3rd UN Ocean Conference National Statement - Ireland Taoiseach Micheál Martin

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Excellencies, distinguished delegates, friends.

Ireland welcomes the opportunity to speak today at this important global ocean event.

We join others in thanking the Governments of France and Costa Rica for co-hosting this Conference, and for their leadership in bringing us together in Nice la Belle here on the Mediterranean Coast.

The oceans are our planet’s life support system. They provide us with food, with oxygen, and they drive our economies through jobs and critical trade routes. Covering over 70% of the earth’s surface and representing 97% of the planet’s water supply, maintaining healthy, resilient and productive oceans is essential for global environmental and economic stability. It is a crucial task that all nations must tackle together.

Discussions over the next couple of days will illustrate how vital our maritime resource is to us all, how much we depend on it, and the importance of protecting it. The Blue Economy and Finance Forum held in Monaco over the last few days has already illustrated both the importance and the challenges in ocean conservation and in properly financing ocean investments that result in positive outcomes for the future of our greatest asset, which has been valued at some $24 trillion.

As an island nation, Ireland is blessed with some of the world’s finest marine resources, providing jobs, energy, food, and respite and pleasure for citizens and tourists alike, characterised by rugged bays and beaches of the Wild Atlantic Way, and the beautiful sea-side walkways dotted along our coasts.

With a coastline of more than 7,400km and a maritime space seven times that of our land, the importance of conserving and safeguarding our marine areas cannot be understated. The protection of our marine environment and its biodiversity is paramount and will continue to be a central part of creating future plans for our marine space in Ireland.

By expanding our Marine Protected Areas, we will ensure limits are placed on human activity in our seas for the benefit of biological diversity, but also for our overall health and wellbeing.

By 2030, we aim to have 30% of our sea area designated as protected, ensuring that our marine systems stay healthy and resilient.

At an EU level, Ireland fully supported the Council Conclusions in March of this year, which stressed the importance of the oceans, water resilience, and the blue economy in strengthening maritime security and environmental sustainability and protection.

Many of you here today come from other coastal and island nations, and I have been interested to hear from you about how important oceans and seas are to your way of life.

Alongside this, I know many of you are also dealing with the challenges of more severe environmental and weather events brought on by climate change.

It is imperative that we use this conference to learn from each other and work together for a better future for our oceans.

We in Ireland are advocates for sustainable ocean management. In April at the 10th Our Ocean Conference in Busan, Korea, we pledged €23.86 million to support action that promotes a healthy, sustainable marine environment. This pledge provides for a diverse range of activities, including support for programmes that support marine research to inform future species and biodiversity assessments; initiatives to address climate impacts in coastal areas; and support for projects that will enable the advancement of digital ocean technologies.

Ireland is also an active participant in regional and global collaboration efforts through forums including OSPAR (Oslo and Paris Convention for the Protection of the Marine environment of the North-East Atlantic) and ICES (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea).

Climate finance is an integral part of Ireland’s foreign policy. In recent years, we have more than doubled our climate finance spend. This year it will be at least €225 million, with oceans and biodiversity one of our priority action areas.

Climate diplomacy is also a central part of Ireland’s international climate action. Our aim is to use our voice to advocate for the countries most at risk from the effects of climate change.

Looking to the future, Ireland will hold the Presidency of the European Council in the second half of 2026, we will continue to focus on key marine and maritime priorities.

Europe has a rich maritime history. Whether through trade or exploration, a great part of Europe’s identity has been shaped by the sea.

We are best placed to take a leading role in the preservation of our oceans and seas. Later today, we will launch the European Ocean pact, which will set out Europe’s blueprint to lead global efforts to conserve and sustainably use the ocean, seas, and marine resources.

On behalf of the Irish Government, I look forward to hearing from all our colleagues from around the world as delegates enlighten, inform, and inspire us in support of our oceans and seas this week. I wish everyone success in tackling our critical, common ocean issues this week, agreeing actions for a cleaner, healthy, and biodiverse marine environment.