Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I agree that it is a significant and positive development. The Deputy introduced legislation in this area four years ago. At the same time, almost on the same day, we had similar legislation. There was one variation or difference in that we accepted from the start that in any move of the kind in question, existing authorisations would work through to their conclusions. The Deputy's legislation sought to stop the authorisations at the point of enactment.

One reason for our approach is that the State acts in good faith in terms of abiding by contracts it enters into and meeting expectations. We do not have a stop-start approach to legislation and policy if we have initiated a process. That is important because we are now turning the Department's and State's resources for the issuing of prospecting licences and the regulation of the development of energy at sea towards the development in future years of offshore wind, tidal and wave energy. There are very similar mechanisms of authorisation, prospecting, licensing and planning. We need to provide very complex legal certainty on the environment for the development of that critical resource for us to tackle climate change.

The State has done well in the context of the integration of wind power. One reason for this, according to people in the industry, is that we do not change course. When we have set ourselves on a course, we try to stick to it. That is important because, considering the major investment required for the climate transition, we do not need a stop-start approach. For that reason, among others, we are allowing the existing authorisations to work through to their conclusions. I expect that my commentary will not lead to production but we will have to watch out for that. At the same time, we will have to ramp up the development of offshore wind energy in particular.