Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage to discuss the Marine Planning and Development Management Bill tomorrow in the first of two public meetings this week

The 11am meeting will see representatives from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage as well as officials from the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications appear in Committee Room 2, watch live, to discuss pre-legislative scrutiny.

Discussion of this topic will continue on Thursday from 9am when representatives from the Irish Wind Energy Association and from the Marine Renewables Industry Association appear, again in Committee Room 2.

• The Irish Wind Energy Association (IWEA) is the representative body for the Irish wind industry, working to promote wind energy as an essential, economical and environmentally friendly part of the country’s low-carbon energy future.
• The Marine Renewables Industry Association represents companies and interests on the island of Ireland in the  Marine Renewables Emerging Technologies' (MRET) fields of wave, tidal, floating wind and 'hybrid' energy.

In advance of the meeting, Committee Chair, Steven Matthews, TD, said: “The committee very much welcomes the input of two government Departments tomorrow, and industry representatives later in the week to discuss the Bill.

“Our maritime area represents seven times the landmass of our land area, and reform of marine governance and development is key to achieving Ireland’s decarbonisation goals. In short, we need to continue to protect our seas, and manage them properly.”

For more information about the work of the Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage, see the Committee webpage