Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

I am delighted to hear it. I do not know why the Deputy is complaining about what we are doing in the area of wave energy technology, given that she acknowledges it is in its infancy and is only at the research stage. I do not see how I am supposed to pull a switch and work wonders until such time as the technology is proven. In the interim, we are supporting research in this area by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland's ocean energy development unit. In these times of extraordinary constraint of resources we are managing to keep it going. I recently approved funding, for example, for new facilities at the Beaufort research laboratory in Ringaskiddy, which will support the wave research testing that is going on there.

The potential for the development of an export capacity in this area is very exciting. However, Deputy Daly will have to explain from where, if it is to be done exclusively through the State companies, the huge investment that is required will come. People tend to think of wind energy as nice and fluffy and green and to observe that there is plenty of it about the place. However, there are economic issues at play here and the investment undertaken by the large-scale industry players is enormous. We do not have those levels of resources to work with. This is not to say that I do not foresee a role for some of the State companies as these projects develop. We have thousands of acres of cut-away bog and 7% of our land is under afforestation. In the ESB we have one of the most successful indigenous energy companies anywhere in the world, comparing scale with scale. I would be very partial to that body playing whatever partnership role it can in this process and getting a share of the action. However, the notion that we can source billions in order to fund developments in this area is not realistic. Although I wish it were possible, it simply is not.

See this speech in context