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

Turning to amendment No. 253, the purpose of this new subsection (6) is to provide that a local authority will not be able to compulsorily acquire a maritime site, by virtue of the operation of this section, if title to it is vested in a Minister of the Government under section 5 of the State Property Act 1954. This is to avoid conflicts between the new MAC system being established and CPO powers. It will not prohibit local authorities from acquiring land in the maritime area but will prevent them from engaging in a CPO in respect of same.

The purpose of amendment No. 255 is to provide more precisely for the construction of references to proper planning and sustainable development as being references to maritime spatial planning. It is also the purpose of this amendment to provide more precisely for the construction of references to principles of proper planning and sustainable development as being references to objectives of maritime spatial planning. In essence, while this provision exists in the initiated text, the revised wording provides for better and more exact drafting as advised by the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel. All of this means that, where the local authority or the board is dealing with a maritime site, it must apply the maritime-specific considerations set out in respect of sustainable development and better reflect the requirements of the MSP directive.

The purpose of amendment No. 256 is to provide more precisely for the construction of references to the national planning framework as being references to the national marine planning framework. The amendments to the syntax are related to those proposed under amendment No. 255. This provision, in general, will allow the board or the coastal planning authority to read a reference to the national planning framework as being the national marine planning framework in the context of dealing with a maritime site. The specific required exclusions to this reading of the national marine planning framework are also provided.