Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Government is committed to achieving 30% Marine Protected Area (MPA) coverage of Ireland's Maritime Area by 2030, in line with the Programme for Government, the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, and a number of International initiatives such as the UN Convention on Biological Diversity's post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.

My Department has been working closely with Parliamentary drafters over the past months to develop the Marine Protected Areas Bill, the General Scheme of which was published in December 2022. I anticipate that the forthcoming MPA Bill will be published before the end of the year.

Once enacted, this comprehensive legislation will be the primary mechanism by which our MPA network is expanded and by which we can create protected areas such as a national park.

At present 8.3% of our maritime area has protected area status. This area is made up of Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) and Special Protection Areas (SPAs) under the EU Habitats and Birds Directives respectively.