Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 24 May 2023
121. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of staff working in the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority; their cost; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25064/23]
View answer122. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the level of biodiversity expertise in the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25065/23]
View answer123. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the level of marine and environmental expertise in the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25066/23]
View answerThe Maritime Area Planning Act 2021 provides for a new dedicated agency to regulate our maritime area. The Maritime Area Regulatory Authority (MARA) will be responsible for granting consents which will be required before a development can apply for planning permission in the maritime area; granting licenses for specified activity; ensuring robust compliance through enforcement measures and managing the existing State Foreshore consent portfolio.
With such wide-ranging remit extensive preparatory work is underway in advance of its formal establishment. A dedicated MARA Establishment Unit is in place within my Department leading the critical work to enable the timely establishment of MARA. This unit currently has 13 staff and an additional 9 staff are expected to join the unit in the coming weeks. Staff of the Establishment Unit will transfer to MARA under a secondment arrangement when MARA is formally established, to ensure there is continuity in respect of the work. MARA will be formally established on 17 July 2023.
Informed by a Strategic Workforce Plan and Skills Needs Assessment, it is expected that MARA will need to expand to a workforce to at least 30 as soon as possible to allow it to undertake its statutory functions. Staffing resources will be required across administrative, legal, financial and technical areas including marine and environmental expertise. A staff compliment of approximately 60 is envisaged as being required in the medium term. MARA has been allocated a budget of €4.3m for 2023, including €2.4m for payroll related costs.
