Consultation on the Marine Planning Policy Statement now open

Consultation Overview

The Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment is seeking views on the draft Marine Planning Policy Statement.

Background

In November 2019, the government published Ireland's first Marine Planning Policy Statement (MPPS), which applied to all aspects of marine planning. The MPPS was introduced on a non-statutory basis, pending development of the National Marine Planning Framework (NMPF) and adoption of the Maritime Area Planning Act 2021 (MAP Act). The MPPS described the (then) existing components of Ireland's marine planning system, outlined the vision for the future development of Ireland's marine planning system, and set out the overarching policies and principles expected of statutory bodies with responsibilities in, or impacting on, the maritime area.

Following the signing into law of the MAP Act in 2021, a statutory framework is now in place for the preparation, adoption and review of statutory marine planning policy statements. Part 1, Section 6, subsection 4 of the MAP Act (as amended) provides that the Minister shall ensure that the first statutory MPPS is prepared and published not later than twelve months after the coming into operation of that section and relates to a period of not less than three years.

Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment, Darragh O'Brien TD, announced on 22 May 2025 at European Maritime Day in Cork that the consultation on Ireland's Marine Planning Policy Statement (MPPS) would open on 9 June 2025.

This policy statement will apply until such time as a revised MPPS is adopted.

The purpose of this statutory Marine Planning Policy Statement (MPPS) is to:

• outline the existing components of Ireland's marine planning system and the hierarchy of marine policies
• set out the strategic principles of marine planning policy that the government expects relevant planning bodies to observe
• outline Ireland's key marine planning priorities for the management of activities in the maritime space during the lifetime of this MPPS, and
• outline how marine policy will be monitored and reviewed

A revised draft of the MPPS will be prepared following this public consultation and submitted to the government seeking approval for publication.

How to make a submission

The closing date for submissions is 5.30pm on Monday, 7 July 2025