Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Amendment No. 48 proposes public consultation on any marine planning guidelines in line with the State's obligations under the strategic environmental assessment, SEA, directive and the Aarhus Convention. By their nature, such guidelines will require strategic environmental assessment. Integral to that process is public consultation. Guidelines prepared without that assessment and consultation would not survive judicial review. The term “full public consultation” is also technically problematic. It is not a defined term and contains an inherent risk that any consultation, no matter how comprehensive, could be challenged on the basis that it is not full or complete. Simply, direct and unspecific reference to the Aarhus Convention is not only unnecessary, it is legally problematic given the range of enabling legislation and European directives already in place giving effect to the principles set out therein.

Amendment No. 52 proposes that public consultation is undertaken for the making, amending or revocation of any guidelines. This is an overly onerous and restrictive provision. It would oblige public consultation on the correction of even a single typographical error. Any amendment to the guidelines will be subject to SEA screening, and full SEA including public consultation, if required. There may also be a need to urgently amend any guidelines resulting from emergent case law, both domestic and European. Guidelines would normally be revoked where a new set of superseding guidelines are developed. It would not be practical or best use of resources to hold a separate consultation specifically on revocation.

Amendment No. 61 proposes public consultation on every directive or amendment or revocation. By their very nature, directives may be needed urgently to ensure the legally robust functioning of the marine planning system. Directives issued under this section will be subject to obligations under section 31 in respect of appropriate assessment, AA, and strategic environmental assessment, SEA. If such assessments are screened in, public consultation will be undertaken as a matter of course and existing obligation. I therefore oppose these amendments.

There appears to be a misunderstanding of the purpose of these guidelines and policy directives. They are used to ensure that the system that is being designed here operates as intended. They will be drawn up and will operate within the policy framework, as set up in the national marine planning framework that has been approved by the Oireachtas. They are there to make it work. They are also there to show specific public bodies how they can comply with the policies and objectives of the national marine planning framework, maritime spatial plan, or designated marine area plans, DMAPS. Moreover, in some extreme cases, they can direct them to act in a certain way in order to comply with these policies or with emerging case law. They are created in a system that is designed around the maritime spatial planning, MSP, directive, has also had regard to the marine strategy framework, MSF, directive and the principles established in the Aarhus Convention, as already transposed in Ireland. The SEA and AA-related directives already apply to them by reference to section 31 of the Bill. It is simply not necessary to restate these things in every Part of this Bill; it is unwieldy and would have a myriad of unintended consequences. In addition, there appears to be a perception that the Government is currently avoiding consultation with the public generally. That simply could not be further from the truth. Consultation and, more appropriately, participation occur in a variety of ways. To give the most recent example of guidelines that I published under section 28 of the Planning and Development Act, namely, the draft development plan guidelines for planning authorities, these were placed on public display for the acceptance of submission from 13 August 2021 to 8 October 2021, a period of almost nine weeks. However, to get to that point, a high degree of consultation with various stakeholders was carried out. This was to ensure their operational effectiveness. Appropriate consultation does take place in respect of such guidance already. It will continue to do so under the provisions drafted, where appropriate.