Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have another question on energy security. It is about what constraint it is on the potential to expand and assist the economy in how it meets demand and the potential the State should have to grow its industry, business and commerce. Again, development plans have not lived up to expectation regarding the provision of energy security. We are very curious in taking it from winter to winter. Much has been made of the new sustainable projects but they are not at the pace or rate we would like to see. Offshore energy has the potential to generate €300 billion by 2050. This is the size of the economy today. We could be part of a pan-European project. We could be at the forefront of a pipe rather than at the end of one from Russia.

A marine board has been put in place but it is subject to the same potential delays and logjams in the planning system. Is it not a belief of the ESRI that when we are at a point of crisis and emergency, whether it be about the provision of housing and infrastructure or the provision of energy, we need to restrict the potential for these delays? It all comes back to planning.