Draft NMPF Submissions, Marine Planning Section Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government Newtown Road Wexford, Y35 AP90 Emailed to [email protected] 30th April 2020 Submission – Draft National Marine Planning Framework (NMPF) Dear Sir/Madam, Thank you for providing us with the opportunity to comment on the Draft National Marine Planning Framework (NMPF). Founded in 1964, Kilsaran Concrete is the largest privately owned concrete and construction materials company in Ireland. Kilsaran remains a family owned Irish company producing quality construction material from 20 large quarries and 23 nationwide state-of-the-art concrete production facilities. Accordingly, Kilsaran has an intimate knowledge of terrestrial planning framework as it pertains to the sourcing and delivery of essential construction raw materials and concrete manufactured products. Kilsaran formed part of a group of companies that participated in the IMAGIN1 Project. The overall aim of the IMAGIN project was to facilitate the evolution of a strategic framework within which the exploitation of marine aggregate resources from the Irish Sea may be sustainably managed with minimum risk of impact on marine and coastal environments, ecosystems and other marine users. IMAGIN identified significant deposits of sand and gravel in the Irish Sea. We wish to have input on the design of a future marine planning framework for Ireland, and help to realise Ireland’s marine potential as a sustainable source of construction aggregates. We hope you find our comments useful and we would be happy to discuss them further with you, should that be required. 1 Kozachenko, M., Fletcher, R., Sutton, G., Monteys, X., Van Landeghem, K., Wheeler, A., Lassoued, Y., Cooper, A. and Nicoll, C. (2008) A geological appraisal of marine aggregate resources in the southern Irish Sea. Technical report produced for the Irish Sea Marine Aggregates Initiative (IMAGIN) project funded under the INTERREG IIIA Community Initiative Programme 2000-2006. University College Cork, Ireland, 390pp. ISBN 978-0- 9556109-2-9. It is not clear if marine aggregates are considered under the Objectives heading (page 138). This section should clearly set out that the Objectives also refer to Marine Aggregates and not just minerals. The bullet points thereunder refer solely to minerals and metals, for clarity and to avoid any doubt Marine Aggregates should be referenced. For example, it would be preferable for the first bullet to explicitly state… ‘Support sustainable marine aggregates and mineral exploration to enable the discovery and development of economic deposits.’. This also applies to the subsequent three bullet points under ‘Objectives’. At paragraph 13.2 the draft text refers to ‘To the limited extent that marine aggregates extraction has taken place it has been permitted only for beneficial purposes such as beach nourishment, coastal protection, reclamation and backfill.’. Kilsaran Concrete has been engaged with Drogheda Port Company since 2010 providing a beneficial re-use for dredged sand from the approach channel of the River Boyne. This type of beneficial re-use of marine aggregates into the construction industry should be acknowledged in the NMPF. Also at paragraph 13.2 it refers ‘While there is little short-term demand for marine mineral resources, medium to long-term anticipated future growth in construction activity and associated demand for aggregates may lead to a greater level of marine aggregates extraction in the future while technological advances will influence their viability.’. In February 2018, the Government published Project 2040 which is the overarching policy and planning framework for the social, economic and cultural development of Ireland. On 23rd October 2019, Minister of State for Natural Resources Sean Canney TD launched the Irish Concrete Federation’s Publication “Essential Aggregates: Providing for Irelands’ needs to 2040” (copy attached to this submission). In this document the ICF predicts that to satisfy the Project Ireland 2040 plan 1.5 billion tonnes of aggregates will need to be produced. It also highlights the scarcities of particular products such as sand are already emerging in the eastern and midland regions as terrestrial sources of aggregates continue to diminish. The demand for marine aggregates in the eastern region of the Country is already here and up until now no commercial marine aggregate operations have taken place because there has been no clear consenting/licensing regime to allow for the extraction of marine aggregates. Marine aggregates extraction is common practice across the globe and technologies already exist to allow for viable extraction in Irish waters. Yours faithfully, ________________ Fergus Gallagher Planning and