Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 July 2022
610. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the members of the Marine Licence Vetting Committee; the expertise of each; when each member was appointed; the terms of reference for the Committee; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41856/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Marine Licence Vetting Committee (MLVC) is an ad-hoc multi-disciplinary committee which is convened as required, for the purposes of undertaking a technical assessment of an application under the Foreshore Act 1933, as amended. The constitution of the MLVC, as a non-statutory committee, can change depending on the scale, location, and type of foreshore applications. The MLVC is currently chaired by Colin Ryan Senior Planning Adviser BA (hons), MsC, MBA, MIPI, National & Regional Planning Policy, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
The following Departments and Government Bodies are considered to be permanent members of the MLVC, however the representative from each can vary depending on the nature of the application under consideration.
1. Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage - Marine Advisers, Engineering and Environment
2. Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage - Nature Conservation
3. Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage - Underwater Archaeology
4. Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine - Foreshore and Aquaculture Unit
5. Marine Institute
6. Inland Fisheries Ireland
7. Marine Survey Office
8. Sea Fisheries Protection Authority
The committee operates in three different ways:
For specific categories of application, the application and supporting documentation will be assessed by either the Chair of the MLVC or a member of my Department’s Marine Advisory Unit (MAU). Examples include certain site investigation activities, one day events, slipways, moorings and other projects deemed to be not significant in nature. Larger projects require the convening of the full MLVC. However, the members may not meet in person. The Chair of the MLVC will correspond with the individual members for their views on the application including any submissions from prescribed bodies and the public.
Finally, when it is required, due perhaps to the complexity of the application and its supporting documentation or the volume of information to be assessed, the full MLVC may convene and meet to discuss the application.
It is the role of the MLVC and Chair to bring together and fully consider competing interests and rights and deliver a robust recommendation. In all cases, the application and supporting documentation together with all the submissions received from both the prescribed bodies and the public will be considered in detail during the course of assessing the application. Only after these steps have been completed and the application fully assessed will a recommendation on the application be made by the MLVC to me as Minister. The recommendation will include appropriate conditions and a completed and detailed report of the assessment. It is also open to me as the Minister with responsibility for making a decision to grant a lease or licence under the Foreshore Act 1933, to seek advices from whatever body I deem necessary in the determination of the application.
