Mr. Glenn Carr:

I can speak to phase 1 and phase 2, because they are the immediate ones. In fairness, for Mr. Keating it will be different phases as they come along. Let us be clear, once the developers have planning permission, they will need to mobilise their supply chain. They will have to have surety of that supply chain. If there is not a port in the Republic of Ireland that is ready, they will go elsewhere. Going elsewhere is not as easy as people might think, because right around Europe and the world every country is increasing its offshore renewable capability. As a result, ports are filling up. However, there are ports that would have capacity. That will have an impact on the supply chain and will involve an additional cost that may not have been factored in. In Rosslare, we know that what we are developing is not just the infrastructure for the construction phases; it is about creating a regional enterprise that supports the industry, including in educational training, fabrication, and where all the jobs are in the heavy construction staging and installation stages. What comes in the operations and maintenance phase is on a much smaller scale, and a lot less is required of the port there.

If we are not ready for 2027, when the mobilisation of the components need to land in a port, rest assured that the opportunity will be lost if Ireland is not ready with ports to cater for that.