Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful to have the opportunity to bring the Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021 before the Seanad. This Bill is the most significant legislative reform of maritime governance since the foundation of the State. It seeks to establish a coherent and comprehensive marine planning system to manage development and other activities in Ireland's seas, which is one of the largest maritime areas in the European Union and seven times larger than our land mass. It covers an area of almost 500,000 square miles.

This once-in-a-generation piece of legislation is a cross-government initiative, led by my Department, and is another key commitment set out in our programme for Government. In preparing this ambitious Bill, we have listened to all stakeholders and balanced their needs in a fair and equitable manner that has the citizen at the heart of the process. The Bill provides for the long-term protection and sustainable development of the maritime area for the next generation, including the envisaged expansion of the offshore renewable energy sector, which is crucially required to meet Ireland's 2030 climate goals in an integrated and sustainable way. The Bill will largely replace the Foreshore Act 1933, which was designed for very different Ireland where relatively little marine activity took place. This Bill will put in place a modern marine planning system for a 21st century Ireland. It has been developed to cater for all types of development that range from small slipways to the largest offshore renewable energy project in a way that, most importantly, protects oceans through rigorous environmental assessment.

The new system is based around four key pillars: inclusive forward planning through the national marine planning framework with comprehensive subnational planning; the establishment of a new maritime regulatory agency to be called the maritime area regulatory authority or, as it will be known, MARA, which I have announced will be located in Wexford; development management through a structured sequential consenting system; and robust provisions for investigation, enforcement action and penalties. The Bill provides the necessary legislative tool to set for participatory forward planning, well-regulated development, streamlined consenting and a comprehensive environmental assessment of proposals.

The Bill is part of an extensive range of long overdue marine reform to which this Government is committed. That includes the following: the State's first marine spatial plan called the national marine planning framework, which, following approval from both Houses of the Oireachtas, I established in June of this year and is the existing plan in our plan-led approach; the enactment of the Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2021 earlier in the year, which confirms the extent of our maritime area; and the development or separate legislation for marine protected areas, MPAs.

Following on from the independent expert advisory group report, which was published in January of this year, and in tandem with the review and analysis of submissions received through the subsequent public consultation process from February to July, we have now commenced work on developing a general scheme for new MPA legislation. The development of this legislation will continue into 2022.

I shall briefly summarise the main elements and key features of this very large and complex piece of legislation. The Bill is comprised of nine Parts, 190 sections and 12 Schedules. Further specific detail on each section can be found in the explanatory memorandum that accompanies the Bill.

Parts 1 and 2, which are comprised of sections 1 to 39, inclusive, restate and augment the marine forward-planning provisions of the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2018. A high-level marine planning policy statement will guide all marine policies. The first marine planning policy statement was published in November 2019, which outlined the vision for the future development of marine planning and the marine planning system that we are legislating for here today. The policy statement sets out the Government's priorities and informs any reviews of marine spatial plans. I plan on developing a new marine planning statement following the enactment of this Bill to which all future marine policies and plans must have regard.

Ireland's first marine spatial plan, MSP, is the national marine planning framework, NMPF, which we published on 30 June of this year. It is the State's primary response to commitments under the MSP directive and provides a holistic, overarching policy framework for how we want to use, protect and enjoy our seas while incorporating ecological, economic and social priorities.

The NMPF brings together all marine-based human activities. It presents our vision, objectives and planning framework policies for each activity while recognising that our biodiversity-rich marine environment requires and needs robust protection.

The NMPF includes the designated maritime area plans, DMAPs, which are a series of interconnected subnational plans. The DMAPS will augment the NMPF. DMAPS are prepared by a designated competent authority and underpinned by a mandatory public participation statement. DMAPs may be prepared in respect of specific activities for one or more designated groups.

Part 3, which is comprised of sections 40 to 73, inclusive, establishes a new agency to be called the maritime area regulatory authority, MARA.MARA will administer and enforce marine property consents and licences and ensure compliance with offshore development consents. The establishment of MARA is the physical embodiment of this Government's maritime ambitions. It will be transformational in Ireland's marine governance, creating a centre of excellence, independent decision-making and proactive enforcement. MARA will be one of the fulcrums of inter-agency collaboration needed to properly harness and protect our ocean wealth. Once established, it will grant maritime area consents, MACs, and maritime usage licences for specified activities. It will ensure compliance and enforcement of MACs, licences and offshore development consents and assume responsibility for the management and enforcement of the existing State foreshore portfolio of leases and licences. MARA will change the landscape of marine and maritime regulation in Ireland and provide a nexus for inter-agency co-operation and collaboration. It will be the vehicle to ensure we can harness the offshore renewable energy, ORE, potential we have and ensure the long overdue overhauling of the foreshore licence system that has been in place for decades. As I stated, it will be located in Wexford, the constituency of Senator Malcolm Byrne, which I had the pleasure of visiting earlier this year when I made that announcement in respect of Trinity Wharf and the wider Wexford area.

In the short amount of time I have left, I point out that a new property consenting regime is established under Part 4 of the Bill, comprising sections 74 to 109, inclusive. In effect, the maritime area consent considers the person applying and the financial terms of occupation. Granted MACs will govern the relationship between the State and the holder, place necessary obligations on the holder and ensure appropriate returns to the State. MAC holders will have no right to occupy or develop until the public has had its say, the project detail is fully assessed and planning permission is granted. The MAC is merely the gateway to planning and the project assessment and, as such, if appropriate planning permission is not achieved, the MAC terminates.

The next Parts of the Bill are concerned with the permitting of development and activity and the enforcement of same and I will speak on those Parts together. Consent for development and other activities in the maritime area is dealt with in two ways. First, the terrestrial planning permission regime, augmented by marine-specific considerations, will be extended to the entire maritime area. This is done in Part 8 of the Bill. An Bord Pleanála and local authorities will carry out the required planning and environmental assessments of projects in a manner familiar to the public, with all the associated opportunities for submissions and observations. The national marine planning framework will sit at the top of the decision-making hierarchy and all decisions will have regard to the framework. The granting of a MAC is conditional on receipt of planning permission. In short, no one can occupy the maritime space until the project has been fully assessed and the public has had its say, both at plan-making and project stages.

Part 5, comprising sections 110 to 133, inclusive, introduces a new centralised licensing regime operated by MARA.

As regards enforcement, the Bill recognises Ireland's maritime area as a precious and irreplaceable resource and we will ensure that our seas are adequately protected from those who would do them harm. Part 6 of the Bill, comprising sections 134 to 166, inclusive, provides MARA with strong powers of investigation, enforcement and prosecution and allows for collaboration with other public bodies that manage our seas. MARA will be a real force for the State into the future. The Bill ensures that MARA and local authorities have significant teeth when it comes to enforcement in the maritime area. The enforcement provisions set out in the Bill are the first line of defence in this regard.

In conclusion, I cannot understate the importance of this legislation. It is once-in-a-generation legislation that for the first time will properly regulate and protect our maritime area and allow us to harness its value in a sustainable way, creating energy from it and protecting its biodiversity. It will ensure a streamlined approach to planning and enforcement in this regard. I particularly thank the joint Oireachtas committee, of which Senators Cummins and Fitzpatrick are members, as well as others who have put a significant amount of time into this. I look forward to the contributions on Second Stage and the remaining Stages of the Bill. To have the Bill passed through the Houses by the end of the year would be incredibly significant for the Government.