Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach might not be aware that, currently, due to the dysfunctional elements with regard to what happens in different Departments and in the context of legislative licensing requirements, the cable layers of the world are laying cables on our seabed, jeopardising the livelihood of the fishermen that he does not want us to discuss. Those fishermen find themselves in the High Court defending their fishing rights over the rights of the cable layers, who have not been instructed by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to lay the cable under the seabed. There is a real conflict here and it is paramount that we discuss this matter fully in order to avoid this happening in the future. I concur with my colleagues. All of us are in favour of renewable and wind energy, and we do not want the lack of scrutiny in this House to be a problem raised in the future.

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