Rónán Mullen (Independent)

Ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh an Aire. Tacaím go mór leis an rún seo. Is annamh na laethanta seo a bhfeicimid áisínteachtaí Rialtais á mholadh toisc nár chaith siad airgead amú ach a mhalairt, go ndearna siad infheistíocht chiallmhar le hacmhainní agus airgead poiblí. Ar an ócáid seo, ta moladh tuillte. Is léir go mbeidh an teacht ar ais ón infheistíocht sa tionscnamh INFOMAR an-mhaith ar fad. De réir staidéir neamhspleách, tá luach €275 milliún curtha ar an leas a bhainfear as an tionscnamh seo ar fad. Is iontach agus is dearfach an scéal seo.

It is good to see, for a change, a Government agency being praised for sensibly investing public money instead of being criticised for wasting it. An independent study has valued the benefits of the State's marine mapping programme at €275 million. This is more than four times what will be spent completing the programme, which is impressive. This is one of the largest science projects ever undertaken in Ireland and an excellent example of co-operation between State bodies, given that it is jointly managed by the Geological Survey of Ireland and the Marine Institute. It represents a truly impressive return on investment.

I strongly disagree with those who suggest this topic is unworthy of consideration in the House or irrelevant to the great issues that now face the nation. Investment in innovation, research and development is fundamental to Ireland's efforts to address the economic crisis we now face and, more importantly, to generate high quality jobs and provide employment opportunities for a new generation of graduates. When I was in secondary school, I was told that Ireland had no natural resources. The INFOMAR projects kills that myth once and for all.

While the focus of much political attention has been on NAMA and the banking crises, we must not lose sight of the fact that solving the banking crisis on its own will neither restore competitiveness nor create new opportunities for Irish business. We must maintain the integrity of the banking system but all that will do is put us on the same level as countries whose banks did not go mad lending money to highly speculative ventures in a bubble economy. To get ahead of our competitors we must do much more. Recognising that it was only a myth that we do not have significant natural resources, it is right that we should focus on the fact that we have the best wind and wave potential of anywhere else on the planet and a wonderful climate for growing biomass. The exploitation of these natural resources requires investment in research and development and in the people with the skills to undertake this research. The establishment of the Marine Institute and the investment in the INFOMAR project together form a belated recognition of the importance of the sea to Ireland's future economic development.

Ireland is an island nation but, sadly, since the foundation of the State, we have failed to be a maritime nation. We have failed to develop our fishing industry properly despite having a 220 million acre marine resource on our doorstep. We failed to take a strategic approach to the development of the offshore wind energy sector despite having companies in Ireland with the potential to generate more than 2,000 MW of energy from existing resources. That amounts to 40% of Ireland's total energy requirement from green energy sources. If we were to take a strategic approach to the development of our maritime energy resources, I have no doubt that Ireland could become a world leader. According to the National Offshore Wind Energy Association of Ireland, we have the potential to become a centre of excellence in green energy deployment. This opens up a new economic opportunity for our nation, the chance to become a world leader in research, development and demonstration in a technological field that will be central to world economic development in this century. Shell has estimated the value of the renewable energy sector at $1 trillion in the next five years. Ireland can become a leader in this industry in much the same way we have developed technologies for information technology and pharmaceuticals. A centre of excellence in offshore wind technology, perhaps based in one of the third level institutions, would support employment in areas such as turbine design, foundation technology, energy storage, installation, servicing and training.

By involving our third level institutions in the development of this and other renewable sectors we can ensure our economy remains to the forefront of what will be one of the world's fastest growing industries in the 21st century. What IT and pharmaceuticals were to Ireland's economic development in the past, renewable energy can be to our future.

I am pleased to note the Marine Institute is not resting on its laurels but has embarked on another groundbreaking initiative, namely, Smart Bay. This is marine-based research and a test and demonstration platform that will encourage leading edge researchers and industry consortia to collaborate on important commercial and environmental research to develop new products and services to tap into the global market for environmental technologies. The objective is to advance opportunities associated with marine resource development and to enhance our ability to monitor and manage our marine resources. As Dr. Barbara Fogarty of the Marine Institute recently pointed out, this initiative will leverage the existing base of foreign direct investment in Ireland and stimulate new opportunities for collaboration with small and medium enterprises, attract international Framework 7 research projects and funding and contribute to the positioning of Ireland as a major player in emerging markets for innovative and green technologies. I have no doubt this project will generate an impressive rate of return for the taxpayer and, more important, attract international focus on Ireland's maritime research potential.

