Minister of State for Nature Malcolm Noonan has said that he is disappointed and frustrated that progress on the Marine Protected Areas Bill has become delayed, and that it will now take until at least the end of the year before a final draft of the bill can be published.
The legislation aims to protect, conserve and restore biodiversity in marine ecosystems and the Government committed to designating 30% of Ireland's seas as Marine Protected Areas by 2030.
The delay means the legislation is now unlikely to be enacted during the lifetime of the Government.
Human interference on the sea floor can have devastating consequences for marine life.
Bottom trawling, for instance, involves one or more boats pulling heavy fishing nets along the ocean floor to catch fish and other marine species.
But it is one of the most destructive and indiscriminate fishing methods causing ecosystem loss, the release of carbon stored in the seabed, and high levels fish discards because the wrong fish are caught.
Some environmentalists have compared it to bulldozing through a forest destroying and killing everything on one's path.
The marine protected legislation would likely have made that process and many other human interferences in marine ecosystems illegal in 30% of Irish waters.
Ireland is the last country in Europe to designate Marine Protected Areas.
However, Minister Noonan, who has championed the legislation, said the legislation has now become bogged down in the drafting and approval negotiations between various Government Departments and sections.
He said nobody is more disappointed about the situation than he is.
He added that it is an incredibly technical and complex piece of legislation and, although it is a key component of the Programme for Government, it has to be got right.
He said that he had wanted not just to see it being published, but also to see it enacted during the lifetime of the Government.
However, he said the legislation is still moving ahead, that significant progress is being made and a lot of the important work around the legislation is being done.
The Minister made his remarks in Dún Laoghaire in Co Dublin as he launched a new €25m LIFE project to protect, conserve and restore the biodiversity of Ireland’s marine ecosystems.
This project will be used to research and develop a comprehensive network of Marine Protected Areas in line with international best practices.
A network of Marine Protected Areas can contribute to the sustainable use of the sea as well as conservation for marine species and habitats being protected.
It can provide resilience against climate change and support fisheries, aquaculture, recreation, tourism and facilitate the sustainable deployment of offshore renewable energy, all of which are significant contributors to Ireland’s economy and essential to many livelihoods, especially in coastal and island communities.
Minister Noonan said: "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 added: "Ireland is working hard towards the 30% target. We have already reached one third of this goal, with new Special Areas of Conservation in the northeast Atlantic and Special Protection Areas in the northwest Irish Sea and Seas off Wexford, together comprising almost 3.25 million 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 LIFE project is a collaboration between the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and three research partners from the third-level sector.
Three universities will address various elements of this project: University College Dublin will focus on ecology and what the MPAs can achieve, University College Cork will consider the social side and stakeholders involved, and the University of Galway will address the economic impacts on industry and communities.
