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

An Bord Pleanála has been more challenging, as we all know. I agree. I keep referring to a reality. I think we have 2,000 people in the Central Bank and 200 in An Bord Pleanála. We are fighting the last war – the financial crash. We need to be fighting the next war, which is decarbonising. For that, An Bord Pleanála needs to scale up. Everyone agrees on the difficulty. Find me 20 marine planning experts tomorrow and I will take them on, if they are good – we all would. I would take on 200. However, they are not that easily available. Even going to international waters to get them is difficult because everyone else is also similarly scaling up.

When I was Minister last, I was proud that in tough financial times we invested in MaREI in Cork and in the school beside the naval base in Haulbowline. We have skills and resources in Cork in terms of training people up, but that constraint is real. However, I do not think it will stop us delivering the three-phase approach I mentioned in the next three years. That will be delivered. It has to be.