Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The motion talks about a North-South get together on this issue. I wish that was possible, but let us sort out the fracking issue first and then we can talk about whether we can have joined-up thinking on an all-island energy policy. Fracking is the elephant in the room, as Sinn Féin knows. Those who live in my part of the country know that it will create enormous difficulties down the line. All I am saying is that we must find out what is going on in the North of Ireland. What is the relationship between the Westminster Government and the Northern Ireland Assembly in the context of this issue?

I commend to the House and the Minister of State a report published by Committee C of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly on renewable wave and tidal energy. I am not sure if it was laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas, but I do know that it was submitted to the British and Irish Governments. It makes a number of recommendations, one of which is that an intensified effort be made in the United Kingdom and Ireland to understand, address and remove barriers and constraints on commercial or trade participation in the marine energy sector. I applaud the Government for its recent initiatives in that regard. There was a two page report in the Irish Independent earlier this week gaving an outline of the potential for the development of wave energy projects off the west coast. I hope this will continue to be a major priority for the Department. We are at a very early stage and playing catch-up with the Scots who are the leaders in this field. However, we have the potential to outpace them. I commend the Government's initiatives in this regard and hope it will continue to support the development of technologies that will lead to the harnessing of wave energy.