BirdWatch Ireland notes the announcement by the European Commission on April 29th 2026 that it has started infringement proceedings against the Irish government for failure to designate marine Special Protection Areas for seabirds in Irish waters [1].
Oonagh Duggan, Head of Policy and Advocacy at BirdWatch Ireland said:
“In 2025 BirdWatch Ireland published data on 75 Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) for seabirds in Ireland – 24 of these are in Irish marine waters and 51 are terrestrial breeding sites. We are calling on government to urgently designate as Special Protection Areas all the IBAs not yet designated for seabirds including the 24 marine areas and to comply with the European Commission’s Letter of Formal Notice. These IBAs are based on the best available data and standardised international criteria that is recognised by the European Court of Justice. The maps are there. The data is there. Now is the time to designate them.” [2]
Map of 24 marine IBAs for seabirds identified by BirdWatch Ireland and BirdLife International.
Seabirds nest on cliffs and islands and most of these areas are already afforded legal protection in Ireland though 9 IBAs remain to be designated. There are sites at sea that are also critical in the seabird lifecycle and which are not yet protected (24 marine IBAs see map above). They are areas where seabirds forage for food for themselves and their chicks, pathways through which they migrate, and places where they overwinter. It is a basic requirement of EU law to protect these sites and the Irish government has been required to do so since 2012.
“The Irish government has been required to designate marine sites for seabirds since 2012. With its Letter of Formal Notice, the European Commission has stepped in to enforce implementation of the Birds Directive because the government has not done so. In the last 10 years there has been significant investment in seabird survey and monitoring and the designation process has begun for some marine areas which we welcome but the process has been slow and we have concerns relating to it.”
The European Court of Justice has issued rulings outlining how Member States must designate all suitable sites for birds and based solely on ornithological criteria without considering economic interests. [3, 4]
“Ireland is at a critical juncture. Government is racing to identify areas for offshore wind, which we need urgently, but is lagging behind in designation of marine sites for seabirds and other biodiversity. The failure to identify and protect these marine sites before identifying areas for offshore wind creates significant uncertainty for nature protection and for wind farm developers.”
Sarah Hegarty, Marine Advocacy and Campaigns Officer, said:
“Ireland is important globally for seabirds. Twenty-three of Ireland’s twenty-four breeding seabird species are Red or Amber-Listed Birds of Conservation Concern. Included are species like the Puffin and the Kittiwake which are Red Listed and globally vulnerable. We also call on government to publish the Marine Protected Area legislation as soon as possible which would identify and protect areas at sea for other marine biodiversity and so Ireland can meet its 30% Marine Protected Areas by 2030 target. Government has been putting protection for marine life on the long finger for too long”.
Notes:
[1] European Commission Infringement announcement https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/inf_26_720
[2] BirdWatch Ireland Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas for Seabirds https://birdwatchireland.ie/ibas-for-seabirds-in-ireland/
[3] SPA Designation and Important Bird Areas – a list of European Court of Justice Rulings https://birdwatchireland.ie/app/uploads/2026/01/SPA-Designation-and-IBAs-ECJ-Rulings.pdf
[4] Detail on IBAs to be designated https://birdwatchireland.ie/app/uploads/2026/04/Detail-on-IBAs-to-be-designated.pdf
[5] Photo of a Puffin which can be used for any publication.
BirdWatch Ireland and BirdLife International : IBA methodology webinar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p064zLUYUQE
