Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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12. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the recent communications or reports his Department has had on the Dublin array wind farm project; if in the view of the postponement of the planned deal with the UK on the export of wind energy from Ireland and the very serious questions being asked about the environmental and social value of large scale wind farms geared towards export, if any decision to allow the Dublin array project to proceed should now also be put on hold. [24673/14]

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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It is important that Ireland's energy policy ensures that we sustainably capture the potential economic benefits of our abundant, indigenous, clean energy resources. Ireland’s position at the Atlantic edge of Europe provides an unparalleled offshore energy resource, with suitable conditions available for the development of the full range of current offshore renewable energy technologies. The offshore renewable energy sector has been consistently identified in recent years as a potential source of sustainable employment and economic growth, especially in those coastal communities where job creation is particularly challenging. The Offshore Renewable Energy Development Plan (OREDP), which I published earlier this year, identified export as the optimal path to market for offshore wind projects. Such export would require an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA). However, the economic, policy and regulatory complexities involved, and some key decisions required to be taken by the UK to facilitate any IGA, mean that post-2020 delivery is more realistic given project lead times. By way of context to this longer time horizon, earlier this year the European Commission published proposals for a 2030 Climate and Energy Framework. As we now look towards 2030, and consider Europe's trajectory for achieving a low carbon economy by 2050, opportunities to develop renewable energy technologies – such as offshore wind – and greater cross border trade in renewable energy, are likely to present over the coming years.

In addition, the Communication on Blue Energy, recently published by the European Commission, estimates the ocean energy sector could create tens of thousands of jobs over the medium to longer term. The Communication also identified the Atlantic seaboard as the area of highest potential for the development of ocean energy in the EU.

Finally, it should be noted that the progression of an individual project is, in the first instance, a matter between the project developer and the relevant planning authority having regard to the overarching policy and regulatory framework, including the findings of the Strategic Environmental Assessment which underpins the OREDP. Given that I have no planning function in this matter, I have not received any report or communication concerning the specific project mentioned by the Deputy.