Publication
National Marine Planning Framework
From Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage
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Ministers Eoghan Murphy and Damien English have published the Draft National Marine Planning Framework (NMPF) for public consultation. Information on the public consultation can be found here.
The previous milestone in the process was the publication for consultation of a report setting out the context in which the NMPF is being developed and which would help to identify the key issues marine planning will need to address. The National Marine Planning Framework Baseline Report was published 18 September 2018 and sets out:
- the policy, legislative and regulatory context for marine spatial planning and the development of Ireland’s first plan;
- a description of the “as is” situation in terms of existing sectoral development and activities in Ireland’s maritime area, including an identification of the future opportunities and constraints for each;
- an initial elaboration of potential high level objectives for Ireland’s first National Marine Planning Framework; and
- a number of consultation questions or issues intended to prompt discussion and consideration amongst stakeholders. Responses to these questions were a crucial input to the draft plan, as outlined in the Report on the Public Consultation Process.
An Overview of the Responses Received summarises the topics addressed by respondents in submissions. The Baseline Report Public Consultation Process document provides information on how the public consultation on the Baseline Report influenced the preparation of the Draft NMPF.
Ministers Eoghan Murphy and Damien English published (12 December 2017) Towards a Marine Spatial Plan for Ireland – a roadmap for the development of Ireland’s first marine spatial plan.
There are four broad stages in the development of the plan.
- Stage 1, of which the Roadmap formed a central part, was the start-up or activation phase during which the Government’s proposed approach to developing MSP was announced and initial contact made with stakeholders. This ran until end 2017.
- Stage 2, the main development stage, commenced in Q1 2018 and runs until early 2020. It involved preparation and publishing for public consultation the Draft NMPF and associated environmental reports (see more information above).
- Stage 3 is the finalisation phase during which the Draft NMPF and associated environmental reports will be amended as required based on the feedback received in the public consultation. The final NMPF and associated environmental reports will be prepared for submission to Government and adoption by the Oireachtas in 2020 before forwarding to the European Commission ahead of the March 2021 deadline set out under the Directive.
- Stage 4 is implementation, monitoring, enforcement and review commencing on adoption of the NMPF.
If you would like to be added to our mailing list please send your contact details to MSP@housing.gov.ie .
An Advisory Group has been established to facilitate participation in the NMPF process by all relevant stakeholders from the economic, environmental and social pillars. The purpose of the Advisory Group is to harness the potential and capacity of a broad range of sectors including representation from the public sector, business, environmental, social and knowledge based sectors to guide strategic thinking and decision-making in the preparation of the NMPF. The Advisory Group also informs the work of the Inter Departmental Marine Planning Group and provides updates, reports or recommendations as required.
Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) is a new way of looking at how we use the marine area and planning how best to use it into the future. MSP will try to balance the different demands for using the sea including the need to protect the marine environment. It's about planning when and where human activities take place at sea. It’s about ensuring these activities are as efficient and sustainable as possible. Marine spatial planning involves stakeholders in a transparent way in the planning of maritime activities.
In 2014 the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union adopted Directive 2014/89/EU This directive established a framework for MSP and details the main goals (Article 5) and minimum requirements (Article 6). The Marine Spatial Plan must be in place by March 2021.
The MSP Directive was originally transposed into national legislation by way of regulations made in 2016 (SI 352 of 2016). Since the regulations were made under the European Communities Act 1972, they were strictly limited to measures required to transpose the directive. In October 2018 the regulations were repealed and replaced by Part 5 of the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2018 . Part 5 re-transposes the Directive in primary legislation and contains a number of measures that are additional to those required by the directive, including:
- Adoption of the National Marine Planning Framework (NMPF) by both Houses of the Oireachtas;
- Review and replacement of the NMPF every 6 years;
- Obligation for marine regulatory bodies to secure the objectives of the NMPF when making policies, plans, or granting consents; and
- Enforcement powers for the Minister if the foregoing obligations are not being fulfilled.
Ireland’s National Marine Planning Framework will be a key decision making tool for regulatory authorities and policy makers into the future in a number of ways, including decisions on individual consent applications which will have to have regard to the provisions of the plan in the same way that terrestrial plans form part of the decision making tool-kit in the on-land planning process.
The Marine Institute, Ireland’s national marine data centre, hosts Ireland’s Marine Atlas which will be the principal repository of marine-related data to support both the development of the NMPF and evidence-based decision making under the NMPF framework by marine regulatory authorities. The atlas has been developed as a publicly accessible reporting and investigative tool for Ireland's reporting on ocean conditions as required under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, the MSP Directive, the Water Framework Directive, and other relevant EU Directives. The atlas includes marine data such as administrative boundaries, protected sites, oil and gas, ocean features, fisheries and aquaculture, marine monitoring, seabed habitats, tourism and leisure, transport, infrastructure, discharge point sources, International Maritime Organization protected areas and current/historical disposal sites. It can be accessed at the following link: https://atlas.marine.ie/ .
