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Guidance on how Key Performance Indicators can be used to evaluate effectiveness of Strategic Environmental Assessment.

Year: 2024

This guidance explains how to determine the status of each KPI and how to find the relevant information. It also presents the current status (i.e. baseline) of each KPI, based on 20 case studies, and provides a good practice example. The intention is that, over time, SEA effectiveness in Ireland will continue to improve through better practice relating to these KPIs.

SEA Spatial Information Sources Inventory

EPA Spatial Data Inventory, May 2024

Year: 2024

This inventory of spatial information sources can be used to help in preparing SEA Environmental Reports and the associated environmental assessments with up to date environmental information. Data sources/links include air quality, climate, biodiversity, flora, fauna, geology, soils, hydrology and water quality. This inventory was last updated in April 2024 and may not be exhaustive. (See Disclaimer below for terms of use).

Guidance Note on public participation in SEA

Year: 2024

This guidance note aims to improve the general public’s engagement in strategic environmental assessment (SEA) practice in Ireland. It outlines principles and makes recommendations to ensure that the public are meaningfully informed and consulted during SEA processes, and that any feedback is appropriately integrated into the SEA environmental report and the associated plan/programme. The guidance note is based on a review of international best practice; extensive consultation with SEA practitioners, plan-makers and public participation experts; and lessons learned from a good practice case study piloting novel approaches to public engagement in SEA consultation. These recommendations are transferable to other jurisdictions.

SEA of local authority Land Use Plans - EPA recommendations and resources

Year: 2024

This document forms part of submissions we make on local authority land-use plans undergoing strategic environmental assessments (SEA). It includes: key environmental recommendations to consider; information on recently published relevant EPA reports; links to useful environmental resources for local authorities carrying out SEA of land-use plans. It is updated regularly and was last updated on 04 October 2024.

March 2024 Progress update for the SEA Action Plan 2021-2025

SEA Action Plan 2021-2025 Progress Update - March 2024

Year: 2024

The EPA, in association with the other SEA environmental authorities, carried out a review of the progress made to date in the delivery of the various actions and recommendations in the SEA Action Plan 2021-2025.

SEA Pack

Year: 2024

We have compiled this 'pack' to help planning authorities when carrying out strategic environmental assessments (SEAs). It is based on our experience to date, as a statutory SEA Environmental Authority under the SEA Regulations. It takes account of current 'best' practice in the SEA process. We update this pack regularly and we also refer to it during SEA Scoping consultations. It has been last updated in January 2024.

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Good practice guidance on Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Landscape

Year: 2023

This document aims to provide guidance and ideas on how to take landscape considerations into account when carrying out strategic environmental assessments (SEA) of plans and programmes in Ireland.

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Good practice guidance on SEA for the Tourism Sector

Year: 2023

This guidance note aims to provide guidance and ideas on how to carry out strategic environmental assessments (SEA) of tourism sectoral plans and programmes in Ireland.

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Guidance on SEA Statements and Monitoring

Year: 2023

This report is an update of the previous stand-alone guidance document on SEA Statements and monitoring, prepared as part of the EPA-funded project Second Review of SEA Effectiveness in Ireland (González et al., 2020). It is specific to the Irish context but has wider international applicability. The monitoring recommendations include guidance on indicators to facilitate a more consistent and coherent approach at this SEA stage. The updates relate to clarifying some SEA monitoring requirements and to acknowledge the published revised national SEA Guidelines and the Development Plan Guidelines for Planning authorities, both published by the DHLGH in 2022.

Good Practice Guidance Water

Good Practice Guidance Note on SEA in Water Sector

Year: 2022

This guidance note aims to provide good practice guidance and ideas on how to carry out strategic environmental assessment (SEA) of water sector plans in Ireland.

SEA Screening Good Practice

SEA Screening Good Practice 2021

Year: 2021

Good Practice Guidance for Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Screening, which provides specific stand-alone guidance to assist plan/programme makers and SEA practitioners. The Guidance Note is focused primarily on plans/programmes in the non-land use sector in Ireland. It includes an elaboration of the steps needed for screening, the legislative landscape underpinning SEA screening, and step-by-step process and templates to assist in preparing the required documentation.

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SEA Process Flow

Year: 2021

Good practice note on SEA for the Energy Sector cover

Good practice note on SEA for the Energy Sector

Year: 2021

This note provides good practice guidance on how to carry out strategic environmental assessment (SEA) of energy strategies/plans. It does not constitute statutory guidance and is intended to promote a good practice approach to the application of SEA in the energy sector.

SEA Action Plan 2021 - 2025 cover

SEA Action Plan 2021 - 2025

Year: 2021

Through the National SEA Forum the SEA statutory environmental authorities in Ireland have jointly developed an SEA Action Plan to implement the key priority recommendations of the second SEA Effectiveness Review. The implementation of this Action Plan will be dependent on a shared responsibility in delivering the key priority recommendations.

SEA Action Plan 2018-2020 - Progress Update 2021 cover

SEA Action Plan 2018-2020 - Progress Update 2021

Year: 2021

The EPA, in association with the other SEA environmental authorities, carried out a review of the progress made to date in the delivery of the various actions and recommendations in the 'SEA Effectiveness Review in Ireland Action Plan 2018–2020'. This Progress Update summarises the findings of this review.

Second SEA Effectiveness Review Training Event Summary

Year: 2020

This document provides a summary of the second SEA Effectiveness Review training event, held in Portlaoise on the 3rd March 2020. It captures some of the knowledge of the participants and some of the learning outcomes from the event, to assist further shared learning.

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Good practice guidance on Cumulative Effects Assessment in SEA

Year: 2020

Cumulative effects result from a combination of individual effects on a receptor. They can occur as a result of plans, programmes, projects and other actions in the past, present and the reasonably foreseeable future. They can result from impacts that may be individually insignificant, but collectively significant. Cumulative effects assessment (CEA) is the process of identifying, assessing and mitigating cumulative effects.

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Second Review of SEA Effectiveness in Ireland

Year: 2020

The key findings and recommendations from the second review of SEA effectiveness in Ireland are presented in this report. Recommendations are included to address issues relating to guidance, training & awareness, data collection, provision & sharing and governance and legislation.

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Integrating Climatic Factors into Strategic Environmental Assessment in Ireland - A Guidance Note

Year: 2019

This document is a good practice note on how to practically incorporate climatic factors into plans and programmes, which come under the scope of the SEA Directive. It provides updated climate-related information and supersedes an earlier version published in 2015. It also acknowledges recent plan and programme-related developments that have occurred since then.

Environmental Sensitivity Mapping (ESM) - User Manual

Year: 2019

The ESM Webtool is designed to facilitate multiple data interaction. Its purpose is to enable geographical exploration of environmental considerations onshore, and to combine relevant environmental datasets to produce environmental sensitivity maps in support of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA).

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