David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his response. Obviously, there is enormous potential here from the point of view having an almost unlimited supply of energy - and renewable energy at that - for the country. That energy is badly needed. Also, there is the potential relating to job creation and the economy.

Is the Minister of State aware that we need to have a place where the work relating to this matter can be done? I refer to the assembly of turbines, the carrying out of maintenance so on. At the moment, there is no such place available in the Republic. The Minister of State will be aware that the Doyle Shipping Group in Cork has pulled out of this arrangement. It has a dockyard in Cork and it was going to assemble some of the material needed. There is planning permission in place in respect of the Port of Cork, but the latter does not have the finance to allow it to expand. This has come up at the interdepartmental working group. I put it to the Minister that all of the ambition, which is laudable and praiseworthy, outlined in Powering Prosperity – Ireland’s Offshore Wind Industrial Strategy cannot come to fruition unless we have a physical base at which it can happen. Without that, we will be towing turbines in from abroad. In addition, all of the jobs involved could go to the other side of the Irish Sea or across to France.

See this speech in context