Results 6,561-6,580 of 9,814 for speaker:Steven Matthews

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Future of the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority: Discussion (7 Nov 2023)

Steven Matthews: That is the plan-led move. The phase 2 developments would be in designated areas. That comes back before the Oireachtas - approval for those designated maritime area plan, DMAPs. Is that correct?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Future of the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority: Discussion (7 Nov 2023)

Steven Matthews: Senator Rebecca Moynihan has to be in the Seanad and Deputy O'Callaghan has to be in the Dáil. Do they both want to go together in this slot?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Future of the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority: Discussion (7 Nov 2023)

Steven Matthews: I will take my round of questions now. I attended the Wind Energy Ireland conference where 17 July was announced as the date MARA was to be established. There was a palpable sense in that room of progress being made in harnessing our offshore potential. The year before at that conference they spoke about advances because we had brought in the Marine Area Planning Act. The offshore...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Future of the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority: Discussion (7 Nov 2023)

Steven Matthews: One aspect of a MAC is that you assess the technical and financial capabilities of an applicant. Will the applicant's ability to set up that community fund become part of that MAC process and assessment?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Future of the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority: Discussion (7 Nov 2023)

Steven Matthews: Is that because they may not proceed any further in the system, or even obtain planning?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Future of the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority: Discussion (7 Nov 2023)

Steven Matthews: We will resume. I apologise to our witnesses for that interruption. It is quite a busy day in the Houses today. I do not know if that is a good day or a bad day to be before a committee. I suppose it depends on what the witnesses are trying to answer. We were discussing the community fund. For the record, and I am aware that people will be looking in, the Maritime Area Planning Act...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Future of the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority: Discussion (7 Nov 2023)

Steven Matthews: Is a MAC required for that also?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Future of the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority: Discussion (7 Nov 2023)

Steven Matthews: There is an obligation to grant a MAC within 90 days. Has the authority hit that target so far for all MAC applications?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Future of the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority: Discussion (7 Nov 2023)

Steven Matthews: That is good. Earlier, we touched on marine security for energy installations when Deputy Duffy raised the issue. Many turbines will be located at sea, but we will also have interconnector cables, substations and control equipment for switching them in and out, balancing loads, etc. I recall raising this issue when we debated the Maritime Jurisdiction Act. The Minister for Enterprise,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Future of the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority: Discussion (7 Nov 2023)

Steven Matthews: That could well be it, yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Future of the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority: Discussion (7 Nov 2023)

Steven Matthews: That would be helpful. More things will happen in the area. A centralised database would help track what will be complex developments and applications. Does a MAC expire at some point when a development has commenced? Does the MAC remain as a live consent for a site for the duration?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Future of the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority: Discussion (7 Nov 2023)

Steven Matthews: Does that include the decommissioning and removal stages?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Future of the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority: Discussion (7 Nov 2023)

Steven Matthews: I was not aware of that. Where a MAC grants an occupancy right, consideration must be given to who can go in at certain times. When a MAC is applied for and granted, there may be no development taking place on the site and, then, as the development continues and reaches operational stage, there are probably different levels of access to the site that need to be maintained. Does MARA play a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Future of the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority: Discussion (7 Nov 2023)

Steven Matthews: I had forgotten about the Commissioners of Irish Lights. They obviously have a role to play. Would it make sense to ensure their roles come under the remit of MARA? Has that aspect been discussed?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Future of the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority: Discussion (7 Nov 2023)

Steven Matthews: Would it make sense to ensure that all activities at sea come under the remit of MARA, including aquaculture licensing? The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is currently responsible for granting aquaculture licences.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Future of the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority: Discussion (7 Nov 2023)

Steven Matthews: It would make sense to set up an agency with this skills base and legislative backing and eventually have it as the overall management and regulatory authority for the maritime area.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Future of the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority: Discussion (7 Nov 2023)

Steven Matthews: Earlier, we talked about data collection. Previous surveys were mentioned. The offshore renewable industry has comprehensive, environmental information collection systems. The National Parks and Wildlife Service is doing something probably on coastal special areas of conservation and special protection areas. It also observes the collection of data. I do not know if this comes under...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Future of the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority: Discussion (7 Nov 2023)

Steven Matthews: I agree. The collection of data should be in the ownership of the State. If a developer is going for planning, it will have a load of data it collects to produce an environmental impact report but one may not have access to that data. It is important that the raw data stays with the State. There are other agencies that could use it such as the National Parks and Wildlife Service or others...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Future of the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority: Discussion (7 Nov 2023)

Steven Matthews: I think it was raised by Wind Energy Ireland that you have to have obtained planning permission and you lose your MAC if you lose your planning permission. There may be a situation in which the loss of planning permission was beyond its control, such as a judicial review. It raised that point with us. It needs to be considered. In fact, I do not know if it was addressed in the legislation...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Future of the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority: Discussion (7 Nov 2023)

Steven Matthews: We are at the early stages of this. Compared to a lot of the world, we are way behind. The first offshore wind turbines went down in Arklow in 2003 or something like that. It was a long time ago. Perhaps it was 2009. We have a lot of catching up to do. Dr. Mellett said at the outset that we probably have one of the best wind potentials in Europe. We should not let perfection be the...