Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 14:

In page 35, to delete lines 20 to 39 and substitute the following: “(2) Where, but for this subsection, a public body would not be able to perform, in relation to any matter whatsoever, one or more than one of its public functions by virtue of the matter relating, whether in whole or in part, to the continental shelf or any part thereof, then, by virtue of this subsection, the public body may perform the public function concerned in relation to that matter as if the continental shelf or the part thereof concerned were a part of the State where the public body may perform such function, and the other provisions of this Act or of

any other enactment shall, with all necessary modifications, be construed accordingly. This subsection extends the provisions of the Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2021 and shall be construed as one with that Act and may be cited together as the Maritime Jurisdiction Acts 2021 to 2022.

(3) The Government, a public body, including the MARA, the Minister before and after establishment day, and any chief executive of the MARA including any chief executive designate of the MARA appointed prior to establishment day under subsection (9) of section 56 (inserted by section 28of thePlanning and Development, Maritime and Valuation (Amendment) Act 2022), shall, in the performance, in relation to any matter whatsoever, of its functions under this Act or any enactment amended by this Act shall—

(a) comply with—

(i) the obligations placed on the State by the Convention,

(ii) the obligations in respect of the rights of the public or any class of the public over the foreshore in relation to navigation and fishing,

(b) have regard to and promote the conservation of seagrass and seagrass meadows for the sequestration of carbon and its ability to halt the spread of marine plastic and, where such conservation in not practically compatible with the marine usage concerned, the provision of compensatory measures promoting the growth of seagrass and seagrass meadows elsewhere.

(4) The holder of a MAC in carrying out maritime usage authorised under this Act, shall act in accordance with the matters set out in subsection (3)(a), and shall act in accordance with requirements indicated by any body in accordance with subsection (3)(b).

(5) The holder of a MAC shall not accrue any financial or other benefit or interest from the development of seagrass or seagrass meadows in respect of any area they hold for which a MAC has been authorised under this Act, and notwithstanding anything elsewhere in this Act, such benefits and interests remain the exclusive interest of the State.

(6) For the purposes of this section, ‘foreshore’ means the bed and shore, below the line of high water of ordinary or medium tides, of the sea and of every tidal river and tidal estuary and of every channel, creek, and bay of the sea or of any such river or estuary, and shall extend seaward to the ‘outer limit of the continental shelf’ as defined in Part 4 of the Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2021. This meaning is without prejudice to the general definition of ‘foreshore’ in section 2 of this Act.

(7) For the purposes of this section, ‘public authority’ shall not include Coillte or Bord na Móna.”.