Ireland, like other EU countries, was obliged to prepare an ecosystem-based spatial plan by March 2021 but, unfortunately, the plan developed by Ireland does not comply with the EU MSP Directive.

The National Marine Planning Framework (NMPF) adopted by the Irish Government in May 2021 is not ecosystem-based. It provides a policy framework for marine planning but does not specify where activities will take place at sea or set out regionally differentiated priorities for the use and protection of Ireland’s marine space (Walsh, 2022). The NMPF, therefore, fails to meet the core requirements of the EU MSP Directive and cannot be considered as a marine spatial plan.