MARA Launch Marks Major Milestone for Offshore Energy Development

The newly established authority will be responsible for regulating development and activity in Ireland’s maritime area and its role will include assessing applications for Maritime Area Consents (MACs), which are required before developers of offshore wind and other projects in the maritime area can make a planning application. It will also be responsible for granting licences for certain activities in the maritime area.

The establishment of MARA represents the beginning of phase two for Ireland's all-of-government approach to renewable offshore energy and will determine how we develop this valuable resource.

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O'Brien TD, officially launched the new regulatory authority at an event in Rosslare Europort today, emphasising:

"With the launch of the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority here in Rosslare today, we now begin the second phase of our all-of-Government approach to the development of offshore renewable energy. Delivery of offshore renewable energy will be crucial as we strive towards our climate goals over the next few years and MARA will provide the regulation and clarity that this emerging industry needs and govern our extensive maritime resource and contribute to our nation’s sustainable future."

Chief Executive Officer of MARA, Laura Brien, added:

“Ireland has one of the highest sea-to-land ratios in Europe and today marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter in how Ireland will manage that resource. MARA’s remit is wide-ranging reflecting the diverse marine resource that we will steward for this generation and the ones to come. MARA is confident in our ability to support the governance of our maritime resources. In achieving this, we look forward to working with the wide range of stakeholders in the seafood, tourism, transportation as well as offshore renewable energy sectors to deliver on our role.”

Establishment of MARA paves way for National Industrial Strategy for Offshore Wind

In May, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Simon Coveney TD, received Government support to develop a National Industrial Strategy for Offshore Wind which will set out how Ireland can maximise the economic opportunity arising from the production of Offshore Wind Energy (OWE). The Strategy will be developed in consultation with the relevant government departments, agencies, and industry, with the objective of ensuring that Ireland fully captures the value of both the supply chain to deliver an OWE sector at scale, and the routes to market for this renewable energy. It is expected that the National Industrial Strategy for Offshore Wind will be published in Q1 2024 and complement the suite of upcoming government policies led by the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications through the Offshore Wind Delivery Taskforce.

At today’s launch, Minister Coveney said:

"Together with my colleagues across Government, I am committed to creating the environment that will allow a burgeoning Offshore Wind industry to develop and thrive. The provision of abundant, competitively priced renewable energy can be a key strategic competitive advantage for Ireland’s future reflecting the ambition as set out in my Department’s White Paper on Enterprise. On the path to that goal are a series of important policy, legislative, regulatory and infrastructural steps. Today marks one of those critical steps with the establishment of the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority (MARA) with its new Chief Executive Officer Laura Brien. I wish her and all her colleagues well in playing its central role for this new industry."

Ireland’s swift and nature-positive transition to renewable energy has also been aided by the publication today of a detailed map and notice of intention to designate a new Special Protection Area (SPA) under the EU Birds Directive for the protection of birdlife in the North-west Irish Sea. The new North-west Irish Sea SPA covers more than 230,000 hectares of important marine waters for a range of bird species throughout the year.