Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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157. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government to outline the status of the Marine Protected Areas Legislation and whether a decision has been made to retain it as stand-alone legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46084/25]

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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158. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he will publish the work done by his Department to date on the Marine Protected Areas Bill 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46085/25]

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 157 and 158 together.

Following the transfer of marine environment functions from the Department of Housing, Heritage and Local Government to the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment, the Department has undertaken a review to identify the optimal legislative vehicle to designate Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Options under consideration include alignment of the approach to designating MPAs with the provisions of the Maritime Area Planning Act 2021. A recommendation will be brought to Government for approval in the coming weeks.

Regardless of the final legislative code chosen, the Government is committed to the earliest possible designation of an ecologically coherent network of MPAs, ensuring Ireland meets its target of protecting 30% of its maritime area by 2030 in a way that supports integrated marine governance. Therefore, in advance of legislation being in place, very considerable enabling work has continued. EU-LIFE funding of €15 million has been obtained to aid in developing Ireland’s network of MPAs between now and 2030. The State will add a further €10 million in match funding for this MPA LIFE Ireland project, making a total project fund of €25 million over the period 2024-2033. The MPA LIFE Ireland project and ongoing wider MPA process will ensure the co-design, development and roll out of Marine Protected Areas as well as effective ecosystem-based management.

In addition, to help inform the future designation of MPAs once legislation is in place, two ecological sensitivity analyses were undertaken by the Department and its MPA Advisory Group. The aims of these studies of the western Irish Sea and Celtic Sea were to identify possible suitable areas for potential MPAs in these parts of Ireland’s maritime area, as well as developing methods, approaches and standards for identifying such suitable areas. The Irish Sea sensitivity analysis was completed and published on 19 June 2023 and the Celtic Sea analysis was completed and published on 27 June 2024.

The general scheme of the Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) Bill was published in December 2022. Following the scrutiny of the Joint Oireachtas Committee, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage worked in close collaboration with parliamentary drafters to develop the Bill. While it was initially hoped to publish in 2023, the legal, technical and scientific complexity associated with this ground breaking legislation has meant that drafting has taken longer than anticipated.