Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The process must be done first. That relates to another comment Professor Crowe made earlier, which I thought was interesting, about some of the offshore activity, because it is much further away and there is a smaller number of actors. In one sense, that might make the process a little bit easier because there will be fewer people at the table. However, that also means the potential for things going wrong, either accidentally or for other reasons, could be greater. The further away things are and the deeper in the sea they are, the more difficult it is for a wider range of interests. How do we best protect that? This relates somewhat to the previous question, which is that some of it is offshore. Universally, in this committee when we have been raising these issues, we all want the maximum level of renewable offshore energy and we want the maximum possible protection for marine biodiversity and restoration of lost biodiversity. The point is about how we negotiate that. In terms of offshore, is Professor Crowe aware of practice here in Ireland or internationally where they have got some of that right or where they have got some of it wrong and we can learn from their mistakes?