Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have previously put on record my view that Cork can be a world leader in this area because of the depth of the harbour and the potential for bigger projects, including floating offshore wind projects, to be located there.

The Minister spoke earlier about resourcing of An Bord Pleanála, the CRU and EirGrid. The Maritime Area Regulatory Authority is going to be vitally important in ensuring that we get the benefits in this regard. Does the Minister have a clear plan as to how these bodies are going to be adequately resourced, the number of staff they will need and for how long?

I recently attended at a wind energy conference, Our Offshore Renewable Energy Opportunity – Is Ireland Ready?, at the National Maritime College of Ireland in Cork. One of the points raised was that the seafood working group had not yet been convened. That was in February. Can the Minister indicate whether that working group has been convened, particularly as we need to avoid conflicts with those who are already using the sea in those areas?

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