Pat Casey (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Last week, there was a significant announcement by EirGrid regarding the successful bidders in the auction for projects under the renewable electricity support scheme, ORESS. There were four successful applicants, with the projects set to generate more than 3 GW of power and feed into nearly 2.5 million homes in Ireland. It was a mixed day for Wicklow. We had a successful bid in respect of Codling, which will deliver 1.3 GW of power and will be located from Wicklow town all the way up to Bray. The disappointment was that SSE Renewables was unsuccessful in its bid relating to the Arklow Bank, which is interesting because that was the first offshore wind project in the country almost 20 years ago. It has taken us 20 years to get to the stage we are at now, even though we saw the potential at that time.

My concern is how we move forward from here. Is An Bord Pleanála fit for purpose to deal with four significant applications, if not more? From my conversation with SSE Renewables, I am aware that it is not going away. Thankfully, it is committed to Arklow and to finding an alternative route to market. There will be a huge amount of documentation. The Maritime Area Regulatory Authority, MARA, is being set up. MARA will filter it first, and it will then go to the board. We know that the board is going through a rebuilding process. On top of that, there is EirGrid. The critical lack of grid infrastructure across Ireland is a major problem.

I have some concerns. While auction day was significant, we still have a long way to go. Is the State prepared for this? Will we be able to deal with these applications effectively and efficiently? If we are to meet our targets by 2028 and 2029, this has to be streamlined as fast as possible. I have some issues regarding State bodies I have mentioned.

We need a more holistic approach to the whole offshore renewables sector. It is, as somebody said, Ireland's Saudi Arabia moment. This could be our cash cow for the next 20 or 30 years. We should put in the investment that is needed in order to ensure that these applications are successful and go through the system in an efficient way. This will allow people to have confidence in the system as we move towards projects on the west coast, which will be a little more complicated with the technology relating to floating offshore wind generation. It is disappointing that it has taken us since 2003, when the first seven turbines were erected off Arklow, to only now, 20 years later, starting the planning process relating to realising Ireland’s true potential.