Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and thank the Minister of State. In regard to amendment No. 132, section 19 sets out the core criteria for consideration in the development of a national planning framework and section 19(2)(e) will require the NPF to provide for land-sea interactions and secure co-ordination with the national marine planning framework. The amendment will strengthen that in two ways. One is by replacing the text as it is with references to maritime spatial planning and maritime spatial plans because they are two key elements of the planning framework, but I am also of the view we need to insert the words "legally compliant" there. There are concerns that aspects of maritime spatial planning and maritime spatial plans could be at variance with aspects of the ecosystems approach of the relevant directives and, therefore, as a kind of belt-and-braces approach, I propose alternative wording.