Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

My concern is not just about this specific part and this amendment but about things not being explicit in the Bill more generally. It is a 700-page Bill and when people look at it, they will not always look at the supporting legislation, even though they should. If we want to make sure of legal compliance with maritime spatial planning and plans then that needs to be explicit and our amendment needs to be adopted. There is quite a difference between saying "securing coordination with the National Marine Planning Framework." and saying, as per the wording we have put forward, "supporting coordination with a legally compliant approach to Maritime Spatial Planning and legally compliant Maritime Spatial Plans”. The amendment we have put forward is more explicit, more detailed and more prescriptive and that is the intention behind it. The phrase "coordination with the National Marine Planning Framework" is not as specific. Co-ordination is a looser term and the section as currently written does not talk about the maritime spatial plans. That is the rationale for putting forward this amendment.