Mr. Stephen Kavanagh:

One of the major issues is manpower in our team. Professor Franki is in Croatia and I am in Wicklow. We need a bigger team. We need money for salaries and experts in the area to help us to establish the first pilot project off the coast. Professor Franki has worked extensively with us on this and is very definite on how things should progress. It is important that we get the nexus between land, coastal waters and the ocean where we want to do the trial right. Site selection is hugely important. Getting licences is another major issue we are facing.

Getting the funding to put a team together to do the project is an issue. This is a major generational project which will go on for a long time. We want to model it so that it can be recreated all over Ireland and the world as an example of how this kind of restoration should proceed. Professor Franki can probably give the Deputy some insight on this as she has worked with large wind operators in the US where this has happened. She might give her some insights about what is necessary for this project to go ahead.