The Maritime Area Planning Act (the MAP Act) has now been passed by both houses in the Irish legislature and was signed into law by the President on 23 December 2021.
The MAP Act provides for new consenting processes for foreshore licences, foreshore leases and planning permissions for various marine projects, including offshore renewable energy infrastructure. It also creates a new regulatory authority, and a regime for designating protected marine areas. In particular, this ambitious legislation provides a "fit for purpose" mechanism for the consenting of offshore renewable energy projects in a way that complies with European environmental assessment obligations, facilitates Aarhus Convention-compliant public participation, and gives Ireland a realistic chance of delivering new renewable energy sources allowing it to meet its 2030 climate change targets.
In our latest publication, we discuss the MAP Act in further detail.
For more information please contact Alison Fanagan, Alan Roberts, Ross Moore, John Dallas or any other member of ALG's Environmental and Planning or Energy, Infrastructure and Natural Resources teams.
