Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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214. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the current staffing levels assigned to the foreshore unit in his Department in the years 2016 to 2023, in tabular form; if he has plans to increase the resources of the unit to prioritise the assessment of foreshore licence applications for the purposes of facilitating necessary works in connection with offshore wind developments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12045/23]

Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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215. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the average processing times for foreshore licence applications related to Phase 2 offshore wind energy developments for the years 2020 to 2023, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12046/23]

Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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216. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will direct officials in the foreshore unit to publish, on a monthly basis, a list of outstanding FLAs for offshore wind projects, including their status and the indicative timeline to a decision, similar to other agencies and Departments, in order to provide greater transparency for offshore wind operators and the general public regarding processing times for related foreshore licence applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12047/23]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 214, 215 and 216 together.

My Department’s Foreshore Unit operates the consenting regime under the Foreshore Act 1933, managing the regulation of a range of different marine activities and infrastructural developments. Up to 2020, the Foreshore function in my Department was part of a much broader business unit that also dealt with Marine Planning policy.

The following table below sets out the staff numbers from 2016 to 2023.

The volume of applications made under the Act in recent years has grown significantly. In parallel, my Department is leading an extensive marine management reform programme. Creating a clear and transparent transition from the existing foreshore consenting process to the new Maritime Area Regulatory Authority (MARA) licencing and consenting regime for all types of development, most significantly Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) related activity is a priority within my Department. I am hopeful that the Agency can be established in the coming weeks with operation of the Agency's functions commencing shortly afterwards. Until such time as the MARA is formally established and operational, any further increase in the staffing complement of the Foreshore Unit will be subject to my Department's overall workforce planning requirements and available funding.

The expected time for processing and determining foreshore applications can vary considerably and is influenced by the quality of the application and supporting documents received, the nature and complexity of the application, the level of public engagement during the consultation process and up until recently, impacts from restrictions imposed as a result of Covid-19, among other matters.

Each application must be assessed in accordance with the applicable requirements of domestic and EU law including the EIA Directive, Birds and Habitats Regulations and the Foreshore Act. Several of the foreshore consents issued in recent years have been the subject of judicial review proceedings and the process for assessing such applications has been amended as a result, taking into account legal advices and evolving case law.

My Department has also recently more than doubled the staffing and technical resources available within the Foreshore Unit to address this increasing workload. This should reduce the average time taken to assess an application. In addition, a panel of external specialist environmental consultants is in operation to assist in the technical assessment of applications. I believe that these changes have combined to make the assessment process more robust, reduce the number of stages required as part of the assessment process and as a result reduced the time required to assess an application, while noting the variables which can influence the time taken to assess and determine a foreshore licence application.

My Department has been prioritising applications associated with energy projects in the maritime area in accordance with Government decision of September 2022. However, it cannot exclusively focus on these applications: applications associated with maritime health and safety projects and activities as well as safe drinking water infrastructure are also being prioritised. Consequentially, other applications that are awaiting assessment could see a delay in their applications moving forward as these applications are given priority.

Applications associated with electricity grid and port related infrastructural development are being afforded the highest level priority followed by foreshore applications associated with ORE Phase 1 projects that have been granted Maritime Area Consents (MACs) by the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications.

Applications and determinations are available on my Department's website Foreshore applications www.gov.ieand the spatial representation of these are now available to view on Activities Map (BETA) | marineplan.ie

Earlier this week the Government approved the Offshore Wind Phase 2 Policy Statement led by the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications. The Policy Statement makes it explicit that all further offshore energy development must be determined as part of a plan-led structure, underpinned by ORE Designated Maritime Area Plans (DMAPs). Government has agreed that the initial ORE DMAP under Phase 2 will be geographically aligned with existing onshore capacity identified by Eirgrid on the South Coast. Government is aiming to achieve the final designation of the first two ORE DMAPs and the required Oireachtas approval by the end of 2023.

A plan-led approach to offshore energy development will guide development into the right locations and enable consent authorities to manage activities. The move to plan-led development will provide a more rational approach to the assessment of this activity and offshore energy development generally. It is in the public interest that a robust planning framework is put in place that ensures not only the achievement of our offshore energy objectives but also the maintenance of our environmental protection obligations, the economic wellbeing of local communities and the interests of other marine users.

My Department will continue to work to establish MARA as early as possible and to finalise a Cooperation Agreement under s65(1)(b) of the Maritime Area Planning Act 2021that can also be used to facilitate the transition of foreshore applications and their assessment to the new consenting authority for consideration within the new plan-led regulatory and consenting regime.