Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

That is in the eye of the beholder. The fact of the matter is that wave and tidal energy is still a twinkle in the research eye of the scientists. That is the first point. The second point is that, yes, we are investing in the research, but if a private company such as Wavebob goes down, it goes down. It is not the job of the State to support private companies. The fact of the matter is that this would be regarded as normal in any other country or in the US, where a company supports a research policy and innovation with a view towards breaking new ground and bringing it to commerciality. In the particular case mentioned by the Deputy, it was not successful. We examined it and we did not think the State should come to the rescue, even if there was a line of funding for that kind of thing. There are others that have been successful in County Louth. I have forgotten the name of the French company that came in and purchased it. Some are successful and some are not successful.

In terms of the point the Deputy made about community involvement, there are very successful examples in this country, such as Tipperary Energy. Some months ago I opened a wind farm in Templederry. Would I be wrong in describing it as a co-op?