Matt Shanahan calls for urgent action on offshore wind targets

Minister, thanks for your comments and thanks to Government for supporting the motion which has been crafted from a large body of work by colleagues and I in the regional group. I think it is clear, Minister, that we are not on track to reach our target of 5,000 megawatts of offshore wind by the end of 2030. I think we have significant planning difficulties, as you are aware, and probably regulatory difficulties, as was evidenced by the exit of Equinor from the Irish renewables market. The planning system can only be as strong as it is resource, Minister, and I think it is fair to say our projects and our coastal communities deserve a system which is fair, which is transparent, but also which is robust, swift and suitable to purpose. To that point, Minister, I think you need to look at the resources on board Planala and they need to be beefed up considering what is coming down the pipe in terms of new applications, in terms of renewables. The offshore wind farms that we seek to build in the next 10 years are going to be some of the largest and most complicated infrastructural projects the State has ever undertaken. Even though it will be done largely by partners, the State will be centrally involved, Minister. It is very important that we see the establishment of the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority as quickly as possible, Minister. And ideally, this needs to be up and running in advance of 2023 when phase two projects are going to be considered and where the 2025 auctions are also occurring. Our group motion has called for an offshore renewable development authority minister. I think this is about strategic planning, something we do not always do well in this country. And I think we cannot afford to miss this opportunity now. We must get all stakeholders involved and we must ensure that we are listening to all voices. We have also asked for the construction of an Atlantic interconnector. I accept, absolutely, that is a very big ask. But we must have big thinking here. This is really big project stuff we are talking about. This is potentially the future economic development of Ireland over the next 50 to 100 years. So we must think big. We have also asked for the designation of finance ports in the Shannon Estuary as European centres of excellence in terms of the manufacture and development of renewable energy technologies, particularly turbine manufacturing, which is something we are going to have to get up to speed on very quickly in this country. And we are also asking that all key stakeholders, including third level institutions and development agencies, need to be part of an offshore renewables action plan, Minister. In relation to ports and infrastructure and supply chain, we are doing a lot of work at the present time on the east coast and the south coast. And I would point out to you, Minister, that Ross-Leo Europort and Waterford Port are very adjacent to all of this work. And I would ask that the government give considerable thought to resourcing these ports in terms of infrastructure and supply. We need also to support a strategy for a new grid infrastructure, Minister, particularly the North-South Celtic and Greenlink interconnectors. And we cannot build the 5000 megawatts of offshore wind energy promised if the Irish electricity grid is not strong enough to accommodate that volume of power. So I think the grid capacity is key and the connecting grid capacity will deliver on the actions that you have committed to within the Climate Action Plan. I think we will also signal to the international supply chain Ireland's determination to develop our enormous offshore renewable energy potential. And with respect to floating wind energy minister, the programme for government contains a commitment to produce a plan to develop more than 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy off the Atlantic coast. And this energy, as you know, can be used to produce green hydrogen, which could become a major part of our future energy matrix. But again, one of the biggest barriers that we face is that there is no mechanism to allow offshore wind energy projects to obtain a licence to carry out surveys beyond 12 nautical miles. Until this is put in place, it is not possible for these projects to proceed with even the early stage survey work. Minister, this is a key requirement of your plan, I would say. Finally, Minister, can I just point out to just transition, I think you have highlighted here the needs that we take into account all of our coastal regions, our sea fishers, our seafood industry and the needs of our biodiversity and marine protected areas. And I know we have a community dividend secured within the tendering service, but I think it will be more difficult, as has been said, within the offshore sector. I think we have a great opportunity to position Ireland as a centralised and decarbonised economy within Europe going forward. And we can absolutely attain the title of Emerald Isle, but also probably one of the most greenest economies in the world if we grab this opportunity. Well that's big part of this. believing that you will be hard for a large projects of carbon monol Dale comes from our attention since in the extinction. Look at that, I think thatات. Thank you very much, although we will engage in the experiment once it takes time through Nagai. So let's face when we move to the extent. If you want to see the work that looks phenomenal, thanks to others for um, I think we have to put the platform and the part of it cooperatively and the government can be brought back together to this proposal for Ontario. So thebang line will be the political and has brought us a single preference. Our own employment as an overlapping unit to divide. Thank you God. Does everyone understand this and Rec. We call thatwear gazes. Among other languages happening. Thank you, yes! We create a small number on Warp 갖고 website.