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Displaying items by tag: National Marine Plan Framework

The Government has extended the public submission deadline for the State’s first national marine plan framework until the end of this month due to the Covid-19 pandemic writes Lorna Siggins

Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development Damien English said the time extension was agreed “in recognition” of challenges faced by individuals or organisations in making submissions by the original date of April 9th.

The new deadline has been set for midday on April 30th, 2020.

The marine planning framework is one central piece in a jigsaw designed to meet the EU requirement for national marine spatial plans by 2021.

"The new deadline has been set for midday on April 30th"

It aims to outline the approach to managing Ireland’s marine activities and sustainable use of marine resources to 2040, serving as a parallel to terrestrial planning and development in the national planning framework.

The finalised national marine plan framework is still expected to be adopted in late 2020, the Department for Housing, Planning and Local Government has said.

The draft was published and public consultation was initiated last November. It sets out planning objectives and policies relating to 16 different sectors/activities including offshore renewable energy (and other energy sectors); fisheries; ports, harbours and shipping; safety at sea; sport and recreation; tourism; and telecommunications, it says.

Under associated legislation, maritime area consents will be granted by the Minister for Communications, Climate action and the Environment for developments such as offshore energy projects.

The draft national marine plan framework and associated environmental reports can be found at www.marineplan.gov.ie

People can give their views by email to: [email protected] or by post to: Draft NMPF Submissions, Marine Planning Section, Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, Newtown Road, Wexford, Y35 AP90

Published in Environment

Coastal Notes Coastal Notes covers a broad spectrum of stories, events and developments in which some can be quirky and local in nature, while other stories are of national importance and are on-going, but whatever they are about, they need to be told.

Stories can be diverse and they can be influential, albeit some are more subtle than others in nature, while other events can be immediately felt. No more so felt, is firstly to those living along the coastal rim and rural isolated communities. Here the impact poses is increased to those directly linked with the sea, where daily lives are made from earning an income ashore and within coastal waters.

The topics in Coastal Notes can also be about the rare finding of sea-life creatures, a historic shipwreck lost to the passage of time and which has yet many a secret to tell. A trawler's net caught hauling more than fish but cannon balls dating to the Napoleonic era.

Also focusing the attention of Coastal Notes, are the maritime museums which are of national importance to maintaining access and knowledge of historical exhibits for future generations.

Equally to keep an eye on the present day, with activities of existing and planned projects in the pipeline from the wind and wave renewables sector and those of the energy exploration industry.

In addition Coastal Notes has many more angles to cover, be it the weekend boat leisure user taking a sedate cruise off a long straight beach on the coast beach and making a friend with a feathered companion along the way.

In complete contrast is to those who harvest the sea, using small boats based in harbours where infrastructure and safety poses an issue, before they set off to ply their trade at the foot of our highest sea cliffs along the rugged wild western seaboard.

It's all there, as Coastal Notes tells the stories that are arguably as varied to the environment from which they came from and indeed which shape people's interaction with the surrounding environment that is the natural world and our relationship with the sea.