Results 3,861-3,880 of 4,881 for speaker:Malcolm Noonan

Seanad: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Noonan: I again want to give assurances to the Senator. The recommendation is not referenced and it would not be appropriate to include it here. Section 6(5)(h) of the Bill requires the Minister to have regard to any current policy of the Government. The specific line refers to the current policy of Government relating to maritime planning and that would likely include any EU recommendation on...

Seanad: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Noonan: The marine planning policy statement is a high-level document that sets out the Government's principles and priorities for maritime planning. Section 6(5) sets out a brief list of the high-level policy framework that will be taken into account when preparing this statement. However, this list is not exhaustive. Of course, any matters that inform the high-level policy document will be...

Seanad: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Noonan: Regarding section 10, where the Minister proposes to prepare, amend or revoke the marine planning policy statement, he or she shall publish a notice, which is among the three items the Minister needs to publish, in not less than one national newspaper inviting members of the public to make representations in writing thereon to the Minister not later than four weeks after the date of...

Seanad: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Noonan: That includes the Oireachtas.

Seanad: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Noonan: I would like to again address the Senators' queries and their concerns about the issue of public consultation. It is our view that this could be addressed by secondary legislation via regulations. That is what we are saying. We will commence the preparation of regulations which will include, as I stated in the opening statement on this particular amendment, detail on public consultation....

Seanad: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Noonan: While I appreciate the motivation behind the amendment, section 226 of the Act refers to the local authority development on the foreshore. This amendment would effectively nullify existing permissions for local authority development and have significant consequences for the delivery of essential public infrastructure such as wastewater treatment facilities. I am certain the Senator would...

Seanad: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Noonan: I appreciate that. The Senator's point is noted.

Seanad: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Noonan: I am speaking to amendments Nos. 22 and 24, since the Senator withdrew No. 23. I thank her for making those significant points about nature. I appreciate that. Amendment No. 22 proposes to cherry pick elements of Article 5(2) of the MSP directive. This is contrary to the directive. Article 3 of the MSP directive defines maritime spatial planning as “a process by which the relevant...

Seanad: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Noonan: Amendment No. 26 proposes that a review of the national marine planning framework be commenced within one year of enactment of this legislation.These proposed amendments contain deficiencies. These include providing for particular pillars of sustainable development and sectors to the exclusion of others, and thus upsetting the neutrality of the legislation, requiring compliance with very...

Seanad: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Noonan: I again thank the Senator for her contribution. Going back to the point on marine protected areas, this Bill does not legislate for this. Marine protected areas are the subject of separate legislation, as we have discussed previously. There is no requirement to conflate the MSP directive with the marine strategy framework directive in one piece of enabling legislation. The latest MSP...

Seanad: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Noonan: There are several layers of protection there. If the Senator wants to consider it in terms of an interim measure we can give and are giving active consideration to statutory instruments, particularly around species like the basking shark, in order to include them as a listed species under the Wildlife Act. There is a possibility of using that mechanism to protect specific species across...

Seanad: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Noonan: I will give the response and just try to specifically address the concerns that were raised by both Senators. Again, this amendment conflates the MSP directive with the marine strategy framework directive and seeks to up-end the implementation of one over another. Both will need to be provided for in the Irish Statute Book. We know that and we are acting on same. On marine protected...

Seanad: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Noonan: I thank the Senators for the general thrust of what they are trying to achieve in the amendment. I assure them that these matters are interrelated. I will continue to reiterate that, and it is important to say that. I do not see this amendment as being loose. It is quite prescriptive in the sense that it states: “notwithstanding anything elsewhere in this Act no Maritime Area...

Seanad: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Noonan: As I have outlined, the MPA legislation is moving along significantly. We hope that the legislative draft will be ready in the first half of 2022. We are moving on that with significant pace. It is important to look back at the transcript of the meeting of the joint committee that took place in November, which focused on MPAs. That engagement with marine environmental unit gave...

Seanad: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Noonan: What needs to be highlighted here is that the State intends to create management plans for areas within the maritime area. It is not simply a case of defining a boundary and specifying what activity will take place in this zone. In its development, the management plan for the area must take into account all activities that currently use that area or could potentially use that area in the...

Seanad: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Noonan: Amendment No. 38 seeks to delete "colocation" from section 22 in relation to proposed maritime usages within a DMAP. The inclusion of both "colocation" and "coexistence" here is designed to reflect the intended versatile nature of DMAPs. I am sure the Senator can appreciate that. The proposed amendment would unduly limit the scope and potential of DMAPs. Flexibility is required in this...

Seanad: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Noonan: Amendment No. 41 seeks to limit the Minister's ability to issue a direction in respect of a DMAP. It would specifically limit the Minister’s ability to not require an amendment to a draft DMAP to those matters referred to in the preceding subsection that are not in the MSP directive. In other words, where there is an inconsistency with the MSP directive, the Minister must require an...

Seanad: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Noonan: There was much discussion on Committee Stage in the Dáil around public consultation and the need to exclude certain periods.This is consistent with the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended. Section 54 of the Bill also provides that the Minister may, by regulations, specify further public holidays. On the passage of this Bill, my Department will begin preparing all relevant...