Mr. Robert McCabe:

I thank the Deputy for his question, which is a broad one. There are some really good signs there. One of the reasons I mentioned, in the short summary, doing things in the context of the national marine planning framework is that I think maritime spatial planning is really important. It is at the heart of everything here as we try to get those shared uses. The marine planning policy statement is out for consultation at the moment. The objectives within that statement are an enabler for what we want to do, which is exactly as the Deputy said. As Mr. Moran mentioned, fishermen want to continue to fish. They do not want to be compensated or anything. They want to fish. That is certainly a strong message they bring to our group. They want to continue with the other seafood uses as well. They want to carry on and develop and meet those food needs.

They are more than content to do that in co-operation with offshore renewable energy and any other matters that may arise on the sea. In the early days of the group much of what we did was bringing people together to understand each other better. We have probably now reached the point where we need to deal with some of those difficult issues. Co-existence and certainly co-location will not always be possible. We need to look at the balance of benefits.

A really good model for that was how what is now the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment ran the south coast DMAP. It was a very good, open, responsive and consultative process. That is the model we need. We need people engaging and talking, and that is what our group brings to it. I often say to people that we are a small but important part of the jigsaw. We are that odd looking piece with four tabs and six little indents on it; we will never fit easily. The overall engagement between all the parts is important.

I would be quite positive about the future. We have seen many positive developments, a number of which the group had an input into although we are not by any means claiming credit for them. I am talking about things like the Maritime Area Planning Act, the establishment of MARA, the first south coast DMAP, the plans for the next DMAPs and the offshore renewable energy options. All of these things are very positive because they show a process. We are all awaiting the outcome from An Coimisiún Pleanála of the first applications because the conditions on them will speak to many of the issues we have raised. As a group, we are awaiting some policy guidance on the overall issues. I am an optimist by nature; anyone who works with the sea is an optimist. Our group can play a real part in the future.

I would be quick to point out that I am not an expert on fishing or on ORE. Those experts are in the room. They are the people directly representing the industry in the room. I know the maritime industry and I know the Irish coast very well. However, I am not the expert. The experts are coming from fishing, aquaculture, ORE, the Departments and the agencies. It has been a privilege to chair the group and there is still really good engagement within the group. That is a sign that we will progress and do some good. I apologise for the long answer.