Vol. 542 No. 1
32 Mr. Broughan asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources the steps the Government intends to take to advance the objective of seeking an extension of the continental shelf; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23322/01]
In 1996 Ireland ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which includes definition of the continental shelf, and had ten years from that date, that is, until 2006, to lodge a submission to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. At a recent meeting of the states party to the convention, it was agreed that for all states which had ratified prior to May 1999, including Ireland, the ten year deadline should be extended to May 2009.
A large amount of scientific and technical data has to be collected to support this submission.
Interpretation of new data is complete and existing infill seismic data have been gathered and collated. It is expected that the technical work should be completed by the end of this year and the submission prepared by mid-2002.
