Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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I thank the Acting Chairman and the Minister for giving me the opportunity to speak on the offshore renewable energy development plan. The Minister will be aware that there is profound concern from all residents around Dublin Bay at the proposed Dublin Array.

Unfortunately, many people who are interested in this area such as the Coastal Concern Alliance, believe the plan is an attempt at retrospective planning. It is an attempt to shut the stable door when the horse has bolted. By the end of 2006, some 1620 MW of wind generation had been approved off County Wicklow by the former Ministers, Frank Fahey and Noel Dempsey. In 2008, the former Minister, Eamon Ryan, came forward with significant price supports for wind. There was a huge rush of applications and astonishingly 99 leases for the Arklow and Codling Bank wind turbine fields were sold on by Airtricity, Treasury Holdings and Fred Olsen.

I have carefully gone through this document and while it is welcome, it is also disappointing. Why did the Minister not consider it prudent to consult the public again about some of the aspirations and comments in this document about wind energy generally, as well as the location of wind farms in Dublin Bay and elsewhere offshore? It is a grossly deficient document in that there is no cost-benefit analysis of wind or other alternative renewable energy sources. Therefore the economics of wind energy are discussed practically nowhere in this document which, in many respects, is deficient.

I am seeking a full Dáil debate on the document and on this project. It is deplorable that two Departments are dealing with this matter. Planning aspects are being handled by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, while energy aspects are being dealt with by Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. With two chefs, however, one often ends up getting a dog's dinner. That is what is happening in this regard.

I have strongly opposed the Dublin Array proposal due to the imposition of 145 turbines, some of which would be up to 160 m high, just five to ten kilometres off the south Dublin Bay coastline. It would be a grotesque intrusion on the environmental landscape. I have not seen anything in the proposed legislation about impacts on the landscape. In my own lengthy submission on the Dublin Array proposal I made the case that Dublin's quality of life and tourism would be greatly diminished if we end up looking out at a major industrial landscape across the bay.

Allied to this is the Offshore Renewable Energy Development Plan, OREDP, which cannot be discussed in isolation from the current legislative framework. We have been operating under the 1933 legislation for the past 80 years. When I was the Labour Party's energy spokesperson I called for legislation in this area, as the current Minister, Deputy Rabbitte, did also. Finally, after three years of this Government, we have the general scheme of the Bill.

The involvement of An Bord Pleanála and oral hearings as part of the planning process are to welcomed compared to what I feel were the disgraceful granting of consents in the past. It is still deplorable, however, that this legislation has not been passed. It is one of many things that should have been passed by this House a long time ago.

There is grave concern about this document and therefore we should have a full-scale Dail debate to tease it out. We could also address the kind of issues that will emerge not just on the east coast but also the west coast. We must examine the future role that wind energy can play in this country's energy sector.

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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I thank Deputy Broughan for raising this matter. As the House will be aware, Ireland has a landmass of around 90,000 sq. km but it also has a sea area of around ten times that size with one of the best offshore renewable energy resources in the world. The development of this offshore renewable energy resource is central to overall energy policy in Ireland. It can enable the generation of carbon free renewable electricity, enhance security of supply, and deliver green growth and jobs to the economy. Its development clearly stands on its own merits.

Cost-effective harnessing of the potential for clean, sustainable, indigenous renewable energy resources, including those offshore, that Ireland is fortunate to have in abundance, is crucial to reducing our dependence on expensive fossil fuel imports, reducing harmful emissions and delivering jobs and growth in the green economy. That is why I have identified the completion and implementation of the Offshore Renewable Energy Plan as a key priority for my Department, in order to provide a clear and sustainable framework for the development of the offshore renewable energy sector.

The recent communication from the EU Commission on the 2030 Policy Framework for Climate and Energy recognises that renewable energy has a critical contribution to make in the period to 2030. The proposal forms the basis for a timely policy debate on the next critical milestone for the EU on its transition to a competitive, low-carbon European economy in 2050. The framework as a whole will require careful consideration and our central focus must be on reaching an outcome for all that is sustainable on both environmental and economic grounds.

However, I have no doubt that the increasing role renewables will play in an integrated energy market to 2030 and beyond will present significant economic and development opportunities for Ireland's offshore wind, wave and tidal resources. These include the potential to export energy with the possibility in the future of participation in the European energy market.

