Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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94. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government his views on the current layout of the Community Benefit Fund relating to ORESS 2.1; and his views on whether it ensures that small-scale fishermen groups and fishing community groups can access funding as easily as larger groups. [47170/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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All offshore wind generators developing projects under the Offshore Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (ORESS) are required to make contributions to their respective project Community Benefit Fund. This amounts to very substantial annual funds over its twenty-year life cycle. Such funding is anticipated to facilitate the local community in undertaking long term planned community support initiatives.

All funding from the Community Benefit Fund is to be used for the sustainable environmental, economic, social and cultural well being of the local community. Critically, the Community Benefit Fund will be professionally managed on behalf of the local community and the local Community Benefit Fund Committee will have full responsibility for its funding decisions.

The provisions of ORESS Tonn Nua note that consideration will be given to all funding opportunities for all stakeholders in the Target Local Community which will include, but is not limited to, local fishers, seafood culture, tourism, and maritime heritage. All funding decisions by the Community Benefit Fund Committee will be based on the substance and credibility of each application on its own strengths.

My Department is committed to ongoing engagement with the fishing sector, under Ireland's plan-led approach to ORE development. The Seafood / ORE Working Group provides a forum to facilitate constructive engagement on the interaction of the seafood and ORE industries.