Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Tuesday, 19 November 2013
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht
Heads of Maritime Area and Foreshore (Amendment) Bill 2013: Discussion (Resumed)
1:15 pm
Ms Karin Dubsky:
We do not have an agreed Coastwatch Europe policy yet. There are many differences between regional groups. My personal opinion is that it is crucial that we develop these types of generation. We cannot say "No" to everything and we need energy. We have significant resources, but this work needs to be done careful, with as much monitoring and information as possible. We welcomed and worked with the developer on the Arklow bank turbines. We were pleased that the developer made the adjustments that we suggested. The developer also changed its landfall. However, since the bank was set up, no information has been provided. Those seven turbines could supply information on water temperature, wind, biodiversity, etc. It should be a win-win situation. People should not just get something to create energy without it collecting and providing information also.