Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

On 3 May last, I published Ireland’s first draft offshore renewable energy (ORE) Designated Maritime Area Plan (DMAP). The draft DMAP is focused on the sea area off the South Coast and identifies four maritime areas for proposed future deployments of fixed offshore wind to deploy by 2030 and beyond. This includes identification of one maritime area, known as Tonn Nua, for a proposed development of approximately 900 MW to be developed by the winner of Ireland’s second offshore wind auction, ORESS 2.1, and that will aim to deploy by 2030 or as soon as feasible thereafter.

The draft South Coast DMAP was published alongside a Strategic Environmental Assessment Environmental Report and Natura Impact Statement. This draft DMAP is currently undergoing a six-week period of statutory public consultation, which includes in-person events along the South Coast. This follows on from almost 10 weeks of non-statutory engagement from August to October 2023.

Government has recently approved the Future Framework for Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE), which sets a path to achieve the State’s long-term goals for ORE development including a suite of 29 actions. Action 1 calls for exploring the development of a roadmap for future ORE development. The Future Framework also sets forth actions to provide the structures and supports necessary to establish a future DMAP roadmap and to assess the potential for accelerating the development of a West Coast DMAP.