Protecting our maritime resources

John Daly’s article entitled ‘What Lies Beneath’ (Forum, Aug 3) is timely in light of the recent publication of the Green Paper on Defence.

We should be energised by the comment of the Director of UNESCO’s Cultural Heritage Division that protecting our underwater heritage is extremely important and increasingly urgent as no historical site or shipwreck is now out of bounds for treasure hunters.

Ireland’s maritime domain has increased to encompass an area 12 times the land mass of Ireland or a sea area of about 1 million square kilometres. However, of greater significance is the fact that this maritime area contains natural resources with a potential value in excess of several trillion euro including mineral deposits, fossil fuels, marine life, fisheries, and wind and wave energy. It offers unexplored areas for innovation, sustainable growth and jobs. The State’s rights over these rich resources are the property rights of the citizens of Ireland.

Naturally, this abundance of wealth and interests must be protected by the State, as Ireland’s prosperity and security depend on the seas surrounding it and what these seas can deliver. Of utmost importance to our very survival as a small trading nation are our sea lanes of communication which carry 99% of everything we export and import. The protection of Ireland’s maritime jurisdiction rests with Ireland’s principal sea-going agency, the navy, which employs a fleet of eight ships to patrol this area 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Encouragement can be found in a recently published report Harnessing our Ocean Wealth in which the Taoiseach and Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine wrote: “We are determined to put behind us the days of underachievement in the marine area. We want to make our ocean wealth a key component of our economic recovery and sustainable growth, generating social, cultural and economic benefits for all our citizens.”

I suggest that the first step on that path has arrived. We can and should be focussing on how to protect our seas against illegal activity and activity which is not in the interest of Ireland and her people. The navy is the maritime element of the Defence Forces. At the same time it is an extremely cost effective vehicle for carrying out most of the State’s requirements in the maritime domain.

The green paper gives us the first opportunity in the history of the State to redress the under-resourcing of our maritime defence and security and achieve balanced Defence Forces fit for the purposes of an island nation. Then we can be sure of protecting “what lies beneath.”

James Robinson

Riverstick

Co Cork