Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

I again thank Deputy Carey for raising a matter that has not been to the forefront of my mind which does not mean it is not very important.

I also have great difficulty addressing a House with no Opposition. It is the first time I have ever seen the House without an Opposition. I have taken many lectures on how dedicated Opposition Members are to spending time in the House while the rest of us are working in our offices.

Moneypoint is a dedicated and specific facility built and designed for that purpose but as Deputy Carey indicated, it has many natural advantages. Because the rate of drilling offshore has only been of the order of on average less than two holes per year the demand is limited. As I said, in one case the drilling was serviced from the southern ports and in the other from Killybegs. They have developed some facility in doing so. Foynes is a significant port in its own right. I do not know about the correct mechanism at this time to explore the matter but now that Deputy Carey has raised an important issue in terms of infrastructure to cope with what hopefully will be positive prospects offshore I will certainly examine the matter.

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