Ministers Darragh O’Brien and Timmy Dooley have announced government approval to advance Marine Protected Area legislation in the Maritime Area Planning Act.
A General Scheme (also known as ‘Heads of Bill’) will now be prepared by the Department of Climate, Energy & the Environment, which will need sign off again by government, then legislation can be drafted.
Before we delve into what exactly this announcement means, we wanted to say an enormous thank you, to YOU!
It is because of your support and that of all the ocean community for making your voices heard at every stage that change happens. Over 83,000 of you signed our petition, thousands of you joined our community events and took part in our films & surveys, as well as signed up to our newsletter, and much more over the past few years.
There have been some major delays with the Marine Protected Areas legislation but it now seems that we are on the way to realising the potential of healthy seas, for people and planet.
This latest announcement simply means that the Ministers have received approval from government to prepare a ‘General Scheme’ for the MPA legislation. The General Scheme, which will set out the direction and intention of the legislation will then need to be signed off by government before a draft of the actual MPA legislation can begin.
One unfortunate detail that was not included in the government’s announcement was a timeline for delivery of the General Scheme. We have seen this process face delay after delay and while this is a hopeful announcement, we will need to keep in close contact with the department to ensure that MPAs are worked on as a high priority.
Fair Seas had a productive meeting with Minister Dooley and his officials last week. We welcome the commitment made by Minister Dooley to extensive and meaningful public engagement and participation, as well as the development of clear management and governance structures for setting site conservation objectives and management plans. These are key elements we have consistently advocated for over the past number of years.
We are hopeful that this meeting marks a turning point towards significant progress in developing, publishing, and enacting robust national MPA legislation. We will continue to advocate for an ecologically coherent network of MPAs across Ireland, including stronger management of existing Natura 2000 marine sites. Ultimately, we will judge the forthcoming legislation on its merits, and on whether it delivers a fit-for-purpose governance framework to effectively protect and restore Ireland’s marine biodiversity.
Once again, a massive thank you to everyone who has engaged with this work so far and let’s keep up the momentum behind this phenomenal movement of ocean stewardship.
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