Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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73.To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment when the next designated marine area plan will be announced; if the cross-Government taskforce on offshore wind energy has recommended a specific Irish port or ports to service future offshore wind energy; his plans to ensure that Irish ports are sufficiently developed to carry out this work and in a timely manner; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31281/24]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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My Department is now Ireland’s competent Authority for Maritime Spatial Planning, which includes responsibility for the assessment and designation of Public Bodies as Competent Authorities for forward planning in Ireland’s maritime area. It is important to note, notwithstanding the Government’s priority to accelerate the establishment of Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) via associated ORE DMAPs, the DMAP process itself is not exclusive to ORE development. I anticipate that DMAPs for other purposes, including, for example, conservation, telecommunications, and interconnection will also be developed.

In terms of DMAPs for ORE, I expect that a draft ORE roadmap for further DMAPs will be published in Q4 of this year, with the location and timing of these plans to be determined by the evolution of energy and climate policy, and decarbonisation objectives.

Supporting the development of ports infrastructure is a core objective of the National Offshore Wind Delivery Taskforce and of the Department of Transport. The Government published a policy statement in 2021 on the facilitation of offshore renewable energy by commercial ports in Ireland. This policy statement emphasises the importance of port facilities in Ireland for ORE developments and encourages all ports to actively engage with potential development opportunities. The policy statement also confirmed that eligible ports under the EU's Trans-European Network for Transport (TEN-T) can apply for funding for ORE related port infrastructure under the EU's Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) funding. In addition, the Department of Transport has established an ORE Ports Co-Ordination Group to facilitate consistent engagement with key stakeholders on ports’ progress with their ORE projects. The group meets on a quarterly basis and not only allows for ports to engage directly with the Department of Transport but other key government Departments relevant to the delivery of ORE.