Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 21 October 2021

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government

Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed)

Photo of Eoin Ó BroinEoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 48:

In page 24, between lines 27 and 28, to insert the following: "(2) The Minister shall ensure a full public consultation on any marine planning guidelines, in line with the State’s obligations under the Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive and the Aarhus Convention.".

Before I speak briefly to those amendments, I am still unclear about the legal status of the guidelines. The term suggests they are a guide as opposed to something mandatory, yet in one of the subheadings of this section there seems to be an implication they will be mandatory. I wonder if these are similar to, say, section 28 planning guidelines in terrestrial planning where mandatory ministerial guidelines are really instructional. It would be helpful if the Minister of State clarified that matter.

Either way, amendment No. 48 speaks to the need for full public consultation. When former Minister Eoghan Murphy was producing his mandatory ministerial guidelines and design standards for apartments and building heights, there was a public consultation. I would be interested to know if something similar will happen with respect to the operation of these guidelines.

Is amendment No. 52 part of this group?

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