Written answers

Tuesday, 19 July 2011

Department of Environment, Community and Local Government

Foreshore Licences

10:00 pm

Photo of Tommy BroughanTommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 369: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if all foreshore licences will be put on public display through the local authority, public libraries and online, in view of the fact that at the moment they are only on public display in local Garda stations for 21 days; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21342/11]

Photo of Tommy BroughanTommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 372: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if all foreshore licences will be put on public display through the local authority, public libraries and online, and if there will also be a requirement for a public site notice in the vicinity of the proposed site; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21349/11]

Photo of Willie PenroseWillie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 369 and 372 together.

Under Section 19A of the Foreshore Acts 1933 to 2011, applicants who have submitted an Environmental Impact Statement with an application for foreshore consent are required to publish a notice in one or more newspapers circulating in the district where the foreshore to which the application relates is located. The notice must state the following:

- that the person has made the application and indicate the location and nature of the proposal;

- that an Environmental Impact Statement has been prepared in respect of the proposal;

- that the Minister is responsible for making a decision on the application and that the Minister may either grant, approve or consent to the application with or without covenants, conditions or agreements, where applicable, or refuse the application;

- that submissions, comments or questions in relation to the effects on the environment of the proposal may be made in writing to the Minister within 8 weeks from the publication of the notice, and

- the times at which and the place where, within 8 weeks from the publication of the notice, a copy of the application, the environmental impact statement and any other relevant report or information (including copies of any submissions, comments or questions received by the appropriate Minister) may be inspected.

The application documentation is made available for public viewing at the closest Garda station to the foreshore concerned which is open on a 24-hour basis, in the interest of the greatest possible access to the documentation. On a case-by-case basis, the documentation may also be made available at other public offices in the locality, such as libraries and local authority offices. The latter option is usually employed for applications likely to generate significant public demand for access to the documentation.

It is the policy of my Department to publish details of all applications requiring an Environmental Impact Assessment on its website. In the case of certain applications in respect of large infrastructure developments, the applicant may also be required to establish at his own cost a website dedicated solely to the purpose of publishing the necessary information. Under Section 19 of the Foreshore Acts 1933 to 2011, applicants who have submitted an application for foreshore consent which does not require the submission of an Environmental Impact Statement are also required to fulfil a range of the foregoing publication and consultation requirements, including publication in a local newspaper, and Garda Station though for a shorter period of 21 days.

Given the nature of the foreshore environment there are practical difficulties in placing a site notice in the vicinity of proposed foreshore related development. However, this matter will be given further consideration within my Department's proposals for legislative change to integrate the foreshore consent process within the wider planning system.

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