reach a point of good environmental status (GES) in our seas and oceans and ensure that this status is maintained through sustainable use of our seas. The Directive requires that we assess our marine environment, develop GES targets and indicators, monitor our environment in light of these, and, where necessary, introduce a programme of measures, including spatial protection measures, to address issues affecting GES being achieved.

Article 13 of the MSFD requires that a coherent and representative network of spatial protection measures including marine protected areas be put in place, where appropriate, in order to achieve or maintain the good environmental status of our national and shared maritime area.

The Government is committed to the development of primary legislation to provide for the creation of a network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in accordance with the requirements of the MSFD.  Consideration is currently being given to the appropriate legislative approach in this regard.

While our network of MPAs will incorporate  existing Special Protection Areas and Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) under the Birds or Habitats Directives and any MPAs established under Article 11 of the Common Fisheries Programme (CFP) , it may also require new types of protected areas where all or some human activities may be restricted or limited all or some of the time.  MSFD provides the primary context by which the form and location of MPAs should be determined.  The purpose of any area designated should be to ensure that we are able to reach our GES targets under the Directive. However, as MSFD is concerned with sustainable use of our marine environment, social and cultural factors will also be a consideration. 

It is my intention to establish in the coming months an expert advisory group to advise me in relation to the identification of candidate marine protected areas.