Skip to main content
Normal View

Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 2 March 2022

Wednesday, 2 March 2022

Questions (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)

Seán Sherlock

Question:

18. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his attendance at the One Ocean Summit. [8854/22]

View answer

Alan Kelly

Question:

19. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his attendance at the One Ocean Summit. [9491/22]

View answer

James O'Connor

Question:

20. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent attendance at the One Ocean Summit. [10089/22]

View answer

Mary Lou McDonald

Question:

21. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his attendance at the One Ocean Summit. [9277/22]

View answer

Peadar Tóibín

Question:

22. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent attendance at the One Ocean Summit. [11389/22]

View answer

Richard Boyd Barrett

Question:

23. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his attendance at the One Ocean Summit. [11433/22]

View answer

Paul Murphy

Question:

24. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his attendance at the One Ocean Summit. [11436/22]

View answer

Christopher O'Sullivan

Question:

25. Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent attendance at the One Ocean Summit. [11730/22]

View answer

Oral answers (27 contributions)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 18 to 25, inclusive, together.

I participated in the One Ocean Summit in Brest, France, on Friday, 11 February. Around 20 international leaders attended in person for Friday's high-level segment hosted by President Macron. This event was held in the context of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union, with the support of the UN and in co-operation with the World Bank and other public, private and civil society partners. It feeds into a sequence of major international events on the oceans and seas in the first half of 2022, including a meeting of the United Nations Environment Assembly, the second phase of the COP15 UN biodiversity conference and a UN conference to support the implementation of sustainable development Goal 14, which is to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.

My contribution to the One Ocean Summit was on the theme of "an ocean of solutions to climate change". I took the opportunity to highlight the following: the vast potential of Ireland's renewable energy resources, including for export, and associated commitments in our climate action plan and programme for government; the new licensing and regulatory regime being established by the Maritime Area Planning Act, including establishment of the maritime area regulatory authority; and the launch this year of Ireland's new state-of-the-art marine research vessel, RV Tom Crean, which will make an important contribution to the Horizon Europe mission to restore our ocean, seas and waters by 2030.

The oceans comprise the largest component of the Earth's system that stabilises climate and supports life and human well-being. Given that our maritime area is seven times the size of our landmass, it also has particular significance for Ireland. I was happy to lend my firm support for this excellent initiative from President Macron to raise the collective level of ambition of the international community on marine issues. I pay tribute to President Macron for the enormous individual effort that he put into this conference, staying there for the entirety of it and contributing very significantly to it.

I welcome the fact that the Taoiseach attended the summit, which is to be acknowledged. Is the Taoiseach confident that Ireland can achieve the 5 GW of installed offshore wind generation by 2030, which is the Government's own target? Is he confident that upon the establishment of the maritime agency, the marine area consents that would give effect to the potential for offshore wind will be realised? There is a massive opportunity in our native Cork for sites like the Verolme dockyard to be staging posts to service that industry, particularly on the south and south-west coast.

I want to raise with the Taoiseach the delay in advancing the urgently needed legislation to identify and guard marine protected areas as required under the marine strategy framework directive. As the Taoiseach will be aware, Ireland has no legal tool with which to define, identify, designate or manage marine protected areas. As a result, many species, habitats and processes occurring in our extensive marine area have fallen outside the scope of area-based conservation, with consequent risks to marine biodiversity and ecosystem services that benefit people and nature.

These are not my words. This is the advice of a senior Department official to a recent meeting of an Oireachtas committee. It is also worth noting that under the directive, Ireland's marine protected area should have been identified and underpinned in legislation two years ago. Nearly three years have passed since the Dáil declared a climate and biodiversity emergency, yet numerous targets set out in the national biodiversity action plan have not been met. Again, the Taoiseach will know from his keen interest in biodiversity that international best practice dictates that the marine planning framework should have been delivered in tandem with the marine protected areas legislation. In addition to the marine biodiversity protection targets that Ireland has missed and has yet to meet, there are seven renewable energy legacy projects, as well as new planning applications, that will be dealt with in the absence of the marine protected areas legislation.

The Irish fishing fleet is to be gutted by one third and 60 trawlers are to be scrapped by the Government, which will leave 100 vessels in the fleet. Fishing ports such as Burtonport, An Daingean, Schull, Baltimore, Kilmore Quay and Killybegs will be hit massively. The Irish fishing quota has been slashed from 20% to 15% and the remaining 85% of fish caught in Irish waters will go to countries in the European Union. That is incredible. I would challenge the Taoiseach to name another Government anywhere in the world that has done such a wrong to an indigenous sector as has been done to the Irish fishing sector. Aontú’s Becky Kealy will host a meeting in Bandon this Friday night to fight for the rights of fishing families and Patrick Murphy from the Irish South and West Fish Producers’ Organisation will be there. The Taoiseach may not be too far away from the event and I would ask him, if he can, to go along to that event, listen to the needs of fishing families in this country and guarantee that their livelihoods will not be destroyed.

The big question in terms of our oceans is whether the Government is going to allow the privatisation of these natural resources in the interests of big multinationals and private developers, who are literally queueing up to cash in on the natural resources of this country, which are owned by the people. It might be worth considering that more than 50% of our gas, for example, comes from Corrib and that we can produce up to 80% or 85% of our own electricity, yet the prices are going through the roof. That is because we privatised it and we gave it away to for-profit companies. There are now developers and multinational companies literally queueing up to grab sites all around the country. They have identified the sites because the Government did not protect the marine areas as it should have, or only 2% of them when it was supposed to protect 30%. They are queueing up to grab our wind energy potential and our oceans. Will he acknowledge that when they develop that renewable energy, they will charge market prices for the use of those resources to the people of this country?

