Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister for his reply. I am quite excited by the developments that have occurred, especially in the wave energy sector. It is not an exaggeration to say that Ireland is leading global research and development in tidal power. The key ingredient to commercialised wave energy is a fixed tariff mechanism which is set at a price that will allow companies to finance long-term wave energy projects. The sooner the Minister brings forward that proposal, with detailed pricing on offer, the sooner we can try to increase the likelihood of beating the 500 MW from wave energy by 2020. I think it is possible to achieve that target earlier, given the success of the prototype currently in the sea off the west coast.

We need to learn from the lessons of the AER schemes and the initial fiasco in promoting them by forcing developers to compete on price, driving it down to such a level that their proposals were non-viable and were therefore not built. In moving from a prototype to a commercially viable proposition for wave energy, what is the most ambitious timetable the Minister can outline?

See this speech in context