Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

It is great to hear Mr. McGarry talk about the advancements in the past two to three years. Obviously, we have had this vision for a long time and it is great to be in a position to be able actually to action that and to hear independent observers like him acknowledge that it is important to us. We then have to move on to that next step and look at it at that higher level. We have that clear vision of Shannon Foynes. We know the potential that has existed there. It is a really exciting time for that area to be at the centre of this. It is at the centre of the hydrogen technology in Ireland. We are all saying in our minds that this is where the centre of hydrogen technology and industry is going to be.

I note the cable route and Mr. McGarry referred to this cable channel through the estuary. It is something that will have to be very carefully considered. I was at the wind energy conference and Scotland was mentioned. Where they were developing these offshore arrays, they would land their own cables ashore and connect into the network at various points. The end result was so many cables coming across and this network and mishmash of cables. I think what they moved to is almost a shared cable arrangement where the cables from these arrays would be brought to one centralised point which would bring it onshore. Otherwise, over the terms of all of these developments, you would end up laying more and more cables up the estuary. Is that something that has been looked at? Has it been said that it should be future-proofed and have a 30-year vision of the cable requirement that is going to be in the estuary here?