Mr. Declan Hughes:

The Deputy asked about a range of what might be called natural resource issues. I certainly welcome his questions because it is an area we are extremely focused on as we look to 2030 and 2050. There are significant drivers on the regulatory and the policy side relating to climate change and the technologies in the market have developed quite markedly. There has been aggressive investment across Europe and internationally in the area of hydrogen and green hydrogen. Some of our main trading partners are looking at the opportunities for energy security and carbon reduction there.

We see the potential for an additional 5 GW of offshore wind energy by 2030. We will probably be able to export some of that through interconnectors. The significant opportunity for us is generating green hydrogen from electrolysers. In the future, possibly by the end of this decade, this will present a significant opportunity to the transport sectors, replacing or as a supplement to fossil fuel and gas. It also has potential for electricity generation and as a heat source. Some of that is a little bit in the future and there are some technical challenges. Certainly, where significant heat is needed, for example in cement and construction, there may be opportunities as well.

Obviously, the key is getting the regulatory authority in place and the legislation through. The Maritime Area Planning Bill is going through the Oireachtas at the moment. When that is complete, we can open up for further applications particularly on the west coast. New technologies, such as offshore floating wind, may have potential in the Shannon Estuary, the south east etc. Other parts of the country will also be well positioned for those. We have a supply chain in offshore wind and the renewables area which can pivot and develop into the hydrogen space in addition to early adoption. In budget 2022, the Minister for Finance signalled the Government's willingness to get behind the use of hydrogen in transport. We also see an all-island opportunity. As the Deputy will know, a significant number of hydrogen buses are produced on the island and that presents us with further opportunities.

There are also opportunities with biomass and anaerobic digestion, as well as in the forestry sector and agriculture. The climate action plan will be an area for a cross-Government collaboration, particularly on the emissions side. Our most recent €70 million investment under the Brexit Adjustment Reserve is very much focused on carbon reduction throughout the supply chain, not just the production and processing at plant level but how we push that back to farm level.