Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)

The Senator firmly believes in this and is passionate about it. I do not question the sincerity but I have to tell her what the Government position is. She raised an important point about the planning permissions that are required even to get wind turbines in place. There is significant pushback against that on land.The plan is that at sea, we believe there will be fewer objections because it is away from the shore. If it is difficult to get planning permissions for turbines I am sure the Senator will accept that trying to move the public towards nuclear reactors in Ireland is a whole new ball game. I suspect that whatever potential difficulties there might be on planning for either offshore or onshore wind turbines, I would not underestimate the complications and the push back from the public if we were to move on nuclear reactors onshore, even to get basic grid capacity. The Senator will be aware from her own general area and the North-South interconnector how communities are so averse to any infrastructure like that. I believe the best chance we have of energy security is to harness the huge potential that is offshore.

I do take the point, and Senator Keogan makes it very well, that the wind does not blow all the time. Work is ongoing when the wind is blowing in a significant way and the demand is not there. Through electrolysis it can be converted to hydrogen and onwards to ammonia, which is a stable source of securing the energy and storing it.

There is an overarching plan and maybe we will have a debate in the House again at some stage if Members want to do that where I can set out much more broadly the Government's vision for a safe and secure supply of electricity to meet our targets. I thank the Senator again for her interest.