Mr. David McGarry:

The key thing to answer that is to make sure that the port puts in place the base infrastructure and the capacity infrastructure, which really means developing Foynes Island, and putting that in place in the next five years to position for the offshore floating wind turbines that will come from 2028 to 2030 onwards. It is about that initial part of the plan. It is an ongoing work in progress. The plan will take up to €500 million to develop Foynes Island. That is just part one of a longer-term project to capture the wind energy potential.

I will talk just a little bit about the past challenges in the past five years and a couple of things that strike me. One challenge was to continue to work with the State agencies around the Limerick-Foynes road. There was essential work with the agencies, CIÉ in particular, around the development of the rail link. Connectivity and access are key matters for any port. These works are well advanced and well in progress now and are going in the right direction.

Just a couple of years into my chairmanship, we got hit by Covid. We had the two years of Covid to run and operate the port and as is natural with any organisation, things will get delayed and deferred. During Covid, with the assistance of management we kept everybody safe and healthy and kept the port operational for industry.

The other big challenge was to make sure that the port stayed financially sound and solid and to make some critical infrastructure investment, particularly in Foynes. In that regard, a major project that has taken a number of years of planning, design, and getting ready for that sort of large infrastructure was the joining of the east and west jetties. This is a €10 million investment.

It will also drain some land behind the jetty to create more capacity and space for the users of the port. That is another €10 million investment. We have other lands in process that are ready to develop for logistical storage space. Getting that in place in the number of years was the big challenge, but the construction works are happening now, so it has come to fruition. The challenge for the future is to stay focused on trying to do two things. The first is to maintain the trade services for the users of the port, that is, for industry. There is a huge ripple effect to that on the mid-west and the western economy. The massive opportunity for Ireland, not just the west and mid-west is wind and Foynes in particular. It applies to the whole estuary, including Moneypoint, Tarbert and the other key locations that are ideal for infrastructure to enable the offshore wind industry to come to shore. That challenge is my priority through to the end of the year and enabling it to happen will be the board's key objective and challenge for the next five years. It is about grabbing the opportunity that is out there.