Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)

The foreshore amendment Bill is listed as one of the Bills for which heads have yet to be approved by the Government and for which it is not possible to indicate a date of publication. Legislation in this area has been promised by the Government since 1998 under the draft coastal management plan. This identified the need to amend existing legislation to provide for public participation. This relates to the need to sign the Aarhus Convention and implement the EU public participation directive.

Many important projects are in the pipeline, including, for example, wind energy projects. The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government indicated previously that such projects would not be granted until the relevant legislation is amended. When will this Bill be brought forward? Is there is a hold-up because this particular area of responsibility is being moved from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government? That decision was made in October but the change has not yet been implemented.

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