Irish MPA legislation may be delayed

Anticipated general election could put Marine Protected Areas Bill on hold

Ireland may not have its Marine Protected Area (MPA) legislation in place before an imminent general election.

Junior nature and heritage minister Malcolm Noonan has said that the Marine Protected Areas Bill will be published before the end of 2024. However, there has been intense speculation about an Irish general election being called for November or early December, which would mean the bill could fall along with other legislation in train.

Mr Noonan gave his commitment to ensure the bill is published when he spoke at the roll-out of a €25m LIFE project to ‘protect, conserve and restore the biodiversity of Ireland’s marine ecosystems’.

The LIFE MPA project is a collaboration between the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and three research partners.

Three universities will address various elements of the project: University College, Dublin will focus on ecology and what the MPAs can achieve, University College, Cork will consider the social side and the stakeholders involved, and the University of Galway will address the economic impacts on industry and communities.

Ireland is committed to having 30% MPA coverage by 2030 to protect biodiversity, in line with its Programme for Government, EU strategy and the related UN framework.

“I believe this country needs a comprehensive and modern process for the designation and effective management of MPAs,” Mr Noonan said.

“That is why we have been working on a bill that will combine robust strategic targets for marine environmental protection with real and meaningful stakeholder and public participation.

“Given the significant – and much needed – change that is envisaged by this bill, the process towards publishing it has become protracted, but we absolutely have to get the legal framework right if we are to have a final piece of legislation which will be a game-changer for marine protection.

“I truly believe that with the huge investment of time and effort in this to date – by my department, other government departments and the attorney general’s office – we already have the firm foundations for a truly remarkable bill, and I hope to have the final draft published by the end of the year.”

He said the LIFE project will ‘bring together local communities, environmental organisations, scientists and industry to plan and develop our MPAs’. “It will focus on getting a balance between ecological protection and socio-economic development,” he said.

“Ireland is working hard towards the 30% MPA target. We have already reached one-third of this goal, with new Special Areas of Conservation in the North East Atlantic and Special Protection Areas in the northwest Irish Sea and seas off Wexford, together comprising almost 3.25m hectares of our marine waters.

“These designations have brought protected area coverage in our seas from 2.3% to almost 10% in the lifetime of this government.”

The Marine Protected Areas Bill will set out different degrees of protection, which will be linked to the sensitivity and fragility of the habitats or species being protected within the MPA.

It will also give details of the management and enforcement process developed to support these areas.

This story was taken from the latest issue of Fishing News. For more up-to-date and in-depth reports on the UK and Irish commercial fishing sector, subscribe to Fishing News here or buy the latest single issue for just £3.50 here.

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