Minister admits efforts to bring in laws to protect Irish waters 'have been frustrating'

Flossie Donnelly from Dun Laoghaire at a protest led by Fair Seas outside Leinster House highlighting a lack of progress on the vital Marine Protected Areas (MPA) Bill. Photo: Gareth Chaney

Long-awaited legislation that will protect 30% of Irish waters is nowhere near coming to fruition, the Government has admitted.

Nature and Heritage Minister Malcolm Noonan met with protestors at the Dáil on Wednesday as more than a hundred gathered on Kildare Street calling for an urgent response to the protection of all marine life and surrounding areas.

Protestors dressed in marine creature costumes while toy seals were dotted around the gates of Leinster House. However, Mr Noonan confirmed he does not have an update on the Marine Protected Areas Bill.

Marine protected areas (MPA) 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.

The proposed legislation is crucial to help Ireland meet its obligations to contribute to the protection or conservation of the planet’s land and oceans by 2030. The bill has been in the ether since 2020.

Mr Noonan said: “All the important background work is ongoing. But I can’t give a date, I’d love to be able to come here and say it’s going to be done.

“I am putting every effort in, I’m meeting officials, and it has been frustrating. However frustrating it is for me, I know it is for all of you as well. Every week we don’t act is a week we have missed so I do appreciate that," he told protesters.

(Left to right) Emilie De Loose, Susi Matejka and Csilla Trungel from the Irish Whale and Dolphin group at a protest led by Fair Seas outside Leinster House highlighting a lack of progress on the vital Marine Protected Areas (MPA) Bill. Photo: Gareth Chaney

Fair Seas, an umbrella organisation for a range of environmental groups, organised the rally.

“We have some of the most fantastic, beautiful diverse marine wildlife off our coast and we are very privileged and lucky to live on this island nation with this marine wildlife,” said Donal Griffin, co-ordinator with Fair Seas.

“But we need it properly protected, unfortunately our government does not have a good track record in environmental legislation, but particularly in protecting our marine wildlife and we need to do better.

“Maybe we were a bit naïve and green around the ears as the Fair Seas coalition. The bill hasn’t been published despite the progress and we don’t know when it is going to be published.”

People take part in a protest outside Leinster House against a planned ban on XL Bully dogs. Photo: Brian Lawless/PA

A second protest also took place outside the Dáil on Wednesday by the charity My Lovely Horse who are pleading with the Government to halt the ban XL Bully dogs.

From October 1, it will be illegal to import, breed, re-home or re-sell an XL Bully dog in Ireland. From February 2025, it will be illegal to own an XL Bully unless you have a Certificate of Exemption.

Vanessa Slater travelled from Sligo to Dublin for the protest with her two dogs.

“My American Bully is four months and her name is Shadow. We also have an XL American Bully who is three years old, and he is called Bronco. 

He is the biggest baby; he is our family, and he is more like a therapy dog than this big scary thing that we are now being led to believe.

“I am very distressed over this. Any dogs that are classified as XL bullies may not even be XL bullies, will be put down at the hands of the Government which is appalling. It is bad dog owners who are to blame.”

Martina Kenny from My Lovely Horse said: “It is so unfair to bring this in so fast, we have called on Heather Humphries to hear us out, but we have had no response yet.”