Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 22 March 2022

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action

Energy - Ambition and Challenge: Discussion (Resumed)

Mr. Mark Foley:

Agreed and I think we are going to start that work this year. To be really clear about one point, it needs to be plan-led. There cannot be a free-for-all from Donegal to Cork. It just will not work. It will be inefficient. Our job, working with the Minister's office, is to come up with a master plan for the west coast. That will then allow developers to play their part in the context of that master plan. It is a top priority for us to start that process this year and to give everybody a voice in what that vision should be. We are going to need those developers but it needs to be in a planned context. It cannot be a free-for-all. It will not work.