Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

On Deputy McDonald's points on green hydrogen and offshore wind, the Government is of the view that offshore wind energy has enormous economic potential in this country. It could do an awful lot to redress the imbalance in economic development between the eastern and western seaboards. It will commence in a serious way off the east coast. Wind energy generation off the west and south-west coasts could be the equivalent of the Irish Financial Services Centre in Dublin for the regions. The Government, therefore, is really committed to a multidisciplinary approach to both wind energy and green hydrogen, which has enormous potential, and to working with the EU on its plans.

The marine area planning legislation we passed in this House just before Christmas is a very significant step forward. We now need to establish consents and get the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority, MARA, up and running to enable us to work within our timelines and give the industry confidence we can achieve the targets we have set. Investors are waiting to get involved. There is significant potential. The line Minister will be publishing detailed delivery plans in respect of this.

Deputy Duncan Smith raised the issue of the upgrades, and several Deputies referred to retrofitting in general. Approximately 465,000 houses have had some retrofitting or other between 2000 and 2020, or since schemes really began in earnest in 2000. We must accelerate the rate of progress dramatically-----

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