Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 517: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the steps that have been achieved to increase the focus on the opportunities arising out of research in renewable energy and environmental technologies, including the commercialisation of ocean energy since the publication of Building Ireland's Smart Economy - A Framework for Sustainable Economic Renewal 2009-2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17609/09]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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The multi annual Ocean Energy Package, which I launched last year, involves a number of initiatives to harness Ireland's ocean energy resources to contribute to Ireland's renewable energy targets and to develop the considerable potential for inward investment and enterprise activity in support of sustainable economic renewal. The establishment of the Ocean Energy Development Unit based in Sustainable Energy Ireland has been completed. The creation of a state-of-the-art National Ocean Energy facility at University College Cork is underway; the development of a grid-connected wave energy test site off the west coast is progressing; the Ocean Energy Prototype Fund has commenced; and the introduction of a new feed-in-tariff under the REFIT scheme for wave and tidal technologies of €220 per Megawatt Hour has been announced.