Ms Laura Brien:

A MAC is a right to occupy a portion of the sea bed. It is a precursor to going into planning. For strategic infrastructure - they may have renamed that now - or for any planning that needs to go to An Bord Pleanála, one needs a MAC first. The same does apply if one is looking at something that needs a development consent from a local authority. If, for example, it is to build a new slipway, to build out a marina for leisure tourism and so on, or for some smaller harbour development, this will go to the local authority for development consent, so planning permission.