Acronym & Phrase Library

Welcome to the MARA Library of Acronyms and Phrases. In the below listing we have included some of the most commonly used acronyms and phrases that you may come across when visiting the MARA website.

This library will be updated and reviewed on an ongoing basis.

ACRONYM
TITLE/PHRASE
DETAILS
AA
Appropriate Assessment
The assessment that is required by the Birds and Habitats Directives to determine the potential effect of a project or plan on a Special Protected Area or Special Area of Conservation with respect to their qualifying interests.
ABP
An Bórd Pleanála
An Bord Pleanála is Ireland’s national independent planning body that decides appeals on planning decisions made by local authorities as well as direct applications.
AIE
Access to Information on the Environment
The European Communities (Access to Information on the Environment) Regulations 2007 to 2014 (S.I. No. 133 of 2007, S.I. No. 662 of 2011, S.I. 615 of 2014 and S.I. 309 of 2018) (hereafter referred to as the AIE Regulations), give legal rights to those seeking to access information on the environment from public authorities.
Under these regulations, information relating to the environment held by, or for, a public authority must be made available on request, subject to certain exceptions. The AIE regulations also oblige public authorities to be proactive in disseminating environmental information to the public.
 
Aquaculture
Aquaculture is breeding, raising, and harvesting fish, shellfish, and aquatic plants. Basically, it’s farming in water.
ARD
Assessment, Research and Data
 
BEP
Best Environmental Practice
The most appropriate combination of environmental control measures and strategies.
CA
Competent Authority
A competent authority is any person or organization that has the legally delegated or invested authority, capacity, or power to perform a designated function.
CBF
Community Benefit Fund
 
CCS
Carbon Capture and Storage  
CCS involves capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) at emission sources, transporting and then storing or burying it in a suitable deep, underground location. CCS can also mean the removal of CO2 directly or indirectly from the atmosphere.
CER
Compliance, Enforcement & Revenue Collection
 
CIL
Commissioner of Irish Lights
The Commissioners of Irish Lights, often shortened to Irish Lights or CIL, is the body that serves as the general lighthouse authority for Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and their adjacent seas and islands.
CMRC
Costal & Marine Research Centre
 
CNG
Compressed Natural Gas   
 
CPA
Costal Planning Authority
 
CS
Continental shelf
Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) the continental shelf is that part of the seabed over which a coastal State exercises sovereign rights with regard to the exploration and exploitation of natural resources including petroleum deposits as well as other minerals and biological resources of the seabed. The legal continental shelf (consisting of the shelf, the slope and the rise) extends out to a distance of 200 nautical miles from the coastline, or further if the shelf naturally extends beyond that limit (as it does in Ireland’s case).
DaS
Dumping at Sea
 
DBEI
Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation
 
DEASP
Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection
 
DECC
Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications
 
DEHLG
Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government
 
DES
Department of Education and Skills 
 
DETE
Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment
 
DFAT
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
 
DFHERIS
Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science
 
Dfin
Department of Finance   
 
DG
Director General    
 
DHLGH
Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage
 
DMAP
Designated Maritime Area Plan
 
DNZ
Domestic Net Zero
 
DoD
Department of Defence
 
DoH
Department of Health   
 
DoT
Department of the Taoiseach  
 
DPENDR
Department of Public Expenditure and Reform
 
DPO
Data Protection Officer
 
DRCD
Department of Rural and Community Development
 
DREDGING
Dredging
The removal of material from the sea bed, for a variety of purposes, including the clearing of channels for navigation, or the extraction of minerals.
DTCAGSM
Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
 
EC
European Commission
The European Commission is the primary executive arm of the European Union. It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission headed by a President. It includes an administrative body of about 32,000 European civil servants.
ECC
Export Cable Corridor
 
EcIA
Ecological Impact Assessment
 
 
Ecosystem
A biological community of interacting organisms (plants, animals and microbes) and their physical environment (OSPAR definition).
 
Ecosystem approach
The comprehensive integrated management of human activities based on the best available scientific knowledge about the ecosystem and its dynamics, in order to identify and take action on influences, which are critical to the health of marine ecosystems, thereby achieving sustainable use of ecosystem goods and services and maintenance of ecosystem integrity (OSPAR definition)
 
Ecosystem functioning
How plants, animals, microorganisms and the non-living environment that make up the ecosystem work together
 
Ecosystem services
Processes by which the environment produces resources utilised by humans, such as clean air, water, food and materials
EEZ
Exclusive Economic Zone
An “exclusive economic zone,” or “EEZ” is an area of the ocean, generally extending 200 nautical miles (230 miles) beyond a nation’s territorial sea, within which a coastal nation has jurisdiction over both living and nonliving resources.
EI
Enterprise Ireland    
Enterprise Ireland is an Irish state economic development agency focused on helping Irish-owned business deliver new export sales. The aim of Enterprise Ireland is to help Irish enterprises to “start, grow, innovate and win export sales in global markets.
EIA
Environmental Impact Assessment
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is the process of examining the anticipated environmental effects of a proposed project – from consideration of environmental effects at design stage, through consultation and preparation of an Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIAR), evaluation of the EIAR by a competent authority and the subsequent decision as to whether the project should be permitted to proceed.
EIAR
Environmental Impact Assessment Report
 
