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Marine Protected Areas
From Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage
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From Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage
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In autumn 2019, the department initiated a process aimed at expanding Ireland’s network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the coming years. In general terms, MPAs can be considered to be geographically defined maritime areas that provide levels of protection to achieve conservation objectives.
MPAs can support economic activity associated with the sea; for example, by conserving areas of particular importance to marine ecosystems and ensuring that human activity is kept at a level that will sustain biological diversity, natural productivity, human health and well-being. MPAs can also help reduce the effects of climate change and ocean acidification by ensuring that marine ecosystems are healthy and resilient, and that the marine environment can act as a natural carbon storage system.
The first step in the current process was to convene an advisory group to provide independent expert advice and recommendations on the processes required and the challenges to be addressed in expanding Ireland’s MPA network. This group, chaired by Professor Tasman Crowe, Director of UCD’s Earth Institute, had its first meeting on 18 December 2019. It subsequently met on a monthly basis, including remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The group worked intensively during this period in order to formulate and complete its final report. On 22 October 2020 (during EU Green Week 2020), the group submitted its report to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien TD, and the Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan TD.
As an important part of its active research and deliberations, the advisory group gathered and facilitated the sharing of knowledge and perspectives on MPAs from more than 100 key societal, community, business and sectoral stakeholders. The process involved two consultative approaches: an online questionnaire and online focus groups.
Firstly, the group circulated an online questionnaire in August 2020. This provided respondents with an opportunity to share their views on MPAs, the future expansion of Ireland’s MPA network, and the preferred approach to selecting, designating and managing MPAs in the short and longer term.
Secondly, a series of online focus group meetings took place in September 2020. These occurred in parallel with the online questionnaire process. Over 40 stakeholders, from various representative bodies, sectors, authorities and interest groups, participated in these focus group meetings.
The information gathered by the advisory group through both consultative approaches informed its considerations, analysis and final report.
The final report of the MPA Advisory Group was published in Irish and English language versions on 26 January 2021 and is available via this link: Expanding Ireland’s Marine Protected Area Network .
In tandem with the Ministers’ and Department’s detailed consideration of the expert group’s findings, a public consultation phase centred around the report and the wider MPA process began in mid-February 2021 and extended over more than five months to the end of July 2021.
This consultation and associated communications encouraged all stakeholders and the wider public to get involved by sharing their views on the process by which Ireland’s network of MPAs will be expanded into the future. In response to the open call to participate, in total more than 2,300 individual submissions were received by the Department from members of the public and other stakeholders.
The feedback received through the public consultation was then the subject of an Independent Analysis and Report on Marine Protected Area (MPA) Public Consultation Submissions received. The findings and conclusions from this study are available in the form of a detailed report which presents key data and other information gathered through the consultation process in an accessible manner. This report was published on 31 March 2022.
In December 2022 the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage requested the Marine Protected Areas (MPA) Advisory Group to carry out an ecological sensitivity analysis of the western Irish Sea.
This analysis was undertaken to screen for suitable areas for protection off the east and south-east of Ireland in advance of new MPA legislation being enacted, and to inform the decision making process for the siting of offshore renewable energy (ORE) infrastructure, taking account of stakeholder views, conservation requirements and other sectoral activity.
The project commenced in mid-December 2022 and it was completed by the end of April 2023. It was led by experts in marine life sciences drawn from the original MPA Advisory Group that provided advice on the expansion of Ireland’s MPA network in 2020. Among its core aims, the group’s work also set out to develop and demonstrate methodologies and the best available evidence base that could be applied to the MPA process under the forthcoming MPA legislation.
The final project report and its appendices were published on 19 June 2023 and they are available below.
Informed by all of these important steps and the resulting information, the Department is now in the process of developing stand-alone legislation to enable the identification, designation and management of MPAs in accordance with Ireland’s national and international commitments.
On 13 December 2022 the Government approved the General Scheme of the Marine Protected Areas Bill. This was announced by the Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan TD, and Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien TD during Ireland’s participation at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference COP-15, in Montréal, Canada.
The General Scheme of the MPA Bill was published on 16 December 2022. It describes the various powers, structures, processes and provisions envisaged under the forthcoming Bill. This includes provisions concerning roles and responsibilities, the identification, designation and management of MPA sites, features that may be afforded protection under the legislation, and participation processes, for example. Based on the General Scheme, the MPA Bill is currently being drafted and is expected to be progressed through the Houses of the Oireachtas in the second half of 2023.
The proposed legislation is intended to work in parallel with the Maritime Area Planning Act (2021) and the suite of existing legal biodiversity protection measures, such as provisions under the Wildlife Acts, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, the EU Birds and Habitats Directives, and the EU Common Fisheries Policy for example. This is in order to effectively balance all conservation requirements and the long-term, sustainable use of Ireland’s valuable and diverse marine environment.
Check this webpage regularly to find out the latest news on the ongoing MPA process.