Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. It is remarkable that a recent report said that Belfast Port is the only port on the island that has the infrastructure in place to facilitate the construction and maintenance of offshore wind energy generation. For a long time in this House we have talked about the opportunities that lie off our coast, and particularly the west and south coasts, for the generation of wind energy and the export possibilities of that energy to continental Europe, never mind for our own uses here on the island of Ireland.

There really needs to be an emphasis on ensuring we put this infrastructure in place. Many of these ports do not handle a lot of cargo and do not handle a lot of ferry activity, but the opportunity is there for them around offshore wind energy. We really need to see a plan to deliver on this very quickly.

The second part of my question was on Dublin Port, which of course is the main port for a lot of cargo coming into the State. I visited the port in the past couple of weeks and the plans it has in place are very impressive. It is staying within the footprint of the existing port, which is quite limited in space. It is doing everything it can to make sure it uses the space as efficiently as possible. I note some of the criticism from the senior Minister in respect of that and I believe some of it is a little bit beyond what we need to hear at this stage. We need to get on with the business.

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