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

On behalf of the Government and my Department I am very pleased to provide an update on marine spatial planning, following on from Senator Grace O'Sullivan's motion last month on marine environment matters. The Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, and I are delighted to have the chance to have this discussion on what is an important area. We had a discussion on the planning Bill earlier and I think it is important that we recognise how important it is that we have this strategy, that we devise it and get everybody involved as much as we can. The Minister, the Department and I are clear on this and would like to engage both Houses of the Oireachtas, with the committee process, in the next year and a half to two years, as we develop the plan which is important for the country and will mirror the concept followed with the national planning framework.

In May we had a debate on Senator Grace O'Sullivan's motion on the marine and marine environment matters, in which everyone took a great interest. All of the contributors to the debate appeared to agree that, as an island nation, the marine environment was a national asset that gave us many commercial and non-commercial benefits, for example, in the areas of biodiversity, seafood, tourism, recreation, renewable energy, cultural heritage and shipping. People are passionate about our seas. The future sustainable use, enjoyment and development of the marine area will affect many. Managing our ocean wealth requires an overarching national marine spatial plan for a structure to help to realise the full benefits of our ocean wealth and assist in managing our resources effectively and sustainably.