Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 December 2022
221. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide details on the number of foreshore licences granted monthly between the period 1 January 2019 and 31 October 2022 including the average waiting time for applications. [60374/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Foreshore Act 1933, as amended, requires that a lease or licence must be obtained for any activity on State-owned foreshore, which represents the greater part of the foreshore. The Act provides for the issuing of licences or leases which are in the public interest. Details of applications and determinations made by the Minister under the Act are on my Department's website gov.ie - Foreshore applications (www.gov.ie)
The expected time for processing and determining these lease and licence applications can vary considerably and is influenced by the quality of the application and supporting documents received, the nature and complexity of the application, the level of public engagement during the consultation process, the timeliness of the applicant's responses to request, as well the number of applications on hand of the same priority. There are multiple milestones in the assessment process starting from receipt of an application, and a range of reasons why an application could take longer to conclude the assessment process than another.
Each application must be assessed appropriately in accordance with the applicable requirements of domestic and EU law including the EIA Directive, Birds and Habitats Regulations and the Foreshore Act. In addition, the provisions of the Public Participation Directive are applied to consent applications under the Foreshore Acts which require the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement by the European Communities (Foreshore) Regulations 2009 (S.I. No. 404 of 2009) and the European Union (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Foreshore) Regulations 2012 (S.I. No. 433 of 2012). Several of the foreshore licences issued during the period in question have been the subject of judicial review proceedings and the process for assessing such applications has been amended as a result, taking into account legal advices received. My Department, in the same period has more than doubled the staffing resources available within the Foreshore Section to address this increasing workload. Additional internal and external specialist environmental expertise has been secured to assist in the technical assessment of applications.
Section 3 of the Foreshore Act 1933 provides the Minister with the authority to grant a license. A licence is generally issued for an activity or development that does not require exclusive occupation of the foreshore. Examples would include repair work, some coastal protection work, undersea pipelines, cables, site investigation works and dredging works. Once the Minister has determined and granted an application under this section, the Chief State's Solicitors Office (CSSO) is then instructed by my Department to prepare the relevant legal instrument or licence and liaise with the applicant's own legal representatives. Arrangements are also made for the payment of the relevant licence fee. Once these matters are complete the licence is then signed by both parties and executed as a Deed.
The table below identifies the number of licences executed in each of the years specified.
|
Month |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
|
January |
|
|
3 |
2 |
|
February |
3 |
|
1 |
|
|
March |
|
|
1 |
2 |
|
April |
|
|
2 |
1 |
|
May |
2 |
|
1 |
4 |
|
June |
1 |
|
1 |
1 |
|
July |
1 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
|
August |
|
|
4 |
5 |
|
September |
|
2 |
3 |
4 |
|
October |
|
2 |
1 |
1 |
|
November |
|
|
1 |
|
|
December |
|
|
5 |
|
|
Totals |
7 |
6 |
26 |
23 |
