The European Commission has urged Ireland to complete its network of marine conservation zones or face legal action.
Under the EU’s Habitats Directive, member states are required to designate areas known as Sites of Community importance (SCIs) to protect Europe’s most threatened habitat types and species.
Some of these SCIs must be designated in the sea as well as on land.
Another European law – the Birds Directive – also demands zones to protect seabirds, known as Special Protection Areas (SPAs).
But the European Commission says Ireland is yet to officially do so.
“While Ireland has undertaken significant monitoring of its marine waters, the Irish authorities have not yet formally proposed new marine SCIs and have not yet classified marine SPAs in coastal and offshore areas.
More specifically, additional SCIs for reefs, sandbanks, bottlenose dolphin and harbour porpoise need to be established.
Ireland should also establish sufficient SPAs for eight bird species listed in Annex I of the Birds Directive and eleven migratory bird species which are regularly present in Ireland.
These sites contribute to the EU-wide network of protected nature sites known as Natura 2000 and to reaching the target of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 of legally protecting at least 30 percent of the EU seas.”
The law designating protected areas goes back decades and the network of sites was supposed to have been fully in place by 2012.
After years of delay, the European Commission is now getting tough on Ireland.
“The failure to propose such sites, so many years after the deadline has passed, obstructs the rapid roll-out of renewable energy projects as it creates legal uncertainty for authorities and developers.
Ireland has ambitious offshore renewable energy plans, which the Commission fully supports. To advance on this objective, the authorities and developers need to have clarity on where the most environmentally sensitive areas are”, the European Commission says.
Last week, the Irish government was issued with a stark warning: Get your house in order or face court action.
The government has two months within which to respond to the EU’s “formal notice” before the European Commission can escalate.
The Marine Conservation Institute warned last year that, “with the exception of Ireland’s only Marine Reserve and four proposed Natura 2000 sites, the Stage of Establishment for all of Ireland’s MPAs [Marine Protected Areas] is ‘designated’ meaning they exist on paper but have no evidence of implementation on the water.
Unfortunately, Ireland has a long history of failing to implement effective measures for its Natura 2000 sites.”
But the government has hit back saying it takes marine protection seriously.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage said:
“Ireland has taken huge strides over the last decade in monitoring and surveying its marine environment through initiatives like SeaRover (The Sensitive Ecosystem Assessment and ROV Exploration of Reef) and the ObSERVE programme as well as a myriad of other programmes and projects that served to identify the most appropriate areas for classification and designation.
Ireland has to date notified to the European Commission of two very large marine Special Protection Areas (SPAs): Seas off Wexford SPA, North West Irish Sea SPA, and extensions to the Bull and the Cow Rock SPA and the Murrough SPA.
Ireland has also notified two very large Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) for Reef: the Southern Canyons and Porcupine Shelf SACs. Ireland has also added Bottlenose Dolphin and Harbour Porpoise as a qualifying interest to 11 and 13 existing SACs, respectively. These sites have had legal protection since the date of public notification.
The European Commission has formally written to the Irish government (Letter of Formal Notice) alleging insufficiency of Marine Natura 2000 sites designated and classified by Ireland for the protection of habitats and species under the Habitats and Birds Directives.
Ireland is still assimilating the Letter of Formal Notice and the documentation provided by the Commission and will not be making further comment on the notification at this point, beyond stating that we will defend our huge progress in this area vigorously.”