Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Amendment No. 1 is a simple technical amendment to incorporate a reference in the Long Title of the Bill to marine spatial planning, which is the subject also of amendments Nos. 55 to 65, inclusive. The amendment to the Long Title also incorporates a new reference to the Derelict Sites Act, which is also the subject of a subsequent Government amendment.

Amendments Nos. 55 to 65, inclusive, provide for the insertion of a new Part of the Bill and, ultimately, a new stand-alone provision in the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, to provide a primary legislative basis for marine spatial planning. While SI 352 of 2016, the European Union (Framework for Maritime Spatial Planning) Regulations 2016, already provides for the formal transposition of Directive 2014/89 EU, the EU's marine spatial planning directive, there is a clear need to provide for a primary legislative underpinning for the marine spatial plan which mirrors the new provisions for the national planning framework currently set out in section 8 of the Bill, as drafted.

These amendments have two broad objectives. The first is to repeal SI 352 of 2016 and replace it with new primary legislation giving effect to the requirements of the marine spatial planning directive. The second objective is to introduce new arrangements on governance, public participation, review and Oireachtas involvement in the plan-making process to ensure that the processes for adopting Ireland's two long-term forward spatial plans, marine and terrestrial, respectively, are consistent and fully aligned.

The development of a marine spatial plan is a requirement under the EU marine spatial planning directive, which establishes a framework for marine spatial planning. Marine spatial planning is defined as a process by which the relevant member state authorities analyse and organise human activities in marine areas to achieve ecological, economic and social objectives. The directive details the main goals and minimum requirements for member states as follows: balanced and sustainable territorial development of marine waters and coastal zones; optimised development of maritime activities and the business climate; better adaptation to risks; and resource-efficient and integrated coastal and maritime development. The creation of an overarching national marine spatial plan is also anticipated in Ireland's integrated marine plan, Harnessing Our Ocean Wealth, which was published in 2012. The plan identified a marine spatial plan as a Government policy objective.

Under SI 352 of 2016, which initially transposed the marine spatial planning directive, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, which office is now that of Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, was designated as the competent authority for the purposes of co-ordinating the implementation of the directive and, by extension, preparing Ireland's first maritime spatial plan. This work builds on our Department's existing role in terrestrial spatial planning. On 12 September 2012, the Government published Towards a Marine Spatial Plan for Ireland - A Roadmap for the Delivery of the National Marine Spatial Plan, which I understand will be discussed later in the House. It is a pity perhaps that we did not take these debates in reverse order, but in any event it is booked in for later on.

The 2012 roadmap sets out the pathway to create a clear framework for marine spatial planning in parallel with the national planning framework, Project Ireland 2040, otherwise known as the NPF. This process has the potential to deliver a wide range of benefits for Ireland, including: improved certainty and predictability for private investments; improved certainty of obtaining financing for off-shore investments; lower transaction costs for maritime businesses and improved competitiveness for our marine sectors; enhanced environmental management of marine areas; improved use of sea space and the best possible co-existence of uses in coastal zones and marine waters; improved attractiveness of coastal regions; reduced co-ordination costs for coastal authorities; greater development of innovation and research; and enhanced and integrated data and information.My Department has already commenced the preparation of the marine spatial plan, MSP, which will be a strategic special framework encompassing all plans and sectoral policies for the marine area while providing a coherent framework in which those sectoral policies and objectives can be realised. The MSP is intended to become a decision-making tool for regulatory authorities and policy-makers into the future in several ways, including decisions and individual consent applications which will have to have regard to the provisions of the plan in the same way that terrestrial plans form part of a decision-making toolkit in the on-land planning process.

It is intended that the MSP will have a key input to the development of relevant sectoral policies, similar to the role of the national planning framework, in terms of terrestrial sectoral policy development. Development of the MSP will provide an opportunity to set out a strategic planning framework for the period to 2040, in line with the timespan of the national planning framework. It will be both a strategic and concise document in its support of a sustainable development of Ireland's marine resource. This process will be informed by effective public participation across departmental agency structures to ensure maximum buy-in and it must take account of, and inform, the Government’s wider efforts to deliver on the objectives set out in harnessing our ocean wealth.

The effect of the amendment is not simply to extend the remit of the terrestrial planning system out to sea. By inserting a new Part into the planning Acts, the Government is giving due recognition to the MSP as the marine equivalent to the national planning framework while also ensuring the process of making the two plans consistent, aligned and clear for all stakeholders.

There is a strong argument in favour of providing legislation for underpinning the two long-term terrestrial and marine plans, the national planning framework and the MSP, respectively, in the same legislative instrument. Accordingly, I hope the House will support these amendments.