I am delighted to support the motion. In these dark and dismal days we need not just to knock public sector failures but also to praise public sector successes. In particular, we need to recognise and celebrate the great work now being done by Ireland's research community. Ireland now has top researchers contributing to discoveries in science, engineering and technology. This was recently recognised by the European Union which provided €5 million in funding to help fund talented Irish researchers carry out their research internationally as part of its INSPIRE scheme. The programme allows Irish researchers the exciting opportunity to spend time at a top level research institution of their choice worldwide and then reintegrate back into Ireland, bringing with them the knowledge, skills and networks they have gained during this time abroad. The scheme enhances international collaboration and allows Irish scientists and engineers to be to the fore in global research projects.

I urge my colleagues to look at the list of INSPIRE fellows and the work which they are doing across a broad range of disciplines. Some examples include Dr. Robert Lynch, who studied at the University of Limerick before spending time in Germany working on his postdoctoral research in electrochemistry. Now he is off to the Institute of Physical Chemistry at the Polish Academy of Science, Warsaw, to find out how to cut the cost of producing electrodes for renewable energy devices. Dr. Aisling Redmond has been working at the Royal College of Surgeons on breast cancer. Of the 2,500 women diagnosed with breast cancer every year in Ireland, 30% to 40% develop resistance to treatment and her quest is to identify a marker that can act as a target for drugs. She stated: "With this fellowship I will spend some time working at the Cambridge Cancer Research Institute." At the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland, Dr. David Hoey applied his mechanical engineering skills to see how bone forming cells reacted to loading. Many cells have hairlike cilia on their surface, and Dr. Hoey found that simply bending these could trigger bone formation. The significance of this is that in surgery, repair might be a better option than replacement. At Columbia University in New York, David will work on biomedical engineering.

The brilliance of these young people, pioneers who are a source of pride and whose work must be supported, will drive not only Ireland's economic recovery but also help to create a better world for all of us. I commend both the Government and the European Union on funding the research.

Mar achoimre bheag ar an méid a bhí le rá agam, deirfidh mé gur minic, san am atá thart, a dúirt daoine nach raibh acmhainní nádúrtha againn. Chun an fhírinne a rá, nuair a amharcaimid ar an poitéinseal agus an cumas atá sa tír seo - ó thaobh na tonnta agus na gaoithe de, mar shampla - tá sé soiléir go bhfuilfimid chun tosaigh ar aon tír eile ar domhain. Tá aeráid iontach againn le haghaidh biomass freisin. Caithfimid tabhairt faoi dea-úsáid na n-acmhainní sin chun leas muintir na tíre seo a bhaint amach. Tréaslaím le bunú agus cur chun an Institiúid Muireolaíochta, agus an infheistíocht sa tionscnamh INFOMAR freisin. B'fhéidir go bhfuil sé beagáinín déanach, ach is iontach an rud é go bhfuil an aitheantas caoi á thabhairt do thábhacht na mara anois, ar mhaithe le dul chun cinn eacnamaíocht na hÉireann sa todhchaí. Is trua é nár bhaineamar an leas gur chóir dúinn a bhaint as na n-acmhainní atá timpeall orainn sa mhuir san am atá thart. Is deas an rud é go bhfuil dul chun cinn á dhéanamh anois. Cúpla míó shin, bhí caint faoin tionscnamh "Spirit of Ireland". Ba bhreá liom cloisteáil ón Aire mar gheall ar dearcadh an Rialtas ar an tionscnamh sin. Thug an scéal sin an-dóchas dom ag an am.

I would like to see something exciting, bold and daring that will reflect the importance of producing renewable clean energy and the importance of seeing Ireland jump ahead into a leadership position by doing something dramatic in the area of becoming a net exporter of energy, if that were possible, and clean energy at that.