Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 2 February 2023

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government

General Scheme of the Marine Protected Areas Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed)

Ms Attracta U? Bhroin:

There is also potential for torpedoes. We can have the best will in the world, really good consultation, engagement and advice from the expert advisory group and a coherent governance framework, but something like head 10 effectively allows for a behind closed doors intervention and appeal on an MPA designation with no other parties involved. It is entirely non-transparent. It is an extremely concerning provision that effectively means certain interested parties have access, within quite an extended window, to engage and materially set the whole thing off on a different track.

In terms of coherence, we need to examine not just the who, what, where, when and how. I completely agree with Dr. Griffin on that, in terms of the bodies involved. Going back to my point on policy and legislation, we also need to code for what can derail this process.

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