Mr. Justin Moran:

Interestingly, it is about four years since we published "Revolution", the first document setting out a vision for the development of floating wind energy in Ireland. We would have been keen to see wind energy move forward more quickly than it has since we published the document. Speaking particularly about the location the Deputy has identified, I note the port of Shannon Foynes, which I should acknowledge is one of our members, is very keen to move forward with the development of floating wind energy generation. We are running four or potentially five different research projects to examine which floating wind technology is suitable for the Atlantic coast. As the Deputy will be aware, that coast has very tough wave conditions in which to develop floating wind energy infrastructure. It might be useful to share some of the material with the committee to give an idea of the research.

My reluctance in answering the Deputy's question relates to our biggest worry, which is that the national DMAP will not be delivered on time. Regrettably, over the past seven years, Ireland has not had a reputation internationally as a country that is delivering on its policy changes concerning offshore wind energy on time. This is not a criticism because people have put a lot of work into different things. Delivering the DMAP would be a massive piece of work, involving environmental and technical surveys around the entire maritime space. There would be a massive programme of community engagement, which would be really challenging. That does not get the attention it deserves. If we identify a location on the south coast, there are at least lines on a map and people can identify where the projects will be. If we are talking about the entire maritime area, how do we encourage and facilitate people to participate to share their expertise and knowledge? If we were to move ahead with a pilot floating project, my concern would be that there would be a diversion of resources and focus from the national DMAP project. I would be more interested in knowing whether we could deliver, in advance of the end of 2027, on fixed and floating targets.