Consultation on the Marine Planning Policy Statement

The Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment is seeking views on the draft Marine Planning Policy Statement.

In November 2019, the government published Ireland's first Marine Planning Policy Statement (MPPS), which applied to all aspects of marine planning. The MPPS was introduced on a non-statutory basis, pending development of the National Marine Planning Framework (NMPF) and adoption of the Maritime Area Planning Act 2021 (MAP Act). The MPPS described the (then) existing components of Ireland's marine planning system, outlined the vision for the future development of Ireland's marine planning system, and set out the overarching policies and principles expected of statutory bodies with responsibilities in, or impacting on, the maritime area.

Following the signing into law of the MAP Act in 2021, a statutory framework is now in place for the preparation, adoption and review of statutory marine planning policy statements. Part 1, Section 6, subsection 4 of the MAP Act (as amended) provides that the Minister shall ensure that the first statutory MPPS is prepared and published not later than twelve months after the coming into operation of that section and relates to a period of not less than three years.

Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment, Darragh O'Brien TD, announced on 22 May 2025 at European Maritime Day in Cork that the consultation on Ireland's Marine Planning Policy Statement (MPPS) would open on 9 June 2025.

This policy statement will apply until such time as a revised MPPS is adopted.

The purpose of this statutory Marine Planning Policy Statement (MPPS) is to:

• outline the existing components of Ireland's marine planning system and the hierarchy of marine policies
• set out the strategic principles of marine planning policy that the government expects relevant planning bodies to observe
• outline Ireland's key marine planning priorities for the management of activities in the maritime space during the lifetime of this MPPS, and
• outline how marine policy will be monitored and reviewed

A revised draft of the MPPS will be prepared following this public consultation and submitted to the government seeking approval for publication.

The closing date for submissions is 5.30pm on Monday, 7 July 2025

Please send your submissions by email to MSP@dcee.gov.ie with the subject line 'MPPS Consultation' or by post, with 'MPPS Consultation' written on the envelope, to:

Marine Planning Policy Statement Public Consultation

Marine Planning Policy Section

Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment

Newtown Road

Wexford

Y35 AP90

We are committed to engaging with stakeholders in a clear, open and transparent manner. Any person or organisation can make a submission in relation to this consultation. We will consider all submissions and feedback before we publish the final version of the MPPS.

Your response to this consultation is subject to:

• the Freedom of Information Act 2014 (FOI)
• the Access to Information on the Environment Regulations 2007-2018 (AIE)
• the Data Protection Act 2018

Analysis and Publication of responses

All responses received will be shared with a 3rd party company that have been engaged to analyse the contents of submissions.

We intend to publish the contents of all submissions received to our consultations on our website. We will redact (remove) personal data before publication.

Please indicate any sensitive information

In responding to this consultation, clearly indicate where your response contains any information which you would not wish to be released under FOI, AIE or otherwise published. This can include:

• personal information
• commercially sensitive information
• confidential information

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We would like to draw your attention to our Data Privacy Notice which explains:

• how and when we collect personal data
• why we do so
• how we treat this information
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