The Dublin Regional Authority (DRA) is to seek funds under the National Development Plan 2007-2013 for a complete environmental audit to create a masterplan for Dublin Bay, one of the city's most valuable assets.
The authority will also establish a Dublin Bay Association, which will act as a "stakeholder forum" to co-ordinate developing its recreational amenities and deal with threats such as climate change.
Cllr Dermot Lacey (Labour), the DRA's cathaoirleach, said this initiative offered "a great opportunity to put a bit of order on the bay - a tremendous asset which the city has effectively turned its back on".
The proposed Dublin Bay Association will represent not just the three local authorities - Fingal, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown and Dublin City Council - but others with an interest in the bay.
A report on Dublin Bay commissioned by the DRA is being finalised by A and L Goodbody Consulting to facilitate a policy framework for the proposed association.
The most contentious issue involving the port follows proposals by the Progressive Democrats that it should relocate to Bremore, near Drogheda, leaving port land to be developed.
Ciarán Cuffe TD, Green Party spokesman on the environment, who is holding a conference on Dublin Bay on April 8th, said there was no coherence about what was happening at the bay.
"The bay is a huge resource that we're ignoring. There's a coastal plan in Dún Laoghaire, but we have derelict baths right around the bay, from Clontarf to Blackrock, and also Dún Laoghaire itself."
Meanwhile the Save Our Seafront (SOS) group that campaigned successfully against plans to build an apartment and shopping complex on the site of Dún Laoghaire baths is hosting another conference on the bay on April 1st. It will bring together campaign groups such as Combined Residents Against Incineration from Sandymount and Ringsend, the Save Greystones Harbour campaign and the Clontarf Residents' Association.
