On 1 August 2025, the responsibility for marine environment functions, including marine protected areas, was transferred to the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment (DCEE) and a review concluded that it was preferable to consolidate marine legislation as much as possible rather than having a separate Marine Protected Areas Act.
On 13 November 2025, the government approved the preparation of a General Scheme for the Maritime Area Planning (Marine Protected Areas) (Amendment) Bill to provide a legislative basis for the designation and effective management of marine protected areas in Irish waters. Ireland has committed to achieving at least 30% coverage of the maritime area by an ecologically coherent network of MPAs by 2030 further to (1) the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, (2) the OSPAR Regional Sea Convention for the Protection of the North East Atlantic, and (3) the UN CBD Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (COP 15, 2022).
As part of the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2026, the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment hosted an EU Ocean Act Conference in Wexford town 7-8 July 2026 with options of either a coach trip to Hook Head or a three-hour Saltee islands boat trip on the final day (https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-climate-energy-and-the-environment/campaigns/eu-ocean-act-conference-2026/).
The purpose of the conference was to “meet and discuss the draft European Ocean Act, a forthcoming EU law, planned for 2027, designed to unify ocean-related policies, strengthen maritime spatial planning, and promote sustainable use of marine resources” (https://irish-presidency.consilium.europa.eu/en/events/eu-ocean-act-conference/).
On 8 July 2026, a press release advised that the Government had approved the drafting of the Maritime Area Planning (Marine Protected Areas) (Amendment) Bill 2026 (https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-climate-energy-and-the-environment/press-releases/ministers-obrien-and-dooley-drive-forward-marine-protected-areas-legislation-that-will-safeguard-irish-seas/).
The purpose of the new Bill was to amend the Maritime Area Planning Act 2021 to allow for the designation and management of MPAs. An outline was given together with details of 77 heads (https://assets.gov.ie/static/documents/0343097c/General_Scheme_of_a_Maritime_Area_Planning_Marine_Protected_Areas_Amendment_Bill_2026.pdf).