Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

I have been to Killybegs a number of times, most recently for the by-election in which the Deputy participated, and I am very aware of the potential for development. The marine resource is underestimated by most. Killybegs Harbour can and will be at the heart of developing a more ambitious fisheries sector, with a particular focus on fish processing. We can do much there to process more fish landed by both Irish and non-Irish trawlers. It is also an obvious base for servicing oil and gas exploration businesses and offshore energy projects which will develop in an ambitious way in the next ten years. There is a platform there on which we can grow a series of industries based on their location around a harbour with the resources Killybegs has available to it and I would like to see this happen. However, any industry we develop there must be complementary to the fisheries business. A number of proposals brought forward have not been complementary. I have an open mind towards sweating the assets we have in a more ambitious way to try to encourage new thinking in Killybegs and other harbours and generate more activity and create employment, but these new activities must complement the existing businesses which have grown in these harbours and, from the perspective of Killybegs Harbour, the fishing industry in particular.

See this speech in context