Dr. Margaret Stanley:

We have spoken with almost every Department and with many agencies as well. I cannot list them all out her directly but it is a very wide swathe of Departments and agencies and reflects the nature of the maritime domain. Many different Government agencies and Departments cover aspects of it. For example, our colleagues in the Department of Transport have certain responsibilities to do with ship and port security. An Garda Síochána has a role to play because of the legal jurisdiction in territorial waters. Our colleagues in the Revenue Commissioners have a customs role and drug enforcement responsibilities as well. There are also agencies such as the Commissioners for Irish Lights, the Fisheries Protection Authority, MARA, which works in the maritime planning space, and so on. It is a very complex area and requires seeking a wide swathe of views as well as feedback from stakeholders on what their expectations are and what they hope this strategy could include.