Public Consultation on the Draft National Marine Planning Framework
Ministers Eoghan Murphy and Damien English have published the Draft National Marine Planning Framework (NMPF) for public consultation.
The Draft NMPF is Ireland’s first marine planning framework and it applies to a broad range of marine activities including aquaculture, offshore renewable energy, sea fisheries and tourism. It provides a long-term framework for effective management of marine activities and more sustainable use of our marine resources. It is intended to enable Government to set a clear direction for managing our seas, clarify objectives and priorities, and direct decision makers, users and stakeholders towards more strategic, plan-led and efficient use of marine resources.
The NMPF will inform decisions about current and future development of the maritime area, aiming to integrate various sectoral needs within the three overarching pillars of forward planning (economic, environmental and social).
In broad terms the Draft NMPF is based around:
- Marine planning objectives
- Marine planning policies, and
- Supporting actions required to achieve (1) and (2) above.
The plan does not set out a hierarchy of activities. It does, however, set out supporting policies in respect of aquaculture, defence, energy, fisheries, mining and aggregates, ports harbours & shipping, telecommunications cables, tourism, safety at sea, sport & recreation, and waste-water treatment and disposal.
The Department invites submissions on the Draft NMPF (available to view and download here: draft_national_marine_planning_framework_final ).
The consultation period closes at 12:00 noon on 28th February 2020. You can make a submission by email to the following address msp@housing.gov.ie