Taoiseach proposes referendum to create new ministerial office for maritime issues

The following text has been directly copied from The Irish Times (Link):

Micheál Martin said ‘there’s something missing where we don’t have a stronger department of the marine’

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has raised the possibility of a referendum to increase the number of Government ministers after saying maritime issues needed a dedicated department.

His comments echoed that of Minister of State Timmy Dooley, whose broad portfolio includes marine responsibilities.

Dooley said consideration should be given in the future to creating a single department and full ministry for the marine.

Martin said his Fianna Fáil colleague made “an important point in terms of how we structure our political and administrative response to the issue of our seas”.

“I’m not that happy with it so far,” the Taoiseach said at a conference in Cork hosted by the Fair Seas environmental organisation to coincide with World Oceans Week.

He said there were constitutional constraints limiting to 15 the number of Cabinet posts, but added: “I would love to have a senior Cabinet post [for the marine].

“It probably wouldn’t be the most popular constitutional referendum to suggest we need additional Cabinet seats but we do need to discuss it and debate it because it’s a serious issue.

“We are surrounded by our seas and there’s something missing where we don’t have a stronger department of the marine, independent but working with other departments.

“It’s an issue I’m deliberately throwing out there because there’s lots of cynics out there and so on, but we need to get serious in terms of how we organise ourselves.

“It’s not about saying ‘we don’t need that other department, let’s get rid of that’.

“The State is growing, society is growing, you need additional capacity as society evolves.”

Focus on Ireland’s extensive marine territory has grown in recent years, with the development of offshore wind central to the country’s energy policy.

At the same time, concern is rising about increasing pressures on Irish waters with underwater cables and interconnectors requiring space, fish numbers dwindling and fishing communities under strain. The tourism industry is also increasingly looking to water-based activities for market growth.

The impact of all this activity, in combination with the ocean acidification caused by climate change and the general decline in ocean health and loss of sea life, prompted an international agreement to grant protected status to 30 per cent of marine areas by 2030.

Fair Seas is campaigning for the Government to pass a long-awaited Marine Protected Areas Bill to designate key areas for protection.

Martin and Dooley both acknowledged the concerns that the legislation has not been passed yet but committed to creating marine protected areas covering 30 per cent of Ireland’s offshore territory by 2030.

Dooley said work was under way to identify the areas so that formal designation could follow swiftly when the law was finalised.