Seán Kyne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for the comprehensive response and I welcome that MARA will be operational from next year. It will have a body of work to do on new applications which are made for wind energy. I also welcome that there will be, if I can put it like this, a screening of those projects which are going to be developed and a robust assessment of the potential offshore developments which apply, whereby only the most viable offshore projects will have the opportunity to apply for development permission from An Bord Pleanála. Can the Minister of State provide further information on what statutory role and at what stage will MARA engage in consultation with stakeholders? That is a key part. At what stage also will the developer of the offshore wind project have to engage with communities? Is a list available to the public of the current projects that the Minister will be assessing and making decisions on by the end of this year?