From Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications
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The South Coast Designated Maritime Area Plan (DMAP) Proposal, published in July, puts forward an initial 'proposed' geographical area within which future offshore renewable energy development may take place. The geographical area of this initial proposal is approximately 8,600 square kilometres in size, extending from the High Water Mark on Ireland’s south coast to the 80-metre depth contour and/or the edge of the Irish Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
The success of Ireland’s first offshore wind auction earlier this year, ORESS 1, highlighted Ireland’s enormous potential in offshore wind, having procured more than 3 GW of competitively priced green energy. As approved by Government and the Oireachtas, all future offshore wind development in Ireland will take place according to a strategic, sustainable and plan led approach.
What this means in practice is that the State, in cooperation with local communities and with consideration for other maritime activities including fishing and seafood production, and with provisions for environmental protection, will determine the appropriate location for offshore wind developments.
Following this public information period and environmental impact assessments and analysis, to assess its suitability for offshore renewable energy development, a 'Draft DMAP' will then be published, which will identify specific areas for future offshore renewable energy development. The Draft DMAP will then undergo a further six week statutory public consultation period in the autumn, before the Draft DMAP is presented to the Minister for Housing and both houses of the Oireachtas for approval.
We have opened an eight week public information period which will include face-to-face public information events in a number of venues at coastal communities within counties Wexford, Waterford and Cork. Further information relating to these events will be updated regularly and available here.
The aim of this initial public information period is to gather stakeholder feedback on aspects of the South Coast Designated Maritime Area Plan (DMAP) Proposal, and seek the views of local communities off Ireland’s South Coast to help determine where future offshore wind energy developments will take place. We are keen to hear from interested citizens and a range of stakeholders, including: local community organisations, fishing communities, as well as environmental and business groups within counties Waterford, Wexford and Cork.
The initial public information period of engagement, that took place over a more than 9-week period in August-October, concluded on 6 October 2023. Along with all the events outlined below, we carried out an extensive media campaign over this period.
As well as the updated notices and relevant updates we published on this webpage, we issued a press release when the South Coast DMAP Proposal webpage went live – we issued this press release nationally, and also to local media in counties Cork, Waterford and Wexford. We also posted on social media sites, including X (Twitter), and LinkedIn before each event.
Full-page and half-page notices of the events were also published in local newspapers in counties Waterford, Wexford, and Cork. We published newspaper articles outlining the South Coast DMAP Proposal and its schedule of events within leading publications for key stakeholders, including ‘The Skipper’ (in print & online) - the leading publication of the Irish fishing community. We also carried out a series of radio interviews by a senior Department official, on local radio stations in counties Waterford, Wexford and Cork. These broadcast interviews outlined the South Coast DMAP Proposal process, and its related events, and amounted to over 45 minutes of airtime in total.
We sent notification emails of the South Coast DMAP Proposal events to a large number of key stakeholder groups on numerous occasions during the public information period, outlining the South Coast DMAP Proposal public information timetable.
We are now preparing the Draft DMAP and, as part of this process, we are reviewing and considering all of the feedback we received at the in-person and online events, along with all submissions received by post, email and through the online survey link below, throughout this consultation period.
The next stage in the DMAP establishment process will be the preparation and publication of a ‘Draft DMAP’, which will identify a number of individual ORE development areas. We aim to publish this in Spring 2024 alongside draft Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Appropriate Assessment (AA) reports. Following this, a further statutory public consultation will take place, before the Draft DMAP is presented to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage and both houses of the Oireachtas for approval.
With the anticipated publication of the Draft DMAP in Q1 2024, this would enable the final DMAP to be approved by the Oireachtas in Q2 2024.
The DMAP Public Participation Statement was updated on 19 April 2024.
The public information event due to take place at the Stella Maris Community Centre in Kilmore Quay on Monday, 18 September has been postponed due to a bereavement in the local community.
It will now take place in the same venue on Tuesday 26 September from 12pm to 8pm.
| Date | Location | Venue | Time |
| 4 September | Dunmore East | Dumore East Fishery Harbour Centre, Nymphhall, Dunmore East, Co. Waterford, X91 KX03 | 1.30pm-3.30pm |
| 5 September | Tramore | Coastguard Cultural Centre, Doneraile Drive, Tramore West, Tramore, Co. Waterford, X91 HP63 | 1.30pm-3.30pm |
| 6 September | An Rinn | Ionad Pobail na Rinne, An Rinn, Dún Garbhán, Co. Phort Láirge, X35 XW29 | 1.30pm-3.30pm |
| 13 September | Kinsale | Sáile Kinsale Community and Sports Centre, Cappagh, Kinsale, Co. Cork, P17 WD21 | 1.30pm-3.30pm |
| 14 September | Aghada | Aghada and District Community Centre, Curragh, Upper Agahda, Co. Cork, P25 C576 | 1.30pm-3.30pm |
| 18 September | Kilmore Quay, Co Wexford | Stella Maris Community Centre, Seaview, Wexford, Y35 TH9W | 12pm to 8pm Please note: This is a joint event between the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications and EirGrid |
| 19 September (Workshop) | Youghal | Walter Raleigh Hotel, Youghal, Co. Cork, P36 RX22 | 11am-1pm (Pre-registration required - link to register below) |
| 20 September (Workshop) | Waterford | The Tower Hotel, The Mall, Waterford, X91 VXE0 | 11am-1pm (Pre-registration required - link to register below) |
Registration for our two workshop events in Youghal and Waterford is now open. To register, please use these links:
Youghal Workshop, 19 September Register here
Waterford Workshop, 20 September Register here
A Public Information Webinar on South Coast DMAP Proposal will take place on Thursday, 28 September 28 from 6pm – 7pm. Register here
We published the South Coast Renewable Energy DMAP Proposal in July, and are asking participants to review it and then complete our online survey.
If you would like a copy of the relevant Shapefiles, please get in touch at southcoastdmap@DECC.gov.ie
Due to rescheduled events, the closing date for submissions has been extended to 5.30pm on Friday, 6 October 2023
Alternatively, submissions can also be sent by email to southcoastdmap@DECC.gov.ie or by post to:
International and Offshore Energy Division
South Coast DMAP Proposal Submission
Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications
29-31 Adelaide Road
Dublin 2
D02 X285
We are committed to engaging with stakeholders in a clear, open and transparent manner. Any person or organisation can make a submission in relation to this public information period. All submissions and feedback will be considered before the final version of the Draft DMAP is is published. Given the volume and the variety of comments anticipated, we do not intend to respond to individual submissions however a consultation summary report will be published on this webpage.
Please note that responses to this consultation are subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2014 (FOI), Access to Information on the Environment Regulations 2007-2018 (AIE) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
Please also note that we intend to publish the contents of all submissions received to our consultations on our website. We will redact personal data prior to publication. In responding to this consultation, parties should clearly indicate where their responses contain commercially sensitive information or confidential information which they would not wish to be released under FOI, AIE or otherwise published.
We would like to draw your attention to our Data Privacy Notice which explains how and when we collect personal data, why we do so and how we treat this information. It also explains your rights in relation to the collection of personal information and how you can exercise those rights.
