Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I agree that the spend in this area is small. Consideration should be given to moving that spend and the attention of our engineers and so on to the licensing of offshore wind, marine engineering and the international licensing and regulatory environment. These skills could be put to good use in offshore development. We are regularly hearing at the Joint Committee on Climate Action hearings that nothing is happening because a licensing and administrative structural process has not been progressed. The Minister of State is a Galway man. This is going to make the west coast wealthy. Why are we betting all of our money on the old energy rather than the new one?

Will there be a new round of licensing for oil companies in Ireland and, if so, what is the timeline for it?