Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senators for their contributions. The amendment implies that MAC provisions do not comply with the Aarhus Convention in that they provide for no public participation when MARA grants a MAC. I will point out that the Aarhus Convention or, more accurately, the second pillar of the Aarhus Convention, which provides for public participation, has no application to consent whereby a state is granting occupancy rights in respect of property it owns or controls. There is, therefore, no international law or obligation in EU law to provide for public participation in respect of such a consent. Public participation in occupancy consent applications in the maritime area is entirely at the discretion of the state and is not a requirement of the Aarhus Convention or of EU law.

The focus of the Aarhus Convention is the protection of the environment and to enable citizens to participate in decision-making with regard to the environment. The public participation, which is envisaged in the convention, is very much focused on the environment, on the public having the necessary information on the effects of the project or activity on the environment, and enabling the public to provide its views on the project and its effects before any decision on it is made. All these matters are being provided for in the planning or development consent decisions being made by coastal planning authorities and An Bord Pleanála under the provisions of this Bill. The State is fulfilling its obligations under the Aarhus Convention by providing for full public participation in planning applications and decisions in respect of planning applications in the maritime area. It is in that process that all the environmental information relevant to the particular development will be provided and made available to ensure the appropriate public participation required by the convention.

As I have explained, the focus of the MAC, however, is entirely different and is designed to address the State's estate management responsibilities. The Office of the Attorney General has been deeply involved throughout the development of this legislation in drafting the provisions of the Bill and, therefore, I can assure Senators that I am fully satisfied that MAC procedures laid out in it are Aarhus-compliant in the context of the overall sequence of consents envisaged by the new regime.

The Aarhus Convention applies to environmental decision-making. The MAC does not require or obtain the environmental information or environmental parameters that are necessary to enable public participation for environmental purposes. The MAC has no effect on the development consent, does not change its basic parameters and does not determine its outcome. The MAC is not the decision that permits the activity. In fact, it terminates if the development consent that provides the public participation is not obtained, that is, if planning permission is refused.

In considering what the MAC is and is not, it is abundantly clear that it is not appropriate or necessary to carry out a consultation, review or report on the effect of the legislation on the rights of the public to pursue judicial review. The Bill provides that public participation is an absolute priority in plan- and policy-making and in the assessment of all development proposals. I will take this opportunity to point out that the introduction of public participation statements contained in this Bill is a wholly new development in the planning system in Ireland and further demonstrates the commitment of the Department and the Government to the Aarhus Convention. Making a public participation statement will be a mandatory requirement in the preparation of all maritime spatial plans and DMAPs. The public participation statement will clearly detail the forms of participation opportunities and mechanisms in the development of plans. For those reasons, unfortunately, I cannot accept the amendment.