Mr. Pat Keating:

An application relating to an LNG terminal at Ballylongford is going through the planning process. The application is with An Bord Pleanála. Consent for the project was given. Our role as a port authority is to ensure that we can oversee the traffic to and from the terminal. We have been part of the planning process from a maritime navigation safety point of view. We have looked at it from that perspective, which was positive, but we are not the arbiters of whether or not that project goes ahead. It is within the planning system.

On co-ordination for ORE among the ports, the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, launched the policy statement in December 2021. Some of this is based on natural positioning too. For example, different types of port infrastructure are required. There is marshalling port which is potentially for the construction phase and then there is the operations and maintenance facilities as well. The marshalling port stage requires deep water ports to assist in the construction of the actual wind farm devices to be towed offshore. It is necessary to have deep water port assets or deep water in a harbour. For floating, significant wet-storage areas are required. There are natural advantages, as well as the proximity to the resources offshore where those farms are deemed to go.

The policy is evolving around it. We mentioned DMAPs, MARA and maritime area consents and all that. Much of that is to ensure that the sites are well chosen from an environmental perspective. And this all has to be environmentally sustainable development. Those tests are carried out through those processes, particularly under the planning process which will do most of the environmental investigative-type work for offshore under the new Maritime Area Planning Act. There is a pretty co-ordinated approach to that. A DMAP consultation is ongoing. Sustainable development of port infrastructure and these wind farms is top of the agenda.

Ports are also environmentally sensitive areas and all of us involved in the ports are very conscious of that. The ports need to comply with that policy, and, of course, we will comply with it.