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

In deference to Deputy Durkan, I might focus on Deputy Ó Cuív in the short few minutes I have because I spoke about agriculture in the first response.

It is not only offshore wind. We also have to develop further onshore wind. Many State companies, such as Coillte and Bord na Móna, have considerable potential to do that if our planning system can free up and deliver some of the projects that are stuck in planning. Solar and offshore wind will be a significant part.

The offshore wind is in three phases. We are now starting the first phase. As we speak, consents are starting to be issues, the auction process is starting and it is going to planning next year. We have to develop ports for the deployment of that. We have been appraised of that, in terms of connecting it together. There are about five megawatts of projects to go to their first auction. They will not all get through for a variety of different reasons but we expect a significant element to do so.

The second phase will probably be broken into two or three phases, with further development in the Irish Sea in the south east. This will be very much connecting into the grid, because that is the biggest constraint. The power grid is a real challenge. That is next year. We will start to set out, map and develop those and start the consenting. Quickly afterwards, in the lifetime of this Government, we will start in looking south and west and going towards both floating and conversion to hydrogen.

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