The long-term economic promise of Ireland's wave and tidal resources will also be realised with the introduction of ocean energy into the renewables portfolio over time, resulting in the development of an indigenous ocean sector and the maximisation of the wider economic benefits to be gained from the commercialisation and deployment of these technologies. The objectives and actions set out in the OREDP are fully aligned with EU energy policy and the challenges faced by our EU partners in creating a sustainable EU internal market for energy and achieving the transition to a low carbon energy system. This is clearly demonstrated by the Communication on Blue Energy published recently by the European Commission, which identifies the Atlantic seaboard as the area of greatest resource in the EU and the potential for the sector to create 40,000 jobs by 2035.

It is with the goal of realising the economic potential of the offshore renewable energy sector, in a way that is environmentally sustainable and takes into account the needs of other users of the marine environment, that I have published the Offshore Renewable Energy Development Plan. The plan has been informed by a rigorous process including the carrying out of a strategic environmental assessment, followed by an appropriate assessment under the EU Habitats Directive. It involved my own Department, as well as other Departments, and State agencies such as the National Parks and Wildlife Service, in addition to the Environmental Protection Agency, the Marine Institute and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland.

The OREDP provides a clear and sustainable framework for the development of the offshore renewable energy sector and it is critical to now move ahead with its implementation.

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Will the Minister ensure that this House will get an opportunity to discuss this plan? The Coastal Concern Alliance said the plan should be based on a democratically agreed marine policy which maps out a future scenario for our seas, while serving the public interest. Is that not the key point? We must serve the public interest and not have developer-led projects which enrich certain oligarchs. That will not achieve energy security and low energy costs for this country.

Will the Minister respond to the point I made about two Departments being involved? Does this not have the potential to be a disaster? Where the Department of Justice and Equality, and the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport are in charge of road traffic administration and offences, the end result is deplorable and messy. It has led to all kinds of anomalies. It would therefore be better if one Department, perhaps the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, took full control of this matter, including all the planning aspects.

Would the Minister consider going back to the drawing board with this document and ask his officials to produce a cost-benefit analysis? For example, the UK has established an amount of wind energy from 45 wind farms that would fuel this country completely. It has been estimated in the UK that it costs between €100,000 and €1.3 million per job, but not too many jobs are required when the wind farm is up and running. Siemens and a number of Danish companies are the main beneficiaries of the capital investment. Will we get a proper cost-benefit analysis of the wind sector and the likely cost structure of other renewables?

The Minister announced the provision of a number of Exchequer supports in his initial press statement. While it is valuable to research the potential of wave power, a key issue in this regard would relate to how close to the coast the relevant facilities would be located. Most people are of the view that the wind facilities would not be even remotely economically viable unless they were located on the sandbanks just off the coast of County Dublin. If the latter were to happen, there would be serious degradation and damage done to the environment of Dublin. The cost benefit of all of this must be estimated, particularly in the context of our tourism industry and the fact that citizens who live in the Dublin Bay North constituency and elsewhere in the city and county are currently in a position to visit the seaside. Will the Minister address these issues and ensure that we will have a debate of three or four hours' duration on this topic in the next couple of months?

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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I would welcome a debate on this matter. Many colleagues in the House regard it as somewhat arcane and that should not be the approach to our marine wealth or to the possibilities offered by offshore wind, wave and tidal energy for the future. The report may have taken longer to be published than one would have liked. It is, however, inconsistent to state that publication of the report is belated, particularly when I was previously asked to put the matter out for public consultation again before publication.

I previously indicated that I intend to introduce an initial market support scheme from 2016 and that this will be funded from the public service obligation levy to the tune of €260 per megawatt hour and strictly limited to 30 MW for ocean wave and tidal energy that does not impose any significant material additional cost on the energy consumer. Work is ongoing in the context of estimating the cost of wind energy. In the EU communication paper that was published a couple of weeks ago, it is stated that the estimated marginal cost will range between €1 and €16. In the case of Ireland it will be €1 - the EU went out of its way to highlight this - while in the case of Germany it will be €16. I think I am correct in stating the latter but the Deputy should not hold me to it. There is further work to be done on the economics involved and Deputy Broughan is correct in stating that we should clarify the position.

I am not referring to the Deputy when I say this but all kinds of people say they favour decarbonising the energy system and developing renewable sources of energy. However, they do not want these sources to be the ones under discussion or those located near their homes. It is a case of them asking why we should have onshore wind energy when we can have offshore wind energy and why do we need offshore wind energy when we could be utilising biomass or solar energy. One is always a step away from committing those who claim to see the merit of exploiting renewable and indigenously occurring resources to stating that they do not want them in their backyard.

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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There are particular problems with regard to wind energy.

Seán Kenny (Dublin North East, Labour)
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The Minister's time is exhausted.

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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If that is the case, I will conclude.