Offshore Update: General Scheme Of Marine Protected Areas Legislation Published

The Government has published the General Scheme of the Maritime Area Planning (Marine Protected Areas) (Amendment) Bill 2026 (PDF 1.1 MB) (the “General Scheme“), which would amend the Maritime Area Planning Act 2021 (the “MAP Act“) to provide a framework for the designation and management of marine protected areas (“MPAs“) in Irish waters.

Background

The General Scheme is designed to support Ireland’s goal of protecting 30% of its maritime area by 2030, and to meet Ireland’s obligations under the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive. It also implements the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, the OSPAR Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic, and the UN Convention on Biological Diversity’s Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.