Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 57:

In page 12, after line 20, to insert the following:

“Amendment of Act of 1933 18. The Act of 1933 is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 13AA:

“Regulations on undersea noise and sonar

13AB.Any licenses or leases issued in respect of the foreshore and the associated column of water shall include conditions and regulations pertaining to undersea noise arising from human activity on the foreshore, including in respect of the use of sonar technology, and shall reflect obligations under the Habitats Directive and the Water Directive as well as the need to protect and promote marine biodiversity.”.”.

I will not speak at length. The amendment addresses a similar issue to that I previously raised with the Minister of State, which is that where there are:

licenses or leases issued in respect of the foreshore and the associated column of water [such licences or leases] shall include conditions and regulations pertaining to undersea noise arising from human activity on the foreshore, including in respect of the use of sonar technology, and ... [indeed] reflect obligations under the Habitats Directive and the Water Directive as well as the [wider] need to protect and promote marine biodiversity.

Again, it is about trying to ensure that these licences, especially given the new definitions and the heightened focus on the column of water, would reflect these key principles, including the very significant emerging area around the need for regulation of sonar technology, which the Minister of State is aware of.