Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 6:

In page 19, line 4, after “means” to insert “, other than in Chapter 7 of Part 13,”.

This is a technical amendment relating to the definition of the Act of 2021 for the purposes of the amendments proposed to the Maritime Area Planning Act in chapter 7 of Part 13. The introduction of a definition for “amenity value” in amendment No. 7 is an important addition to help make it clear that where the Minister is considering whether to enter a thing into the register of monuments under section 14(7), or when there is a proposal to apply special protection to a monument under section 20(3), the setting of the monument or thing must be taken into consideration.

Amendments Nos. 13, 18 and 39 are the first of a set of amendments following on from a commitment I made in the Seanad to review the possibility of broadening the scope of the term “relevant interest” to include “cultural interest”. As this integration of “cultural interest” into the Bill has been deemed possible, and since the terms “artistic interest” and “traditional interest” were already in use within the text of the Bill, these have been grouped together under a new definition of “cultural interest” that also includes “literary interest”. A new definition to provide for “traditional interest” is also proposed. Finally, several consequential amendments will also be proposed to those definitions using the terms I have mentioned relating to “cultural heritage”. For example, the definition of an “historic object” already refers to “cultural interest.” The terms “artistic” and “traditional” can be removed as they will now fall under the definition of “cultural interest." Consequential changes will also be made to those sections where these terms are in use, such as section 151. This is done so that the relevant terms all appear correctly and consistently throughout the Bill.

The definitions of “export” and “import” are proposed under amendments Nos. 20 and 28 to mirror those in section 2 of the Customs Act 2015. These amendments are proposed on advice received from the Revenue Commissioners.

Amendments Nos. 32 and 57 relate to amendment No. 70 and the order of paragraphs (a) and (b) in section 14(3). They are being swapped to aid the comprehensibility of the scope of relevant things eligible to be entered in the register of monuments. In the current draft, prescribed monuments are listed before “things of relevant interest.” This has led to multiple cases of misinterpretation whereby it is assumed that a thing must first be a prescribed monument to be eligible for entry into the register. My hope is that by switching these paragraphs, it will be clearer that either a relevant thing or a relevant or prescribed monument may be eligible for entry into the register. If amendment No. 70 is accepted, there are several consequential amendments where references to paragraphs (a) or (b) of section 14(3) must then be updated.

The addition of a definition for “historic” under amendment No. 21 is a technical matter to make it explicitly clear that when the term “historic” is used, it relates generally to matters belonging to the past and not just to something that may have changed history or is considered to be famous in an historical context.

Amendments Nos. 40 to 42, inclusive, have come about following discussions with the monument protection unit of the National Monuments Service. This set of amendments seeks to refine the definition of “works” to incorporate some useful terminology, such as “ground disturbance”, which itself will include digging, ploughing or excavation, and to include the term “defacing” as a direct reference to the painting of graffiti on monuments.

Amendment No. 58 is an amendment to the definition of a “register action” to make it clear that the entry of a statement into the register of monuments under section 15(2), the purpose of which is to help determine the extent of a monument, is determined to be a register action. This will mean that normal consultation and notification provisions to landowners and members of the public will apply in the entry of such a statement.

Amendment No. 121 relates to the definition of “demolition” in section 25. An environmental impact assessment, EIA, must be carried out where proposed works, if carried out, would result in the demolition of a monument. The proposed amendment is to make clear that the exclusion of certain things from the definition of “demolition”, for example, an archaeological investigation, only relates to the requirement for an EIA under section 34 and does not apply to the general licensing or other notice requirements under chapter 6 of Part 2.

Amendments Nos. 122 and 123 provide for the terms “transboundary convention” and "transboundary state”. These terms will be used in relation to EIA-related consultation requirements where works within this jurisdiction may affect the environment of another state. I will go into more detail in on this matter when we come to amendments Nos. 154 to 168, inclusive.