Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The effect of the amendments proposed by the Senators would be to provide that MARA must publish any determination under the European Communities (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations 2011 as if it had been made by MARA and that any application for JR of such determination shall run from the date of such publication. In addition, it is proposed that application for leave to apply for JR of the determination could be made up to three months after publication by MARA. The amendments are unnecessary, as it has already been provided for at subsection 5A(a), that where an application transfers to MARA, the application will be treated as if it were made to MARA and all the relevant provisions of the Maritime Area Planning Act, as amended, shall apply. Section 117(6) of that Act provides that when a decision is made that an AA is required MARA informs the applicant, who is required to prepare a Natura impact statement and must give public notice that a Natura impact statement has been submitted and invite submissions. Section 122(4) of the Maritime Area Planning Act provides that where MARA has carried out an AA, it shall publish a notice of the carrying out of the assessment, along with the determination, on its website. Section 122(5) of the Act provides that whenever a notice is published by MARA, the validity of the decision by MARA to which the notice refers may be questioned by way of an application for judicial review under order 84.Section 131(5) provides that application for leave to apply for JR in respect of decisions or acts by MARA must be made within eight weeks of the publication of the decision or the doing of the Act.

The amendments proposed by the Senators would mean a period of three months in which leave to apply can be made would only apply in respect of a determination where an application had been transferred from the foreshore system. This would not only be inconsistent with the treatment of licence applications generally under the Act; it is also unnecessary given the existing provisions that any application transferred from the foreshore system to MARA will be treated as if it were an application directly to MARA. Accordingly, any determination transferred from the foreshore system and published by MARA will benefit from eight weeks for leave to apply for judicial review from the date of publication by MARA, despite the determination having been made by the Minister. Therefore, I cannot accept the amendments.