Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party)
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540. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will provide an update on the commitment in the Programme for Government to designate a minimum of 30% of Irish waters as marine protected areas by 2030; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30863/22]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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My Department is leading implementation of the process to expand Ireland's network of marine protected areas (MPAs) and the associated commitments in the Programme for Government, namely:

(1) to develop comprehensive legislation that will enable MPA designation and management, and

(2) to realise Ireland's outstanding target of 10% MPA coverage of our waters as soon as is practical, aiming for 30% coverage by 2030.

This work is being carried out in close and extensive consultation with other Departments and Agencies, with maritime stakeholders, coastal communities, representative organisations and with the wider public.

The process underpinning this work began with the convening in October 2019 of an expert advisory group to provide independent advice and recommendations on the expansion of Ireland’s MPA network. The resulting comprehensive report of the advisory group was developed during 2020 and published bilingually in January 2021. This report which includes the results and findings from a series of stakeholder consultations undertaken by the advisory group was subject to a wider public consultation from February to Jul 2021.

Informed by the experts' advice and recommendations, and by detailed feedback from over 2,300 submissions received from the public consultation, my Department now intends to commence work on the necessary legislation for an expanded network of MPAs. Work on the General Scheme of an MPA Bill will continue into the autumn of 2022, with the aim of enacting the legislation in 2023.