Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)

I thank the witnesses for their presentations. I have questions for all three organisations.

I welcome the acknowledgement of the seafood/ORE working group and commend Captain Robert McCabe on his excellent stewardship of the group. Understandably, there are concerns in fishing communities about the impact of offshore renewable energy. Those communities also understand the need for us to move towards energy independence, attain energy security and have affordable energy. We can do all of those things together. I am a strong advocate of co-creation so, rather than telling fisherman where these wind farms are going and asking them for their feedback, they are actually involved in the process. That applies not just to fishermen, but also to people who are involved in the marine environment and have concerns around that. That work is crucial.

Wind Energy Ireland raised the issue of reassurance from Government that there would not be a ban on fishing around operational wind farms. Will the witnesses elaborate on that? My second query is on this issue of permitting fishermen, where their vessels are suitable, to carry out guard duties on offshore renewable energy developments and support safety at sea. I strongly support both those objectives. I want to get a sense of what we, as a committee, can do to advance them.