Maritime Area Consents and Usage Licences: Application Fees

The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage has published regulations regarding the fees payable for applications relating to maritime area consents and maritime area usage licences. Our Energy team looks at what applications are covered and how much they will cost.

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The Maritime Area Planning Act 2021 (Act) created a new State consent, the Maritime Area Consent (MAC). The holder of a MAC is entitled to occupy a specified part of Ireland’s maritime area, and a MAC must be held prior to seeking development permission for that part of the maritime area.

Following the establishment of the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority Area (MARA) on 17 July 2023, the assessment and grant of MACs and other licences in the maritime area is now managed by MARA.

The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, after consultation with MARA, has recently made two sets of regulations:

• Regarding the fees to accompany applications relating to MACs, and
• Regarding the fees to accompany applications relating to maritime area usage licences

Maritime Area Consent (Certain Application Fees) Regulations 2023

Previous regulations made by the Minister in 2022[1], which were revoked by the Maritime Area Consent (Certain Application Fees) Regulations 2023[2], specified a flat fee of €25,000 to accompany applications relating to MACs.

The new Regulations specify the following application fees instead, and they allow MARA to waive any of these fees where the applicant is a non-profit entity.

Fee for Section 77(1) declaration

Section 77(1) of the Act allows people to apply to MARA for a declaration as to whether or not a MAC is required to do what they’re proposing in the relevant part of the maritime area. The fee payable on these applications is €1,000.

Fee for MAC grant application

When applying for the grant of a MAC, the amount of the application fee now depends on the projected total cost of the project.

Where the projected total cost is:

• €10 million or less, the application fee is €1,000
• More than €10 million but less than €100 million, the application fee is €10,000
• More than €100 million, the application fee is €25,000

No fee for some applications

The holder of a MAC can apply to MARA to make what it considers to be a non-material amendment to its MAC.

The holder of a MAC can also apply to MARA for the surrender of its MAC.

Under the previous Regulations, either of those applications would have cost €25,000. The fee is zero under the new Regulations.

The Regulations are available at this link: Maritime Area Consent (Certain Application Fees) Regulations 2023

Maritime Area Usage (Licence Fees) Regulations 2023

Schedule 7 of the Act sets out certain maritime area usages that are prohibited without a maritime area usage licence.

The Maritime Area Usage (Licence Fees) Regulations 2023[3] specify the fees to accompany applications relating to maritime area usage licences. MARA can waive any of these fees where the applicant is a non-profit entity.

Fee for Section 115(1) declaration

Section 115(1) of the Act allows people to apply to MARA for a declaration as to whether or not the maritime usage they’re applying for requires a maritime usage licence. The fee for these applications is €500.

Fee for maritime usage licence

The application fee for the grant of a maritime area usage licence is €1,000, together with a refundable amount of €1,000. This will be returned to the applicant if MARA decides that screening for appropriate assessment of the proposed maritime usage is not required.

Other fees

The fee to accompany an application for:

• The assignment of a maritime area usage licence is €500
• The material amendment of a maritime area usage licence is €1,000
• The surrender of a maritime area usage licence is €500

The Regulations are available at this link: Maritime Area Usage (Licence Fees) Regulations 2023

Conclusion

The requirement to pay application fees is not ideal, but the developers of projects that require MACs will at least be happy that there is no longer a flat fee of €25,000 for all applications relating to MACs.

The new fee structure for MAC grant applications, tied to the project’s projected total cost, will not make any difference in practice to the developers of offshore wind farms, because the construction costs will far exceed €100 million.

For other projects requiring MACs, however, the new tiered fee structure is more equitable.

The fact that applications for non-material amendments to a MAC, or to surrender a MAC, will no longer be subject to a €25,000 application fee is to be welcomed, as is the ability for MARA to waive application fees relating to MACs and maritime area usage licences where the applicant is a non-profit entity.

For more information and expert advice, please contact a member of our Energy or Planning & Environment teams.

The content of this article is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute legal or other advice.

People Also Ask

What is a MAC?

MAC stands for maritime area consent. The holder of a MAC is entitled to occupy a specified part of Ireland’s maritime area.

When would I need a MAC?

If you plan to seek development permission for any part of Ireland’s maritime area, for example to construct an offshore wind farm, you need to hold a MAC first.

Who or what is MARA?

MARA stands for the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority. It is a new State agency that was established on 17 July 2023.

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[1] The Maritime Area Consent (Application Fee) Regulations 2022 (S.I. No. 395 of 2022)

[2] S.I. No. 403 of 2023

[3] 2023 S.I. No. 402 of 2023