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IWT Press Release
06 May 2026
The European Commission has sent a letter of formal notice to Ireland over its failure to designate protected areas at sea. Ireland has two months to provide a satisfactory response before the Commission decides whether to issue a reasoned opinion.
Grace Carr, Marine Advocacy Officer says, ‘Irish people have been fighting for better protections in Ireland’s marine area for decades. Our current MPA network is not sufficient in size and the areas we do have designated are not being effectively managed and so the vast majority is not in good condition. Aside from Ireland’s failure to comply with EU Nature laws, we are also still waiting for national MPA legislation to help us meet the global targets set for marine conservation and finally turn the tide for our struggling seas. We have highlighted these shortcomings with the European Commission on a number of occasions and we are happy to see the Commission taking actions to hold the Government accountable. We are already decades behind in conserving nature, there is no more time to delay.’
Previous cases against Ireland over its failure to protect nature
This isn’t a new issue. The European Commission initiated infringement proceedings to Ireland in 2015 over its failure to designate Special Areas of Conservation under the EU Habitats Directive. The results of this case were finalised in 2023 and Ireland was found guilty of failing to put in place site specific conservation objectives and management measures for protected areas. Without setting these objectives for an area and putting in place measures to reach these objectives, the area is effectively a ‘paper park’. This lack of management and Ireland’s failure to protect nature was confirmed when the latest Article 17 report was released in December 2025. 90% of Ireland’s ‘protected’ habitats were found to be in bad or inadequate condition. It’s more than frustrating that we are in 2026 and Ireland is still failing to protect nature and failing to even designate areas at sea for protection.
Contents of new proceedings against Ireland
This new letter from the Commission highlights that Ireland has failed to propose new marine Sites of Community Importance (SCI) and Special Protection Areas (SPA) in coastal and offshore areas. The Commission had agreed with Member States that an ecologically coherent network of marine protected areas should be in place by 2012. It also states that new SCIs for reefs, sandbanks, bottlenose dolphins and harbour porpoise need to be established. Reefs were classified as being in bad ecological conditions in the latest Article 17 report and sandbanks were classified as being in favourable condition (however, the roll out of offshore renewable energy around Ireland’s coasts is likely to cause significant pressures to this habitat type). SCIs are not fully established protected areas, they are the first step towards designating an area as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC), so this highlights how far behind Ireland is.
The letter also highlights Ireland’s failure to designate SPAs for eight bird species listed in Annex I of the Birds Directive and eleven migratory birds which are regularly found in Ireland.
Over the past decade, monitoring has improved in Ireland’s marine areas, but the delay in taking action with the data available is unacceptable. Ireland is pushing forward with offshore renewable energy and this is something that cannot occur without first designating areas which should be protected for vulnerable marine species and habitats. This is something that Irish citizens, scientists and industry have been calling for for years and yet the Government continues to drag its heels. National marine protected area legislation is still being prepared and a first draft of the Bill has yet to be released. This new Bill must ensure that an inclusive approach to designating and managing Ireland’s marine space is taken so that we can finally achieve an ecologically coherent network of MPAs that protects and restores marine ecosystems and those who depend on them.
Grace Carr questions, ‘With infringement proceedings happening again so many years after deadlines have passed for designating protecting areas, it makes you question what the Government’s priorities are and if they have any intention of ever effectively protecting the land and sea that protects us.’
ENDS
Media Contact: Grace Carr, IWT Marine Advocacy Officer, grace@iwt.ie