Environmental campaigners want government action before summer recess

The legislation is crucial for help Ireland meet its obligations to contribute to the protection or conservation of the planet’s land and oceans by 2030.

Environmental campaigners say the Government must ‘pull out all the stops’ to get an ‘important’ bill to protect Irish seas and coastlines published before the Dáil’s summer recess.

Fair Seas, an umbrella organisation for a range of environmental groups, is calling on the government to publish robust legislation on Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) before the Dáil pauses for the summer in mid-July.

MPAs are areas of seas and coastlines that are legally protected from activities that may damage or disrupt natural habitats, wildlife, and processes that happen there.

Fair Seas Campaign Coordinator Donal Griffin admitted the time frame for the bill to be published before the recess is ‘tight’ but feels ‘all hope is not lost’.

“We are also fairly realistic. We know it is a big task for a government to publish it before the recess, but we hope and encourage the government to do it,” Mr Griffin said.

The legislation is crucial for help Ireland meet its obligations to contribute to the protection or conservation of the planet’s land and oceans by 2030.

Fair Seas has worked alongside the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and its Minister Darragh O’Brien as well as Minister for Heritage and Electoral Reform Malcolm Noonan on the bill since 2020.

Mr Griffin said Fair Seas were told the bill would be published before the Dáil recess last summer and the same promise has been made nearly 12 months later.

“We have worked openly and constructively with Department [of Housing] officials and the Minister [O’Brien]. We have demonstrated the public appetite for a ring protected area.

“We have surveys, opinion polls and other forms of evidence that shows the people of Ireland really want this bill and to protect our seas properly,” he said.

The Fair Seas Campaign Coordinator is not convinced that the recent change of leadership at Fine Gael and the upcoming appointment of the next leader of the Green Party has impacted the delay of the publishing.

“In relation to the changes that we have seen in the Irish government, I’m not convinced on that because the responsible minister for this piece of legislation has been Minister Noonan, who is still in place and has been working on this tirelessly for this last while since it was initiated back in 2020.

“They [Minister O’Brien and Minister Noonan] are two incredibly busy minsters with very important portfolios but I’m not sure the recent government changes has had anything to do with it – but we ultimately don’t know,” he added.

The Department of Housing must work throughout the summer to make sure the MPA bill can receive proper ‘scrutiny’ in the Dáil and the Seanad once the recess is over, according to Mr Griffin.

“We have been told by government that they are at the cusp of finishing it – so that is why all hope is not lost.

“They need to work extremely hard over the summer to make sure that the bill can be given proper scrutiny in the Dáil and the Seanad to make sure the bill that will be enacted will be strong and fit for purpose after the recess.” Protecting Irish seas is crucially important to stop further erosion of existing habitats and ecosystems that exist within our seas.

“We need to protect it, and the government has committed to protecting it at a national, EU and an international scale.

“Whether we know it or not, we all rely on the seas for our health and they are incredibly important to our lives, whether we live near the coast or inland,” Mr Griffin concluded.

A spokesperson for the Department of Housing said: "Substantial progress has been made on drafting the Marine Protected Areas Bill. However, some issues require further consideration. It is the Minister’s intention to resolve these issues and bring the Bill to Government for publication as soon as possible."