Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 31 January 2023

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government

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

Professor Tasman Crowe:

No, co-creation does not jump off the page. It goes back to those earlier sections which seem to establish an expert advisory group and the ad hocgroups. There is clear specification that the ad hocgroups should involve stakeholders and then there is more mention of the ad hocgroups in that process. I think it would do that but at the moment it is not very clear. I agree with the Deputy that it looks like a top-down process. I suggest that the idea of public consultation, rather than engagement and participation, creates a gap.