Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I welcome this framework. It is an important document, and it is important that we start to create a consistent approach. I would be interested to get a few benchmarks as to where we are at. We have had a number of approved offshore energy projects. What is Mr. Tobin's estimate of the likely Irish content in the supply chain in that first wave, and what is the Department's target for an Irish supply content? Could Mr. Tobin give us a breakdown of what the areas will be where we plan to grow or impact in the supply chain? There are lots of different elements, from fitting and maintenance to consultancy and design. Where does Mr. Tobin see the big wins, and could he quantify them in terms of employment or cash? It would be very useful to get an understanding.

Second, with regard to the clusters that the Department plans, has it been able to identify at this point the number of clusters? Will we have a cluster for the south for the first DMAP that comes in? Does the Department have a port in mind? Are these clusters going to be built around ports? Where is the pre-planning for that first DMAP, which will presumably be succeeded by the other DMAPs? I think it is really important that if we are going to go down this route, we have our ducks in a line.

Going to the issue of optimal use and what Deputy Stanton was talking about, Mr. Tobin said that reliability of power in the medium to long term is critical to long-term decisions by the FDI sector, which has a huge stake in cloud-based investments. What is the impact of the de facto moratorium in Dublin on that at present? I get the impression that there is continuing unease out there that we have not yet got CRU, Eirgrid and the Department - those pieces - aligned. I recognise there is a balance. We have to maintain security of supply but we also need to give a line of sight. Do we have that line of sight for the Department's very substantial number of companies - mainly IDA but not exclusively - that are the key investors we need to sustain if we want to have what I presume is the optimal use? It is better to use this huge power potential domestically than sending it out on an interconnector, or putting it in to hydrogen or some of these other secondary uses. That is a real concern.

Given the Department's projection of domestic demand and the roll-out of offshore renewables and others, at what point will we be moving into a significant export potential? When will domestic demand be sort of satiated by our investment plan? Will that be in 2030? Will it be sooner or later? Again, looking at the downstream, the hydrogens and so on, this seems to be a fairly crucial issue.