Mr. Barry O'Flynn:

On the question of where Ireland stands at this time from the point of view of a private sector initiative, from the renewable energy perspective, Ireland is regarded as possibly one of the most stable markets in Europe. We have seen a lot of new investors trying to invest in wind farms in the Irish market. The reason is there has not been any change or even talk of any change to existing policies on the implementation of renewable energy plans, which has been very positive, unlike in much of the rest of Europe. I congratulate the Department in that the incentives, subsidies or feed-in tariffs provided for renewable energy projects are competitive, on a par almost with electricity prices, and there has been negligible cost to the consumer. From an investor perspective, that means there is very little chance of any change in the policy environment because renewables just make sense in Ireland.

Right across the globe this is an issue. The big story was that investors were moving towards decarbonisation, whereas now the market is really about investing in countries where the economic fundamentals are very strong. In Ireland, onshore wind energy projects are on a par with any other form of electricity production and it is actually driving down the cost of electricity. For that reason alone, investors regard this as a positive aspect.

There is a challenge about what will happen post-2020 because nobody knows how the fade-out will happen. Right now, everything is being driven by compliance rather than by economic opportunity. In the United Kingdom, Denmark and elsewhere anything that goes down the compliance route for a low carbon and a resource-efficient model does not address the issue of competitiveness because everyone does the same. To be competitive as a society, one is obliged to abide by EU global agreements, but one needs to go beyond this to be competitive, to innovate, to be one step ahead of other countries and to deliver solutions. That is where Irish companies act globally in this space and they are doing phenomenally well, almost unbeknownst to the Irish media. That is because they have stepped out and taken their experience and expertise to the international market.

On the question of policy barriers, it is most important that there be direct and ongoing interaction with the private sector which has the solutions and capital. The private sector will jump from one country to the next wherever there is the opportunity. Sometimes even a consultation will not attract an input from the private sector because Ireland is often regarded as an island off an island in the middle of the Atlantic. For example, a Korean player in this sector will not respond to an Irish consultation because it is not on his or her radar. One of the challenges is how to engage with what is happening in every other market, understand what is working and how the solutions are being implemented and funded by the private sector because, ultimately, the private sector is the engine to reach the targets or objectives.

The third point was about the roadmaps. I have been following the debate and there is quite a difference in the views expressed. It is important to keep Ireland as a market that knows what it is doing and is being seen and packaged as a market in which there are opportunities. If the 2050 goals cannot be defined on one page or in ten bullet points, a trick is being missed. The foreign investor looking at Europe as a point of entry who cannot easily find out what are the 2050 targets and the economic drivers behind them will not bother because he or she will just go to the next market such as Denmark which states it will have 100% renewable energy by 2050. The investor will go to Israel where water technology is an absolute priority, or to China where three of its top industries are clean-tech related - transport, energy efficiency and renewable energy, which is an embedded strategy. That is the one challenge of this entire sector because it is so fragmented across public sector buildings, transport, energy generation and energy efficiency. If one cannot provide an aggregate clear answer and delivery mechanism and for implementation, it becomes challenging because it becomes too complicated. Outside investors do not see the immediate pressing need to go down this route because it is not immediately apparent. That is one of the challenges in not having a very clear implementation plan, a clear set of objectives and, more important, very clear accountability around delivery. Just going down the compliance route is a de minimis approach and it is neither forcing innovation nor encouraging growth, other than the bare minimum. This is important from the perspective of the private sector which is seeing a lot of money being lost by Spanish, German, French and Italian tariffs being changed almost overnight in the renewables sector. It needs to have stability and to know this is being driven for very good reasons and will be the case for successive Governments because it underpins economic growth.