Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

There is one within the possible development at the Sceirde Rocks off Connemara. The consenting of those will come, subject to the consent being approved, this month. They will go to auction this year, they will go to planning next year and into construction once out of that planning process. This is what every country in north-west Europe is investing in. This is the reality. This is where all the money is going. We had a meeting on Monday of north-west European energy ministers. We did a joint declaration, which included Germany, France, Holland, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden and Norway. The UK is actually ahead of all the others, but this is the future. We are a country whose sea area is seven times our land area and it is the windiest part of the world. It is absolutely achievable. It will take huge effort and organisation but it is equivalent to Ardnacrusha; it is the Ardnacrusha of our day. It is a similar moment where we rely on our resources and our capability, and there is real capability. We heard from various people at the conference on Monday. An Irish company called Mainstream is one of the biggest developers in UK waters. That company is actually doing it. The ESB is doing it too at scale, so we have real ability.

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