Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy is raising a very large question in terms of the development of ocean energy resources which is, more properly, the area of my colleague, the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. As I said in my initial reply, this sector has significant potential. It is also one in which the risk is very high. When allocating funds, any State body must do so in the knowledge that funds are limited and seek to support technologies that show the best promise. Criteria will be set for the allocation of funding. In this case, funding was provided for Wavebob by the SEAI and Enterprise Ireland - over €1.8 million was invested in the project. It is not the case, therefore, that there was no willingness to support it during the development phase. From my Department's perspective, a commercial business plan must be presented before Enterprise Ireland would be willing to make a further investment.

That is the ultimate test. Many technologies are being tested and developed and in some cases are in successful test-beds. The development of a coherent strategy for ocean technologies is about seeking to create an environment in which technologies can be tested. However, this does not mean every single case can be successfully supported in all circumstances. While it is regrettable that this case did not meet the criteria for the allocation of additional funding, this is inevitable in an area such as ocean technology in which the technologies are wide-ranging and the risks are clearly very significant.

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