EMAS
Eco-Management and Audit Scheme  
 
EMEC
European Marine Energy Centre
The European Marine Energy Centre Ltd. is a UKAS accredited test and research centre focused on wave and tidal power development, based in the Orkney Islands, UK. The centre provides developers with the opportunity to test full-scale grid-connected prototype devices in wave and tidal conditions.
EPA
Environmental Protection Agency   
 
ESB
Electricity Supply Board   
 
ESBN
Electricity Supply Board Networks  
 
EU
European Union
 
 
EU Birds Directive
EU Directive 79/409/ EEC on the Conservation of Wild Birds, as amended.
 
EU Habitats Directive
EU Directive 92/43/ EEC on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Flora and Fauna, as amended
 
EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD)
EU Directive 2008/56/ EC on establishing a framework for community action in the field of marine environmental policy, known as the Marine Strategy Framework Directive.
FIL
Foreshore Investigation Licence
 
FLiDAR
Floating Light Detecting and Ranging
 
FLS
Floating LiDAR System
 
FOI
Freedom of Information
 
Foreshore
Foreshore
Foreshore is the land and seabed between the high water of ordinary or medium tides (shown HWM on Ordnance Survey Maps) and the twelve-mile limit (twelve nautical miles is approximately 22.24 kilometres).
GDPR
General Data Protection Regulations
The General Data Protection Regulation is a European Union regulation on information privacy in the European Union and the European Economic Area. The GDPR is an important component of EU privacy law and human rights law, in particular Article 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
GIS
Geographical Information System
 
GSI
Geological Survey Ireland   
 
 
Harmful algal blooms:
Concentrations of phytoplankton producing toxins which can affect human health, oxygen levels in water and which can kill or harm fish and other vertebrate and invertebrates
 
High Seas
The seas that are not controlled by any country
IMDO
Irish Maritime Development Office  
The Irish Maritime Development Office provides the Irish & international shipping industry with quarterly updates on market news, developments, performance & conditions.
IMIN
Irish Marine Industry Network  
The Marine Ireland Industry Network (MIIN) is made up of a diverse array of companies, state organisations, research groups and higher education institutes, working in Ireland’s blue economy. The Network was established in 2016 with the aim of bringing together the many elements of Marine Ireland.
IMO
International Maritime Organisation.
The International Maritime Organization – is the United Nations specialized agency with responsibility for the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine and atmospheric pollution by ships. IMO’s work supports the UN SDGs.​
INFOMAR
Integrated Mapping for the Sustainable Development of Ireland’s Marine Resource
 
 
Integrated Coastal Zone Management
Brings together all those involved in the development, management and use of the coast within a framework that facilitates the integration of their interests and responsibilities. National Marine Planning Framework | Project Ireland 2040
JR
Judicial Review
 
MAC
Maritime Area Consent
 
MAP
Maritime Area Planning Act 2021
 
MAP Act
Maritime Area Planning (MAP) Act 2021
 
MARA
Maritime Area Regulatory Authority
 
MaREI
The Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Energy, Climate and Marine, Environmental Research Centre, University College Cork
MaREI is the SFI Research Centre for Energy, Climate and Marine research and innovation co-ordinated by the Environmental Research Institute (ERI) at University College Cork. The Centre comprises over 220 researchers focusing on defined global challenges such as the Energy Transition, Climate Action and the Blue Economy.
MARPOL
The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships
 
MHWS
Mean High-Water Spring
 
MI
Marine Institute
 
 
Mitigation
Measures designed to avoid, reduce, remedy or offset impacts. These measures can mitigate impacts:
• by Prevention -When a potential impact is prevented by a measure to avoid the possibility of the impact occurring.
• by Reduction -When an impact is lessened.
• by Remedy- When an impact is resolved by a remedial action.
• by Offsetting- When an adverse impact is balanced by a positive impact
MPA
Marine Protected Area
 
MPDM
Marine Planning and Development Management Bill (note that this has been superseded by the Maritime Area Planning Bill
 
MSFD
Marine Strategy Framework Directive
The EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) was put in place to protect the marine ecosystem and biodiversity upon which our health and marine-related economic and social activities depend.
MSL
Mean Sea Level
Mean sea level is an average surface level of one or more among Earth’s coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured.
MSO
Marine Survey Office   
 
MSP
Marine Spatial Planning
A process that brings together multiple users of the ocean to make informed and coordinated decisions about how to use marine resources sustainably. It is a process by which the relevant public authorities analyse and organise human activities in marine areas to achieve ecological, economic and social objectives.
MSP Directive
Marine Spatial Planning Directive
 
