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

I thank the Deputy for the generous proposal.

Amendment No. 68 proposes to limit directives exclusively to environmental matters, going even further than previous proposed amendments.

Directives under this proposal could not even clarify matters set out in the MPPS. This is the Maritime Area Planning Bill. Directives will issue from the marine spatial planning Minister, and the Minister must be allowed to ensure the efficient and effective operation of the marine planning system.

I appreciate where the amendment is coming from and we want to protect the marine environment, but these provisions relate to the operation of an holistic system that can relate to mundane technical matters. This Bill, as a whole, will result in a greater level of protection for the entire maritime area than has previously been the case. It introduces a plan-led system, previously lacking, and a consent regime that heretofore only applied to a limited area. The NMPF, on which a great deal of decision making rests, sets out a series of directional policies in respect of the protection of the marine environment.

While I agree with the sentiment of protecting the environment and taking seriously the protection of marine biodiversity, I oppose the amendment.