Maritime Area Planning Act 2021

PART 1 Preliminary and General

1. Short title, collective citations, construction and commencement

1. (1) This Act may be cited as the Maritime Area Planning Act 2021.

(2) The Foreshore Acts 1933 to 2014 and Chapters 1 and 3 of Part 9 may be cited together as the Foreshore Acts 1933 to 2021 and shall be construed together as one.

(3) The Electricity Regulation Acts 1999 to 2002 and Chapter 4 of Part 9 may be cited together as the Electricity Regulation Acts 1999 to 2021 and shall be construed together as one.

(4) The Planning and Development Acts 2000 to 2020, Part 8 and Schedules 10 to 12 may be cited together as the Planning and Development Acts 2000 to 2021 and shall be construed together as one.

(5) Subject to subsection (6), this Act shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister may by order or orders appoint either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be so appointed for different purposes and different provisions.

(6) Chapters 1 and 3 of Part 9 shall come into operation on the establishment day.

2. Interpretation - general

2. (1) In this Act—

“Act of 1933” means the Foreshore Act 1933;

“Act of 1963” means the Companies Act 1963;

“Act of 2000” means the Planning and Development Act 2000;

“Act of 2001” means the Local Government Act 2001;

“Act of 2014” means the Companies Act 2014;

“Act of 2018” means the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2018;

“Act of 2021” means the Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2021;

F1["Act of 2024’" means the Planning and Development Act 2024;]

“applicant”, in relation to an application under this Act, means the person who made the application;

“appropriate assessment” shall be construed in accordance with, as appropriate—

(a) section 177V of the Act of 2000, or

(b) Part 5 of the European Communities (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations (S.I. No. 477 of 2011);

“authorised officer” means a person appointed under section 137(1) to be an authorised officer;

“Birds Directive” has the meaning assigned to it by the F2[Act of 2024];

“Board (P)” means An Bord Pleanála;

“coastal planning authority” means the planning authority (within the meaning of F2[section 2 of the Act of 2024]) for any of the following:

(a) the county of Louth, Meath, Fingal, Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, Wicklow, Wexford, Carlow, Kilkenny, Tipperary, Cork, Kerry, Clare, Galway, Mayo, Sligo, Leitrim or Donegal;

(b) the City of Dublin, Cork or Galway;

(c) Waterford City and County or Limerick City and County;

“company” means—

(a) a company formed and registered under the Act of 2014, or

(b) an existing company;

“continental shelf” shall be construed in accordance with the Act of 2021;

“Convention” has the meaning assigned to it by the Act of 2021;

“CPA” means coastal planning authority;

“designated maritime area plan” shall be construed in accordance with section 20(1);

“development” means development (other than exempted development within the meaning of the Act of 2000) within the meaning of Part XXI of the Act of 2000;

“development permission”, in relation to any maritime usage which, if undertaken, would be development, means any permission (including any alteration thereto), within the meaning of section 2 of the Act of 2000, required under that Act in order for the undertaking of such usage to be lawful;

“DMAP” means designated maritime area plan;

“enactment” has the meaning assigned to it by the Interpretation Act 2005;

“environmental impact assessment” has the meaning given to it by the Act of 2000;

“Environmental Impact Assessment Directive” has the meaning assigned to it by the Act of 2000;

“establishment day” means the day appointed under section 41;

“existing company” has the meaning assigned to it by section 2 of the Act of 2014;

“existing NMPF” means the marine spatial plans within the meaning of Part 5 of the Act of 2018 and known collectively, under that Part, as the National Marine Planning Framework;

“foreshore” has the meaning assigned to it by the Act of 1933;

“foreshore authorisation” means an authorisation (howsoever described) granted (or otherwise given) under section 2, 3, 10 or 13 of the Act of 1933 by the appropriate Minister, within the meaning of section 1B of that Act, who falls within paragraph (c) of such section 1B;

“functional area”, in relation to a CPA, has the meaning assigned to it by the Act of 2000;

“General Data Protection Regulation” means Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016^1 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC2;

“Habitats Directive” has the meaning assigned to it by the F2[Act of 2024];

“indemnity” includes, in addition to a contract of indemnity—

(a) a contract of insurance,

(b) a guarantee,

(c) a surety,

(d) a warranty,

(e) a bond, or

(f) a financial security prescribed, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, for the purposes of this paragraph;

“levy” means a levy referred to in Chapter 7 of Part 4;

“infrastructure” means any facility, structure or installation (or any part thereof) situated in the maritime area, and references in this Act to “proposed maritime usage” shall be construed to include any related proposed infrastructure;

“licence” means a licence granted under section 119(1)(a);

“licence application” means an application under section 117(1);

“local authority” has the meaning assigned to it by the Act of 2001;

“MAC” means maritime area consent;

“MAC application” means an application under section 79(1);

“MARA” shall be construed in accordance with section 42(1);

“marine planning policy statement” shall be construed in accordance with section 6(1);

“maritime area” shall be construed in accordance with section 3;

