Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party)
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99. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the steps he will take to ensure citizen engagement with offshore wind energy projects in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10158/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The Government considers citizen engagement central to Ireland’s offshore renewable energy (ORE) transformation. Local communities will be key to the decision-making process of community engagement initiatives during Ireland’s offshore renewable energy journey.Public participation is a central tenet of the Maritime Area Planning Act (2021) which establishes a new planning regime for the sustainable development of our offshore resources. All applications by offshore wind energy projects for development consent to An Bord Pleanála will involve full public consultation.

My Department is currently considering the recently-completed public consultation on draft terms and conditions for the first offshore wind auction under the Offshore Renewable Electricity Support Scheme. Successful projects will be required to make significant community benefit fund contributions from an early stage in the lifecycle of an offshore wind project. My Department is currently considering all responses received and will, in the coming weeks, be issuing a formal response to local communities’ submissions.

My Department is also progressing work on the second Offshore Renewable Energy Development Plan. This will set out a pathway for the long-term sustainable development of Ireland's ORE resources. As work on this plan is progressed during 2022, public participation will be sought, particularly from those in coastal communities, in addition to key stakeholders to ensure a wide variety of views are captured in the development of this plan.

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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100. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if his Department will devise a strategy to explore and support all forms of sustainable energy in west County Clare to coincide with the planned development of the Green Atlantic wind farm. [10179/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The project that the Deputy refers to is a proposed development of a floating offshore wind farm by the ESB which is a commercial matter for the developer.

Ireland’s increased climate and energy ambition is reflected in the Climate Action Plan 2021, which envisages up to 8 GW of onshore wind, at least 5 GW of offshore wind and up to 2.5 solar PV capacity by 2030. 

The Climate Action Plan includes a suite of actions to realise the potential of Ireland’s offshore renewable energy resources, while the Programme for Government commits to the achievement of 5GW of installed offshore wind capacity by 2030 and a long-term plan to take advantage of a potential of at least 30GW of floating wind in our Atlantic waters.

In addition, a supportive spatial planning framework for onshore renewable electricity generation development at national, regional and local level is critical to ensure delivery of the electricity targets under the Climate Action Plan. The detailed annex of actions accompanying the Climate Action Plan sets out a number of steps (under Action 102) to deliver on this.

The Renewable Energy Strategy set out in the current draft County Clare Development Plan (2023-2029)  envisions the county becoming a national leader in the development and generation of high-quality renewable energy and aims to set a course for Clare to achieve a low carbon climate resilient future through sustainable social and economic development.