Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Ireland will be represented at the 9th Our Ocean Conference in Athens by our Ambassador to Greece along with the Maritime Affairs Attaché of Ireland's Permanent Representation to the European Union. Ireland commends Greece for hosting this important event and we share Greece’s view that environmental protection of the seas and oceans is a matter of global importance.

Ireland’s representatives will participate in the main conference as well as a number of important side events. These include "Our Deep Ocean: the growing momentum for a halt to deep-sea mining", which will involve speakers from Ireland and other countries that support a precautionary pause in deep-sea mining.

Our representatives will also participate in a European Commission-led Side Event “Concrete solutions for our greatest challenges: Mission Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030” which will highlight challenges faced by marine and freshwater ecosystems and biodiversity.

Ireland will also participate at a high-level breakfast on “Reaching 30x30 ocean protection” which is co-hosted by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment and Ireland’s partner, Blue Action Fund. Blue Action Fund works with NGOs to establish or enhance over 350,000km of Marine Protected Areas, benefiting over 225,000 people in developing countries. It provides grants to selected conservation projects in Marine Protected Areas and their buffer zones, targeting the most sensitive coastal waters in Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Pacific. Last month, Irish Aid provided €1.75 million to Blue Action Fund, the third payment a three-year €5million commitment of support.