“maritime area consent” means consent under section 81(1)(a);

“maritime spatial plan” shall be construed in accordance with section 16(1);

“Maritime Spatial Planning Directive” means Directive 2014/89/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014^2 establishing a framework for maritime spatial planning (the text of which is set out, in the English language and for ease of reference, in Schedule 1);

“maritime usage”, in relation to the maritime area, means any activity, operation, works or development undertaken in that area for any purpose (including conservation), and includes—

(a) the construction or use, or both, of any infrastructure in that area associated with, or otherwise supporting, the activity, operation, works or development, and

(b) the maintenance of such infrastructure,

and references in this Act to “proposed maritime usage” shall be construed accordingly;

“material change of circumstances” shall be construed in accordance with section 136;

“Minister” means the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage;

“MSP” means maritime spatial plan;

“MSP Directive” means the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive;

“National Marine Planning Framework” means the following:

(a) the existing NMPF—

(i) as in force immediately before the coming into operation of Chapter 2 of Part 2, and

(ii) until it is replaced by the first MSP;

(b) each MSP for the time being in force;

(c) each DMAP for the time being in force;

“national newspaper” means a newspaper published and circulating generally in the State, whether in hard copy or electronic copy, or both;

“National Planning Framework” means the National Planning Framework referred to in F2[Chapter 2 of Part 3 of the Act of 2024];

“nearshore area”, in relation to a CPA, shall be construed in accordance with section 5;

“obligations” includes liabilities;

“Order 84” means Order 84 of the Rules of the Superior Courts (S.I. No. 15 of 1986);

“personal data” has the meaning it has in the General Data Protection Regulation;

“powers” includes rights;

“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Minister under this Act;

“public body” means—

(a) a Minister of the Government,

(b) a local authority,

(c) a body (other than a company) established by or under an enactment,

(d) a company established pursuant to a power conferred by or under an enactment, and financed wholly or partly by—

(i) moneys provided, or loans made or guaranteed, by a Minister of the Government, or

(ii) the issue of shares held by or on behalf of a Minister of the Government;

“record” includes—

(a) a book or other written or printed material in any form (including in any electronic device or in machine readable form),

(b) a map, plan or drawing,

(c) a disc, tape or other mechanical or electronic device in which data other than visual images are embodied so as to be capable, with or without the aid of some other mechanical or electronic equipment, of being reproduced from the disc, tape or other device,

(d) a film, disc, tape or other mechanical or electronic device in which visual images are embodied so as to be capable, with or without the aid of some other mechanical or electronic equipment, of being reproduced from the film, disc, tape or other device, and

(e) a copy or part of any thing which falls within paragraph (a), (b), (c) or (d),

and a copy, in any form, of a record shall be deemed, for the purposes of this Act, to have been created at the same time as the record;

“screening for appropriate assessment” shall be construed in accordance with, as appropriate—

(a) section 177U of the Act of 2000, or

(b) Part 5 of the European Communities (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations 2011 (S.I. No. 477 of 2011);

“sea” includes—

(a) an area which is submerged at high water of ordinary or medium tides,

(b) an estuary or arm of the sea, and

(c) the tidal waters of a channel, creek, bay, river, canal, waterway or other watercourse;

“seabed” means land under sea, and includes silts or other deposits lying on the land;

“specified” —

(a) in relation to a form, means specified under section 72, and

(b) in relation to a fee, means specified in regulations made under section 78 or 116, as appropriate;

“strategic environmental assessment” has the meaning assigned to it by F2[section 2 of the Act of 2024];

“submissions” include observations;

“water” includes the water of rivers, streams, canals, waterways, ponds, lakes or any other form of watercourse or body of water or sea.

(2) A reference in this Act to an enactment (including this Act) includes a statutory instrument made under the enactment.

(3) A reference in this Act to a MAC includes—

(a) the maritime usage the subject of the MAC,

(b) the conditions attached, or deemed to be attached, to the MAC by virtue of section 82, and

(c) the rehabilitation schedule within the meaning of Chapter 8 of Part 4.

(4) A reference in this Act to a licence includes—

(a) the Schedule 7 usage (within the meaning of section 110) the subject of the licence, and

(b) the conditions attached, or deemed to be attached, to the licence by virtue of section 120.

(5) (a) A reference in this Act to a MAC for a maritime usage (howsoever expressed) shall be construed as a reference to the occupation of a specified part of the maritime area for the purposes of such usage.

(b) A reference in this Act for a licence for a maritime usage (howsoever expressed) shall be construed as a reference to the occupation of a specified part of the maritime area for the purposes of such usage.

3. Application

3. F4[(1)] Subject to section 14, this Act applies to that area of the State (in this Act referred to as the “maritime area”) extending from the high water of ordinary or medium tides of the sea to the outer limit of the continental shelf, and includes—

(a) the sea and tidal areas of internal waters of the State as construed in accordance with the Act of 2021,

(b) the territorial seas of the State as construed in accordance with the Act of 2021,

(c) the exclusive economic zone as construed in accordance with the Act of 2021, and

(d) the continental shelf F5[as construed in accordance with the Act of 2021].

