Mr. Peter Coyle:

I thank the Chairman and members of the committee for inviting the MRIA to appear before the committee and engage with it on this Bill. We represent all of the wave and tidal energy interests on the island of Ireland. We are a very unusual body because we represent North and South; the Irish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive are represented on our council in an observer capacity.

The first thing for us to appreciate is the extraordinary gift given to us by nature with the world's most energy intensive waves occurring off the west coast. We also have extensive wind resources on land and offshore but we do not deal with that industry. The bulk of our tidal resource is off the north east coast, County Antrim, where 400 MW, which represents 7% of the total installed capacity in the Republic of Ireland, to generate electricity has been consented by the Crown estate in two separate projects. Three of the four promoters involved transact from the Republic, including Bord Gáis. These potentially job rich developments would not be possible in this jurisdiction because the enabling legal framework has not existed. What is there is totally unsuitable and the framework will not exist until this Bill becomes law.

A study commissioned by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland in the Republic, and Invest Northern Ireland in the North, suggested that as many as 60,000 new jobs could be created in this industry by 2030. Even at this early stage of the industry's emergence 250 people are employed on the island of Orkney in Scotland, where the European marine energy test centre is located. There is effectively full employment there between oil, gas and particularly ocean energy in recent times.

We welcome the Bill because we see it as one key to unlocking the job potential of ocean energy. One of our key messages is that, following due parliamentary process and scrutiny, it is vital that this Bill be given priority and pass into law in 2014. This is so for all sorts of reasons, first, to give the world a positive signal that Ireland is open for business in this industry. It has been regarded as closed for business because of the lack of enabling legislation and other factors. Various projects are waiting in the wings to go ahead once the Bill becomes law. Timescales in the energy industry are very long so delays have a huge effect.

What does all of this mean for the environment? We support a plan-led approach in this area. We do not want to see random developments. The approach taken by this Bill, and the view of our association, is that everything should progress in keeping with Our Ocean Wealth, the policy document published by the Government a year or so ago. This provides an overarching policy document and framework for the marine. There has been no significant environmental impact arising from wave and tidal experimental devices in the water in Scotland, which is the leading wave and tidal location even though it has a lesser wave resource than Ireland because it has given top political priority to winning the jobs prize, and it is an enormous prize, in ocean energy. Numerous devices have been in use for many years off Scotland.

Several array projects have been given consent after thorough investigation but we are not complacent. This is a new technology. It is in the sea and the environment is a very sensitive issue so every project must be thoroughly investigated. The purpose of a robust consenting system is to allow the most rigorous investigations to be made in a consistent manner, overseen by an appropriate authority. We believe that this bill provides that. To give a practical example of environmental impact, the first ocean energy device to be connected to the grid three years ago was SeaGen in Strangford Lough. If any of the committee members have visited Strangford they will have seen it sitting out there in the middle of the Lough. It is not the prettiest sight in the world but it is an early experimental device. Almost all modern tidal devices are beneath the surface. One cannot actually see them. This device is monitored morning, noon and night, 365 days a year, by independent observers and there is no known impact on wildlife although there is quite a large seal population in the area. In visual terms, most wave energy devices could be located 10 km offshore, over the horizon, while those located near the shore will be either at the surface or beneath the surface and will not be visible.

We are very encouraged by the detail revealed so far in the Bill about the criteria which would enable, or not, applicants to proceed and put developments for ocean energy into the sea, for example, it requires that applicants must demonstrate their financial strength and their technical capacity to deliver projects, and so on, all of which is important to avoid land grabs. We have strongly advocated that marine renewables projects should be treated as strategic infrastructure and this is addressed in the Bill. Wave and tidal energy is capital intensive. It meets consumer needs from sustainable resources. It is in line with EU policy and will give us energy security. Ireland is one of the least energy secure countries in western Europe despite her extraordinary natural resources. The MRIA believes that the only practical and appropriate way forward is to treat all marine renewables projects as strategic and that An Bord Pleanála is the only body with the authority and ability to develop and attract appropriate resources and to act as the consenting authority. Overall, we think this is a vital bill and urge upon the Oireachtas the need to give it priority. I know that it is very dry and technical legislation but it is of critical importance to developing this industry and to job creation. We believe that the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government has done a good job on this Bill so far and commend it to the committee.