Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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173. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government to detail the marine mammal observer process as it relates to offshore wind development activities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38233/24]

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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An Bord Pleanála is the consenting authority for offshore wind developments, while the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority (MARA) is responsible for the compliance and enforcement of offshore development. The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is a statutory consultee on those developments.

My Department has established a system of strict protection for marine mammals and the NPWS is the consenting authority for licences to derogate from that system, pursuant to Regulation 54 of the European Communities (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations as amended. A Derogation Licence will be subject to such conditions, restrictions, limitations or requirements that I, as Minister, consider appropriate. The NPWS published guidance in 2014 on how the risks to marine mammals from man-made sound sources in Irish Waters are to be managed, and sets out, amongst other things, Operator and Marine Mammal Observer (MMO) Reporting and Recording Standards. See for details.