F6[(2) Where, but for this subsection, a public body would not be able to perform, in relation to any matter whatsoever, one or more than one of its public functions by virtue of the matter relating, whether in whole or in part, to the continental shelf or any part thereof, then, by virtue of this subsection, the public body may perform the public function concerned in relation to that matter as if the continental shelf or the part thereof concerned were a part of the State where the public body may perform such function, and the other provisions of this Act or of any other enactment shall, with all necessary modifications, be construed accordingly.

(3) A public body shall, in the performance, in relation to any matter whatsoever, of its functions under this Act or any enactment amended by this Act, have regard to—

(a) the obligations placed on the State by the Convention, and

(b) the obligations in respect of the rights of the public or any class of the public over the foreshore in relation to navigation and fishing.

(4) For the purposes of this section, "foreshore" means the bed and shore, below the line of high water of ordinary or medium tides, of the sea and of every tidal river and tidal estuary and of every channel, creek, and bay of the sea or of any such river or estuary.]

4. Legal acts of European Union given effect to by this Act

4. Effect or further effect, as the case may be, is given to by this Act to an act specified in the Table to this section, adopted by an institution of the European Union or, where appropriate, to part of such an act:

Table

5. Nearshore areas of CPAs

5. (1) Subject to subsection (2), where a part of the maritime area (which part is in this Act referred to as the “nearshore area”) meets all of the following requirements, that part shall, for the purposes of this Act, in so far as this Act relates to nearshore areas and CPAs, be the nearshore area of the CPA referred to in paragraph (a)(i) as if the boundaries between the nearshore area of that CPA and the adjoining nearshore area of another CPA were equidistant between the two of them as taken from the high water mark:

(a) the part is contiguous to either or both of the following:

(i) the functional area of a CPA;

(ii) reclaimed land adjoining such functional area that does not form part of the functional area of another local authority;

(b) the part is below the line of high water (in this section referred to as the “high water mark”) of ordinary or medium tides of—

(i) the sea,

(ii) every tidal river and tidal estuary, and

(iii) every channel, creek and bay of—

(I) the sea, and

(II) every tidal river and tidal estuary;

(c) the part does not extend further than—

(i) the prescribed distance from the nearest point of the high water mark, or

(ii) if no such distance is prescribed for the time being, three nautical miles from the nearest point of the high water mark.

(2) Subject to subsections (3) to (5), the Minister may, by order, vary the nearshore area of a CPA.

(3)(a) Subject to paragraph (b), an order under subsection (2) shall specify the boundaries of the varied nearshore area, whether by reference to a map or otherwise.

(b) Those boundaries shall—

(i) have the high water mark as their baseline, and

(ii) have their outer limit determined in accordance with subsection (4).

(4) The Minister, in exercising his or her power under subsection (2) in respect of the nearshore area and a CPA, shall, in so far as determining the boundaries of the varied nearshore area concerned, take into account the following:

(a) the representations (if any) of the CPA given to the Minister pursuant to subsection (5)(a);

(b) the representations of members of the public given to the Minister pursuant to subsection (5)(b);

(c) the distance between the high water mark and the low water mark of the nearshore area;

(d) the geography of the nearshore area, including islands, sandbars, sand spits, river mouths, bays and beaches;

(e) practical matters relating to the boundaries of the CPA and the proposed boundaries of the varied nearshore area;

(f) the practicability of the CPA effectively performing its functions under this Act in respect of the nearshore area as proposed to be varied.

(5) Where the Minister proposes to make, amend or revoke an order under this section, he or she shall—

(a) give a copy of the proposed order to the CPA concerned and invite the CPA to make representations in writing thereon to the Minister, not later than six weeks after the CPA is given that copy, at an address (which may be an electronic address) specified in the copy, and

(b) publish, in not less than one national newspaper, a notice—

(i) stating that the Minister proposes to make, amend or revoke an order under this section,

(ii) stating that a copy of the proposed order may be inspected on a website of the Government, and

(iii) inviting members of the public to make representations in writing thereon to the Minister, not later than four weeks after the date of publication of the notice in the newspaper (or, if the notice is published in more than one such newspaper, the last date of such publication), at an address (which may be an electronic address) specified in the notice.

6. Marine planning policy statement

6. (1) Subject to subsections(4) to (10), the Minister shall from time to time prepare and publish in accordance with this section a statement (in this Act referred to as the “marine planning policy statement”) containing information setting out the principles and priorities of the Government in relation to maritime planning by the State in the maritime area for the period to which the statement relates.

(2) Where the Minister proposes to prepare a marine planning policy statement, he or she shall lay a draft of the statement, together with the Environmental Statement and Appropriate Assessment Determination in respect thereof if required, before each House of the Oireachtas, and shall not prepare the statement until a resolution approving of the draft has been passed by each such House.