Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy said the target is hardly excessive. The cost-effective target for Ireland, on which the Commission has published information, was 7%. Our target was set at 20%, so it was an excessive target. However, leaving that aside, that was the target that was set and to which the Government signed up at the time and we need to try to get as close as possible to it and plough ahead to make sure we hit our 2030 target. That is my objective.

The Deputy is right that ocean energy has huge potential and we need to invest in it. Nine tenths of the territory of Ireland is under the sea, and our ocean energy development plan states that there is potential to develop up to 4.5 GW in offshore wind and 1.5 GW in wave and tidal energy. There is a huge opportunity in this regard, and to seize it we are supporting the development of a number of prototypes. Last year, the Government, through the SEAI, funded 17 prototypes; this year, we will fund another 16. Some of them are making significant progress in developing technology in this area. Sea Power Limited used the quarter-scale Galway Bay test site between November of last year and March of this year for a sea power platform on wave energy. It seemed to be quite successful. We have seen a number of other companies examining this and it is my intention to support them and, through the strategic infrastructure fund, if required, to fund them.

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