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

Deputy O'Sullivan has hit the nail on the head, particularly regarding onshore wind. We have put far too many eggs in the one basket in respect of onshore wind, and she is right that most of the beneficiaries have been offshore in that regard. The new structures we will put in place in respect of planning guidelines and the renewable electricity support scheme will very much be oriented towards communities and supporting communities themselves regarding renewable technologies.

We are at an early developmental stage regarding offshore energy and are trying to support companies involved in it but it is important to remember that as 88% of all our energy needs are imported at present, we need to drive that down. If we, like Donald Trump, denied the impact of climate change, we would still need to put in the investment because we have renewable energy resources here. We need to capitalise on those and we need to have a sustainable energy source in this country rather than being dependent on imported fossil fuels. That, as energy Minister, must be my objective, not to mention my priority as climate Minister.

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