Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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My instincts tell me they should be on both. We should look to develop in both waters because they have different characteristics. Under phase 2 of its DMAP, where we are going off the Waterford-Wexford coast is quite advanced in that the waters are probably deeper than those where any existing fixed-bottom offshore wind farm has been built to date. We are already heading into cutting-edge developments in terms of how to apply this technology in a deeper, windier and, therefore, more hostile environment. We can and will learn from what is happening in the UK and France.

This does not mean that Shannon Foynes is not already involved. One of the projects under phase 1 is the Sceirde Rocks wind farm off the west coast of Connemara. I expect it will be served from Shannon Foynes Port, and many of the skills and capabilities involved in the wind farm’s deployment will build up the skills and capabilities we can use in further iterations.