Vol. 484 No. 4
47 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources if he will make a statement on his recent speech in Cork where he said that Ireland is to get 5,000 jobs due to revolutionary equipment which will spark a multi-million pound expansion of the oil and gas exploration industries; and the basis, if any, on which he estimates that 5,000 jobs will be created. [22235/97]
The potential to create up to 5,000 jobs in the maritime sector as a whole over the next five years should be set in the context of a recent comprehensive analysis by the Marine Institute of each of the components of the marine sector which has concluded that there is considerable potential for growth right across the marine sector. In that context I have stressed that research and development of innovative products and services in, among other areas, marine technology, offshore exploration, marine food and marine leisure offer particular economic opportunities which will contribute to the overall growth and jobs potential of marine industries in the broadest sense.
