David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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15. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to report on developments pertaining to the Powering Prosperity strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30285/24]

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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It seems the Opposition has abandoned the Dáil, which is strange. When we were in opposition, we never gave up and always had someone here. That is another story.

With respect to Powering Prosperity, does he agree that it depends on infrastructure and on having ports with planning permission that are able to expand? That needs money. For example, the Port of Cork needs to expand but cannot do so because it does not have the finance.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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We have had a lot of discussion on Powering Prosperity to date and I welcome the Dáil’s interest in it. I acknowledge the Deputy’s work in this space through the joint Oireachtas committee. In terms of infrastructure, that is obviously a matter for the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, but we will continue to work closely with it to ensure that infrastructure is in place. Powering Prosperity is focused on ensuring that we maximise the opportunities that are available to Irish businesses, whether small, medium or large, and maximise the opportunities available to the regions in particular.

In our Department, we are working very closely with the agencies and companies. We have just finished a joint event with Scotland, which the Minister, Deputy Burke, hosted in Cork on 12 and 13 June. We had officials and Ministers of the Scottish Government, including Scotland's Minister for Climate Action, looking to work and co-operate with us based on their successes to date, and with them also looking at our successes, particularly with regard to onshore.

We have 40 actions to be implemented this year and next year through the Powering Prosperity plan and they are all on schedule and on target. As we said earlier, we are focused on getting a testbed established off the west coast to see if we can get that technology suited and developed to ensure we maximise the offshore opportunities that are provided on the west coast.

I am very aware of the concerns around infrastructure. As I committed earlier to Deputy O'Rourke, I will come back with an update on the infrastructure position and I will include Deputy Stanton in that correspondence.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Powering Prosperity is a fantastic policy document and I commended the Minister on it when he was before the Oireachtas committee last week, as well as the people who put it together. However, it is going to be diluted unless the port infrastructure is expanded. Without having a place to do a thing, you cannot do the thing. We cannot assemble the turbines, maintain them or service them if we do not have a place to assemble them in the first place. I understand that Cork is the only place where there is planning permission. It needs funding and it needs to expand, and a decision has to be made urgently on this. Will the Minister of State look at the shared island fund, for instance, to enable that to happen?

The other issue I raised last week with the Minister, Deputy Burke, was the fact that the port is also looking to expand onto some IDA property that is adjacent to the port facility in Ringaskiddy. I understand the port has spoken with the IDA but it needs political support and encouragement. I ask the Minister of State to ensure that Powering Prosperity benefits from maximum capacity and that we also examine making available IDA lands, perhaps on a long lease basis, so the port can do that as well.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I endorse everything the Deputy has said with regard to the Port of Cork. It has applied for funding under the 2023 call on the EU's Connecting Europe Facility fund. The Department of Transport worked closely with it on that application. That would give it up to 30% of the cost of infrastructure investment works in this space. A decision on that will be announced this month. We will continue, through the offshore wind delivery task force and our colleagues in the Department of Transport and the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, to engage with the Port of Cork to ensure the resources it has in place will be maximised. I have no doubt that the Minister, Deputy Burke, has engaged with the IDA on the other proposal.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for that positive response and encourage him to continue in that vein. Is he aware of the potential for the shared island fund to be used in conjunction with Cork and Belfast to maximise the development of infrastructure? Will he commit to going to the Department of the Taoiseach to support that initiative in order to maximise Powering Prosperity? This is what we want. We want the jobs and the technology to be here in Ireland, not elsewhere. We need the infrastructure on-site and on land. Cork has the only planning permission in place but it will run out next year, so there is an imperative to move quickly on this. It is serious. Will the Minister of State commit to working on the shared island fund with the Department of the Taoiseach to see if there is the potential to get money urgently? Some 30% will not be enough and it is also very slow.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I am more than happy to pursue this. The shared island fund has invested significantly in infrastructure. Indeed, I took part in an event with the Cork, Dublin and Belfast chambers of commerce a few weeks ago on the potential to develop all-island projects now that the institutions are up and running. That is definitely one I will pursue. I would also point out that the Port of Cork has communicated to the Department of Transport that it will be beginning construction of the Ringaskiddy east permitted development in quarter 3 of this year, and it intends to have it completed by October 2025. It is beginning development, which is to be commended.

With regard to the shared island fund, I will revert to the Deputy. It is a solid proposal.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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Deputy David Stanton benefited from a mistake. I understand Deputy Flaherty was substituting for another Deputy on Question No. 14, so we will take that question now.