Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Broughan for raising this matter. As the House will be aware, Ireland has a landmass of around 90,000 sq. km but it also has a sea area of around ten times that size with one of the best offshore renewable energy resources in the world. The development of this offshore renewable energy resource is central to overall energy policy in Ireland. It can enable the generation of carbon free renewable electricity, enhance security of supply, and deliver green growth and jobs to the economy. Its development clearly stands on its own merits.

Cost-effective harnessing of the potential for clean, sustainable, indigenous renewable energy resources, including those offshore, that Ireland is fortunate to have in abundance, is crucial to reducing our dependence on expensive fossil fuel imports, reducing harmful emissions and delivering jobs and growth in the green economy. That is why I have identified the completion and implementation of the Offshore Renewable Energy Plan as a key priority for my Department, in order to provide a clear and sustainable framework for the development of the offshore renewable energy sector.

The recent communication from the EU Commission on the 2030 Policy Framework for Climate and Energy recognises that renewable energy has a critical contribution to make in the period to 2030. The proposal forms the basis for a timely policy debate on the next critical milestone for the EU on its transition to a competitive, low-carbon European economy in 2050. The framework as a whole will require careful consideration and our central focus must be on reaching an outcome for all that is sustainable on both environmental and economic grounds.

However, I have no doubt that the increasing role renewables will play in an integrated energy market to 2030 and beyond will present significant economic and development opportunities for Ireland's offshore wind, wave and tidal resources. These include the potential to export energy with the possibility in the future of participation in the European energy market.

The long-term economic promise of Ireland's wave and tidal resources will also be realised with the introduction of ocean energy into the renewables portfolio over time, resulting in the development of an indigenous ocean sector and the maximisation of the wider economic benefits to be gained from the commercialisation and deployment of these technologies. The objectives and actions set out in the OREDP are fully aligned with EU energy policy and the challenges faced by our EU partners in creating a sustainable EU internal market for energy and achieving the transition to a low carbon energy system. This is clearly demonstrated by the Communication on Blue Energy published recently by the European Commission, which identifies the Atlantic seaboard as the area of greatest resource in the EU and the potential for the sector to create 40,000 jobs by 2035.

It is with the goal of realising the economic potential of the offshore renewable energy sector, in a way that is environmentally sustainable and takes into account the needs of other users of the marine environment, that I have published the Offshore Renewable Energy Development Plan. The plan has been informed by a rigorous process including the carrying out of a strategic environmental assessment, followed by an appropriate assessment under the EU Habitats Directive. It involved my own Department, as well as other Departments, and State agencies such as the National Parks and Wildlife Service, in addition to the Environmental Protection Agency, the Marine Institute and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland.

The OREDP provides a clear and sustainable framework for the development of the offshore renewable energy sector and it is critical to now move ahead with its implementation.

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