Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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354. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the Government body in charge of receiving and reviewing marine mammal observer (MMO) reports and ensuring that MMO reports are filed and reviewed in a timely manner and that any issues are acted upon; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41012/24]

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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An Bord Pleanála is the competent 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 derogations from that system, pursuant to Regulation 54 of the European Communities (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations as amended. A derogation 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 www.npws.ie/marine/best-practice-guidelines for details. Per these guidelines, full reporting on MMO operations and mitigation undertaken must be provided to the Regulatory Authority, MARA in this instance. The existing procedures for assessing applications and issuing derogations with conditions under Regulation 54 are currently under review within the NPWS.