Mr. Tom Woolley:

I will provide a short overview. At the moment we are committing in the NMPF to establishing initially two sets of statutory guidelines that we will work on in earnest following the publication of the NPF. These will focus on development management. As Mr. Nolan pointed out, the marine planning and development management Bill and the NMPF will have an effect on a huge range of decision-making. They will have an impact on lots of different scales and types of development and activity, and on planned development and policy development upon which the NMPF also has an effect.

Given that complex picture, one role for the development management guidelines is, first and foremost, to see who is affected and what are the processes that are needed to consider the plan. Beyond that, the guidelines would look at the individual policy areas and pick out areas, and new areas in particular, that these development decision-making processes will need to account for.

We spoke earlier about stakeholders. It is important to note, for example, that the Bill changes the people who will make decisions in the maritime area from the foreshore team to An Bord Pleanála and the local authorities. Traditionally, those two organisations have been very land focused. Now they will be working with marine stakeholders. Therefore, there is something for development management guidelines to say about who typical marine stakeholders might be, where they might be found and how they might be contacted. For example, standing groups might be used for engagement. In principle, it is about helping that transition and helping development management to move as envisaged by the marine planning and development management Bill. That is the development management side of things.

I will now turn to the offshore renewable energy aspect. Offshore renewable energy is a relatively new and emerging sector in Ireland. Again, there is a lot to be said for supporting transition. There are new assessments that need to be thought about, such as visualisation assessments. We need to reflect on how to establish the best available evidence to accompany decisions and identify how people can get involved with the processes related to offshore renewable energy. Both sets of guidelines will be subject to consultation and assessment as required under the nature directives, the strategic environmental assessment directive and others as necessary. We will seek to include all relevant people to inform the development of those guidelines to make sure everyone is involved in setting a course for making the changes and making the progress required in Ireland's maritime area.