MUL
Maritime Usage License
 
MULA
Maritime Usage Licence Application
 
NDP
National Development Plan
 
NECP
National Energy and Climate Plan
 
NESC
National Economic and Social Council
 
NGO
Non-Governmental Organisations
 
NIS
Natura Impact Statement
 
NMCI
National Maritime College of Ireland
 
NMPF
National Marine Planning Framework
 
NPWS
National Parks and Wildlife Service 
 
NRA
Navigation Risk Assessment
 
NS
Naval Service
NSAI
National Standards Authority of Ireland 
 
NSPA
National Strategic Plan for Sustainable Aquaculture
 
OCAC
Oireachtas Climate Action Committee
 
OPW
Office of Public Works
 
ORE
Offshore Renewable Energy
 
OREDP
Offshore Renewable Energy Development Plan
 
ORESS
Offshore Renewable Electricity Support Scheme
 
OSI
Ordinance Survey Ireland
 
OSPAR
OSPAR Commission
The Commission, which manages work under the OSPAR Convention (Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North East Atlantic).  OSPAR is the mechanism by which 15 Governments & the EU cooperate to protect the marine environment of the North-East Atlantic. 
OSPAR started in 1972 with the Oslo Convention against dumping and was broadened to cover land-based sources of marine pollution and the offshore industry by the Paris Convention of 1974. These two conventions were unified, up-dated and extended by the 1992 OSPAR Convention. The new annex on biodiversity and ecosystems was adopted in 1998 to cover non-polluting human activities that can adversely affect the sea.

The fifteen Governments are Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom.

OSPAR is so named because of the original Oslo and Paris Conventions (“OS” for Oslo and “PAR” for Paris).
OWDT
Offshore Wind Delivery Taskforce
The Taskforce is chaired by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, and its membership comprises senior officials from Government Departments and agencies with offshore wind related actions under the Climate Action Plan.
OWE
Offshore Wind Energy
 
OWF
Offshore Wind Farm
 
PDA
Planning & Development Act 2000, as amended
 
PDR
Planning & Development Regulations 2001, as amended
 
PI 2040
Project Ireland 2040
Project Ireland 2040 is the government’s long-term overarching strategy to make Ireland a better country for all and to build a more resilient and sustainable future.
RAMS
Risk Avoidance Method Statements
 
RD&I
Research, Development & Innovation
 
RDP
Rural Development Programme
 
RES
Renewable Energy Source
 
SAC
Special Areas of Conservation
Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) under the EC Directive 92/43/ EEC on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Flora and Fauna
SC-SMAP
South Coast Designated Maritime Area Plan
 
SDGs
Sustainable Development Goals
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations members in 2015, created 17 world Sustainable Development Goals.
SEA
Strategic Environmental Assessment   
Strategic Environmental Assessment is the process by which environmental considerations are required to be fully integrated into the preparation of plans and programmes prior to their final adoption. The objectives of SEA are to provide for a high level of protection of the environment and to promote sustainable development.
SEAI
Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland
 
SEMRU
Socio-Economic Marine Research Unit
Within the Whitaker Institute for Innovation and Societal Change of NUI Galway
SFI
Science Foundation Ireland   
 
SFPA
Sea Fisheries Protection Authority
 
SI
Statutory Instrument
An order, regulation, rule, scheme or bye-law made in exercise of a power conferred by statute.
 
Significant adverse impacts
The identified impacts and their significance in each situation will typically differ dependent on the specifics of individual proposals. However, some general considerations on what might constitute significant adverse impacts will apply. In an overarching policy context, significant adverse impacts may include economic or social impacts on coastal communities, impacts that threaten the achievement of Irish Government targets, impacts that threaten the protection of designated sites, landscapes or historic assets, or impacts that threaten ecosystem resilience, or the achievement of Good Environmental Status (GES). In a key sectoral / activities policy context, significant adverse impacts may include impacts on the integrity and scope or economic viability of an existing or consented activity or potential future activity, including its capacity to provide wider social benefits.
SISAA
Supporting Information for Screening for Appropriate Assessment
 
SMP
Sectoral Marine Plan
 
SMPP
Sectoral Marine Planning Policy
 
SNCB
Statutory nature conservation body
 
SPA
Special Protected Area
 
SPAs
Special Protection Areas under EC Directive 79/409/ EEC on the Conservation of Birds.
 
SPL
Sound Pressure Level
 
SSC
Suspended Sediment Concentration
 
SSS
Side Scan Sonar
Side-scan sonar is the system that provides high-resolution seafloor morphology from both sides of the vessel track.
SSSI
Site of Special Scientific Interest
 
SUP
Single Use Plastics
 
TII
Transport Infrastructure Ireland   
 
UAIA
Underwater Archaeological Impact Assessment
 
UAU
Underwater Archaeology Unit
 
UHRS
Ultra-High resolution seismic
 
UN
United Nations
 
UNCLOS
United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea was adopted in 1982. It lays down a comprehensive regime of law and order in the world’s oceans and seas establishing rules governing all uses of the oceans and their resources.
UNESCO
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
 
USBL
Ultra-Short Baseline
 
UXO
Unexploded Ordnance
 
WFD
Water Framework Directive
Directive 2000/60/ EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy
WWD
Waste Water Discharge