Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

-----section 7 of it deals with marine spatial planning. There is a complete lack of parliamentary scrutiny of this. I have a later amendment on that and will speak to it when we reach it.

In respect of the marine, this is obviously an amendment to fulfil a European obligation. I have no issue with the amendment but I would like clarification on its objectives. I presume it is to realise the strategic vision set out in the national planning framework.Am I correct, or is there an additional objective of publishing a stand-alone marine spatial plan for the entire country? Will they be unique and separate? At this point I raise a major concern about section 7 related to marine spatial planning and its potential within the national planning framework. Ireland's premier fishing port, Killybegs, is not recognised at all. Smaller ports are given greater recognition. I do not know why that has happened. We cannot now have a say because we are not going to be allowed to debate or vote on the plan. We cannot have a parliamentary buy-in. I have concerns about the entire process, some of which have been raised validly by our colleagues in Sinn Féin. I have listened to Senator Grace O'Sullivan and all of what has been said. This is the future direction of the country over a 20-year period. Politics should be left to one side. Political decisions should be removed and the plan should have an absolute Oireachtas buy-in from all political parties and none. I do not understand the fear about debating its actual merits. We are inserting an amendment of one or two lines into an already confusing Bill. Initially it set out to implement recommendations made in the report of the Mahon tribunal, but now we are encompassing the national planning framework and marine planning. What else are we going to add to the Bill? It appears it started off as a boreen and is now a motorway. It is gaining momentum all the time. Should we not be dealing with these issues separately? Do the national marine spatial strategy and the national planning framework not deserve their own dedicated pathways through the Houses without inserting lines into other Bills?