Environmental Manager Kilsaran International From: Máire Uí Mhuirnín Sent: 30 April 2020 11:56 To: MSP - Marine Spatial Planning <[email protected]> Subject: Breathnóireacht ar an Dréacht-CreatNáisiúntaum Pleanáil Mhuirí Tag: Breathnóireacht ar an Dréacht-Creat Náisiúnta um Pleanáil Mhuirí Dáta: 30/04/2020 Seoltadh ag: Máire Uí Mhuirnín, agus thar cheann Wild Ireland Defence CLG A chara, Cuirim an bhreathnóireacht seo a leanas faoi bhráid an Rannóg Pleanála Mhuirí í dtaobh an Dréacht- Creat Náisiúnta um Pleanáil Mhuirí. Tá an breathnóireacht déanta le meon macánta is dílis don comhshaoil. S’é mo bharúil ná go raibh an comhairliúcháin phoiblí ar an Dréacht-Creat Náisiúnta um Pleanáil Mhuirí.lochtach is nach comhlíonann an próiseas comhairliúcháin déanta Choinbhinsiún Aarhus. Níl fós ag an am seo ar line, is níor raibh ag an comhairliúchán phoiblí sa nGaeiltacht í nGaillimh na cáipéisí ar fad le fail trí mhean na gaeilge. Nior raibh aon cháipéis ná aon saineolaí le gaeilge ar fail ag comhairliúchán i ngaeltacht na Gaillimhe. Freisin socraíodh an próiseas comhairliúcháin phoiblí ar ‘Téamaí’ – rud a chuireann teorainn le rochtain ar eolas agus rannpháirtíocht phoiblí i gcúrsaí cinnteoireachta comhshaoil. Ionas gur féidir an Prionsabal Réamhchúraim na reachtaíochta comhshaoil a chinntiú caithfidh gach tionscadal ceangailte faoin an plean measúnuithe Chéim 2 a dhéanamh faoi Treoireacha 92/42/EEC, 2009/147/EC, agus 2001/42. Mar fhreagra ar na torthaí scanrúla foilsithe le déanaí sa tuairiscí (i) Measúnú Domhanda na Náisiún Aontaithe ag na IPBES (2019) agus (ii) Stádas Gnáthóga agus Speiceas faoi Chosaint an AE in Éirinn (DCHG, 2019), a leagann béim ar mhéid agus ráta na géarchéim dhíothaithe dhomhanda agus náisiúnta, ní mór d'údaráis phleanála tús áite a thabhairt lena chinntiú go gcloíonn pleaneanna le rialacháin agus reachtaíocht um chosaint comhshaoil. (Sliocht as an dá thuarascáil thuas luaite le fail ag a agus b thíos): a. The UN Global Assessment by the IPBES (2019) reports an alarming and unprecedented rate of decline in nature and an accelerating rate of species extinctions. PARIS, 6 May – Nature is declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history – and the rate of species extinctions is accelerating, with grave impacts on people around the world now likely, warns a landmark new report from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), the summary of which was approved at the 7th session of the IPBES Plenary, meeting last week (29 April – 4 May) in Paris. “The overwhelming evidence of the IPBES Global Assessment, from a wide range of different fields of knowledge, presents an ominous picture,” said IPBES Chair, Sir Robert Watson. “The health of ecosystems on which we and all other species depend is deteriorating more rapidly than ever. We are eroding the very foundations of our economies, livelihoods, food security, health and quality of life worldwide.” “The Report also tells us that it is not too late to make a difference, but only if we start now at every level from local to global,” he said. “Through ‘transformative change’, nature can still be conserved, restored and used sustainably – this is also key to meeting most other global goals. By transformative change, we mean a fundamental, system-wide reorganization across technological, economic and social factors, including paradigms, goals and values.” “The member States of IPBES Plenary have now acknowledged that, by its very nature, transformative change can expect opposition from those with interests vested in the status quo, but also that such opposition can be overcome for the broader public good,” Watson said. (https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2019/05/nature-decline-unprecedented-report/ ) b. “A new report from the Department of Culture Heritage and the Gaeltacht on the status of our most valuable habitats and species paints a dire picture for biodiversity in Ireland and once again stresses the depth of the extinction crisis here ” ( https://iwt.ie/press-release-new-report-highlights-the-extent-of-the-irish- extinction-crisis/ ) Coinnigh ar an eolas mé maidir le forbairt agus toradh an phlean seo le do thoil. Máire Uí Mhuirnín agus thar cheann Wild Ireland Defence CLG. National Marine Planning Framework Consultation Draft Response to public consultation 29th April 2020 1 Introduction Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the consultation draft of the National Marine Planning Framework. Waterford Offshore Wind Awareness are a voluntary community group, formed in 2019, seeking to raise awareness of large offshore wind developments proposed for the South coast of Ireland and to generate discussion regarding the potential impacts these developments could have on our communities and surrounding