Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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160. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment to provide a timeline for when the South Coast Designated Maritime Area Plan will be finalised and adopted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22564/24]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Ireland’s first draft offshore renewable energy (ORE) Designated Maritime Area Plan (DMAP) was published on 3 May 2024. The draft DMAP is focused on the sea area off the South Coast and identifies four maritime areas for proposed future deployments of fixed offshore wind to deploy by 2030 and beyond. This includes identification of one maritime area, known as Tonn Nua, for a proposed development of approximately 900 MW to be developed by the winner of Ireland’s second offshore wind auction, ORESS 2.1 by the end of 2024, which will aim to deploy by 2030 or as soon as feasible thereafter.

The draft South Coast DMAP was published alongside a draft Strategic Environmental Assessment Environmental Report and Natura Impact Statement as well as an independently produced economic report on the potential benefits of ORE for the South Coast. This draft DMAP is currently undergoing a six-week period of statutory public consultation, which includes in-person events along the South Coast. This follows on from almost 10 weeks of non-statutory engagement from August to October 2023.

Upon completion of the draft DMAP consultation, an assessment of public engagements and written consultation responses will inform possible future amendments to the draft plan. Following the statutory public consultation period, the Draft DMAP and its associated environmental assessments will be submitted for Oireachtas approval.