Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

My concern was that it be technology-neutral but not the lowest price. That is important. There is nascent technology out there and if we are to try to become an industry leader or have some capacity to get ahead of the rest, it is really important that we try at this early stage to get some advantage in the offshore space. I accept that it is eight to ten years out but if we look at what has happened in the last ten years, and I am not being politically critical here, very little has happened in terms of turning that dial. There really is capacity to turn the dial if we can capture the offshore wind capability that we know is there. It would be a terrible loss if we failed to take advantage of the opportunity, not just in capturing the energy but in capturing the investment associated with it and the potential run-off jobs that would come from that. This is not going to happen by just getting lucky from an auction. We will have to develop a clear policy ourselves, perhaps separate from the renewable energy piece, which would bring the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment on board as well and would seize an opportunity and would put the supports in place.

It is about more than just meeting our demands for renewable energy. We see a capacity to grow and develop an actual industry here. There is real opportunity given the timeframe and where we are now within the space. We have seen it happen with the manufacture of solar technology in China and the drop in cost of the solar PV cells. They have really come down in price and the same is going to happen with offshore wind as soon as companies reach that critical mass of orders. There is a great opportunity there but we have to have the appropriate policy in place to make it happen.