On 29th April 2026, Mr. Timmy Dooley TD, Minister of State for Climate, Energy and the Environment signed Statutory Instrument S.I. 192/2026, Maritime Area Planning (Emergency Works) Regulations. These Regulations specify relevant works to which section 98 of the Maritime Area Planning Act 2021 applies. Section 98 is intended to ensure that works required in an emergency situation are not hindered by the requirement to seek a Maritime Usage Licence (MUL) before the works can take place.
The emergency works specified in the regulations are:
- underwater telecommunications and energy cables, where there is a risk to security, connectivity, or energy supply to the State or any other State if the required works are not carried out as a matter of urgency.
- infrastructure within the jurisdiction of a port or harbour where there is a threat to life or property or a risk of immediate collapse or where a collapse has taken place. The infrastructure includes river walls, breakwaters, training walls, finger, extensions, quay walls, jetties, wharfs, quays, piers, piles and anything capable of mooring a vessel.
Any such works must be finite and ascertainable, and the work done must be the minimum required to remove the risk.
While the regulations remove the requirement for a MAC in the completing of the specified emergency works, they also place an onus on the owner or operator of the infrastructure to notify MARA within five days of the works having been carried out. This is to ensure that MARA retains comprehensive information on activities taking place in the State’s maritime area.
Laura Brien, CEO of the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority, speaking of the significance of the new regulations said “The introduction of these regulations supports a more responsive and proportionate approach to emergency works. It provides certainty for cable owners and operators and ensures that critical works can proceed in a timely manner, while upholding appropriate standards and protections.”
S.I. 192/2026, Maritime Area Planning (Emergency Works) Regulations