Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Coyle for his interesting presentation. It is good to see the scale of ambition being talked about again. Reminding ourselves of Ardnacrusha is a good way to start. Some of my questions build on Deputy Bruton's.

In Denmark, these new energy islands are a state-led project. They are approximately 51% state-owned. We know, for example, that facilities like Ardnacrusha were huge State-led initiatives. It seems we have a tendency in Ireland to wait or try to create market conditions in the hope the leap forward will emerge when, sometimes, the State perhaps needs to leave the leap forward and then industry will follow around that, which seems to be when we are making the level of change that is needed. That is certainly what happened with Ardnacrusha. It seems that countries like Denmark are now taking that same leap. I would be interested in Mr. Coyle's thoughts around that level of State leadership and ambition so that the State is not simply, for example, facilitating the auctions or market but is, in fact, leading.

With regard to 2025, one of the issues we discussed at our previous session was the idea of a reserved 1 GW for floating wind. Is there potential in that regard? Again, it is an option of support - it does not have to be deliverable - to bring that forward from 2025. We might look at that in the next round to consider a reservation and any way floating wind might be part of that earlier than 2025.

I would appreciate it if Mr. Coyle could also expand on the macroeconomic circumstances in that we may have more flexibility within the EU rules before 2025 than after 2025. I am also very conscious that more fiscal rules are being suspended at the moment within the wider area of investment, which may not be indefinite.

I want to ask about the circular economy part of the supply chain, which we have also looked at as a committee. I am aware of some innovation in UCC, which has been looking at perhaps 11,000 tonnes of waste from the earlier generation of wind turbines. In a past committee, we also heard from people who were looking at recycled plastic being part of wind blades. Can we get a sense of how we can engage with the supply chain around wind turbines and that industry? I have one final point.