The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, report was described by the UN Secretary General as "an atlas of human suffering and a damning indictment of failed climate leadership". The latest report talks of a "rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a livable and sustainable future for all". It says that up to three quarters of the world's population faces life-threatening climatic conditions this century due to extreme heat if we do not act to stop climate change. The IPCC chair, Dr. Hoesung Lee, warned that half measures are no longer an option. The report calls for 30% to 50% of our land, rivers and oceans to be conserved in order to maintain biodiversity, yet Ireland only has 2.4% of its seas covered by MPAs, MPAs. Will the Taoiseach act on the science when it comes to the devastation facing us. Will he act and agree to have 30% of our sea areas designated as MPAs?

I have spoken in this Chamber many times about the need to protect wildlife and habitats. Our oceans are the greatest habitat of all. Anja Murray writes in the Irish Examiner today that "The world’s oceans contain the last great wilderness on Earth". That is pretty powerful. It is true and we want it to remain true. I have often spoken of the abundance of whales, dolphins and marine wildlife off our coast. We need to introduce steps to protect that wildlife. There are two simple steps we can take immediately. First, is to support the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine in his push to increase the six-to-12 nautical mile fishing zone exclusively for the Irish fleet to 20 nautical miles. That would be an incredibly positive step both for wildlife and the fishing sector. Second, as other Deputies have noted, we need to urgently introduce legislation around MPAs and get to that target of 30% of MPAs.

I would like to see a condemnation of the behaviour of the second biggest fishing boat in the world, the FV Margiris which dumped 100,000 blue whiting in the Atlantic recently and was then observed fishing off the coast of Mayo. We need to stop that practice.

On Deputy Sherlock's point, I do think that we can reach the 5 GW by 2030. The Government has been in office for about a year and a half or a bit more. In that time, the marine planning framework has been published. The Maritime Area Planning Act has been enacted. There have been very significant developments, particularly in respect of the development of wind energy to give certainty to investors. Unlike Deputy Boyd Barrett, I welcome investment in wind energy off our coast. I do not think that the State on its own will be able to develop wind energy. We will have to agree to disagree on that. There is tremendous potential. The sea is seven times the size of our land mass.

There is a lot of money to be made.

We have a very ambitious goal to have 80% of renewable electricity by 2020. That is Ireland's goal in the climate action plan. That depends on harnessing offshore wind in particular. It is at approximately 43% of electricity generated now. In that context, the development of a new regulatory consenting regime for the offshore renewable sector in Ireland, including the introduction of maritime area consents provided for through the Maritime Area Planning Act, a route to market for future offshore wind projects through offshore renewable electricity support options. The Department of the Environment is working on all of this and has a very extensive work programme involving the development of a framework for offshore electricity transmission systems, updating the offshore renewable energy development plan and a cross-departmental offshore renewable energy delivery task force has been established to capture wider economic and business opportunities for offshore renewable energy, particularly in coastal areas.

We are very concerned with regard to the issue raised by Deputies Christopher O'Sullivan and O'Reilly in respect of the need to protect ocean eco systems for sustainability purposes, to protect fisheries as a natural resource and to ensure fishing opportunities for future generations. That matter is constantly under review and is being developed in the context of fisheries policy.

Deputy Tóibín's points are not valid because it is not the Government that did what he outlined; Brexit did it. That is the bottom line. Had we had a no-deal Brexit, it would have been far worse. The Deputy just made a presentation that was a classic of spin and distortion. He said that the Government is doing this. The Government wants to do nothing of the sort. Brexit caused this.

It is a good idea and important to develop maritime protected areas. We have to consult with all of the stakeholders because otherwise Deputies will be back in with me saying not to do it here or there for various reasons. It is extremely important. Ireland was one of the first countries to become a whale and dolphin sanctuary, for example. It was the former Taoiseach, Charles J. Haughey, did that. He was ahead of his time in the context of marine biodiversity. However, we need to do more - and we need to do it faster - to protect our ecosystems because the IPCC report is very worrying indeed.

He was good on planning.

I will work with the Ministers involved in the extension of the nautical limit. The practice the Deputy identified of the dumping of so many fish at sea is shocking.

Deputy Boyd Barrett spoke of the privatisation of our resources. I am not clear. Is he saying that the State should collect all the offshore wind itself? Is that what he is basically saying?

I do not think that the State has the capacity to do that.

I do not think you can nationalise wind.

But you can privatise it.

There is a lot of expertise out there. We have to have partnership between the State and the private sector. ScotWind has really moved quickly in harnessing wind energy off Scotland. We want to get to 5 GW before 2030-----

Will we be paying market prices?

-----and we want to become a major exporting nation after that.

We need more consents. If we line up more consents then that would -----

I know that. It is being worked on. There is a whole-of-government delivery system being created. The Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, is developing that.

It is going to be like the gold rush.

Well, I hope it does yield jobs and benefits, the biggest being to climate. I am not clear what the Deputy is proposing as an alternative. I have not heard that.

That it be publicly owned.

Is féidir teacht ar Cheisteanna Scríofa ar www.oireachtas.ie .
Written Answers are published on the Oireachtas website.
Cuireadh an Dáil ar fionraí ar 2.07 p.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 3.09 p.m.
Sitting suspended at 2.07 p.m. and resumed at 3.09 p.m.
Top
Share