Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Our energy security, however, is not where it needs to be, and much of that is down to the manner in which these projects are delivered. If we look at the potential we have for offshore, a supposed planning authority is being put in place to deal with those applications but, again, our ambition, as great as some might believe it to be, is far behind what it could be and what it could deliver for this economy, to the tune of €300 billion by 2050, which is the size of the economy today. The International Financial Services Centre was probably the quickest and most efficient delivery in decades because the Dublin Docklands Development Authority was put in place to deliver that service and catalyst for the economy, and it was delivered on time. That has not been repeated since. I accept it ended badly, but it achieved what it had set out to do. Had it been left to the authorities that were in place at the time, it might still be going on.