John Carty (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister and the fact that we are debating the Government motion on the national mapping programme, INFOMAR, on the tenth anniversary of its initiation. I thank Senator O'Reilly for his contribution. I am glad he is not opposing the motion. The motion is worth debating because many benefits accrue to this country from the sea and it is important to be aware of them.

We should pay tribute to the people who manned the ships long ago and who did not have accurate maps even to navigate into ports. They had to do so through visual assessment and had to be extra careful where sandbanks were prevalent. They are to be commended. Mapping has always been important in Ireland. We recall the men who mapped our land as well as the sea. This is an island nation and that work was most important. I am very conscious of it because my great, great grandfather was a map maker. He mapped the land, not the sea. I therefore have an interest in this issue from that point of view.

To be parochial, the mapping of my native County Mayo will be very important, especially in light of the gas find off Broadhaven Bay. The Minister will be well aware of that as he has spent a great deal of time in the area in the recent past. The find has caused much controversy but, please God, it will work out. I compliment both the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs on all their efforts in trying to bring a successful conclusion to the events taking place there.

Westport is one of the best tourist towns in the country. There are many marine enterprises there, including yachting, aquaculture and so forth. The mapping programme will be of huge benefit to people there in planning other enterprises to create employment. Employment is the main issue, especially at present, and the mapping programme will give them an incentive to carry out the works they plan. As has been mentioned, wave energy will be important. I believe the west coast of Ireland experiences stronger winds than any other part of the country, so it will be worthwhile to investigate that also.

Consider the benefits of the mapping programme for the different sectors. For fishing, the estimated present value of benefit is €95.404 million, for aquaculture it is €57.816 million, for biodiversity it is €11.118 million, for renewable energy it is €40.026 million and for energy exploration it is €49.309 million. That is only the commercial aspect. One can see it is a huge benefit to the country and I compliment the Marine Institute on the programme and the people who are undertaking the work. The total benefit across the sectors amounts to €275 million.

I support the motion and I am delighted it will not be opposed by the principal Opposition party.