Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 9 April 2024
119. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications his views on the current progress of the Offshore Wind Delivery Taskforce; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14724/24]
View answerI established the cross-Departmental Offshore Wind Delivery Taskforce in April 2022 in order to accelerate and drive delivery, and to capture the wider and longer term economic and business opportunities associated with the development of Offshore Renewable Energy in Ireland. Since the establishment of the Taskforce, significant progress has been made across Government towards the delivery of offshore wind. Maritime Area Consents were awarded to Phase One offshore wind projects in December 2022, and four of these projects were subsequently successful in ORESS1, Ireland’s first offshore wind auction, held in Q2 2023. The unsuccessful projects in this auction now have a time-limited opportunity to secure alternative routes to marketIn March 2023, I published the Policy Statement on the Framework for Phase Two Offshore Wind, providing certainty that future offshore wind development will take place in designated areas. The first of these designated areas, the South Coast Designated Maritime Area Plan (DMAP) Proposal was published in July, and was followed by an intensive period of local engagement with coastal communities and other maritime users. The results of this engagement will feed into the formal DMAP later this year. ORESS 2.1 will provide a route to market for the first development area in the South Coast DMAP, and in November 2023 the Offshore Wind Delivery Taskforce published an indicative roadmap outlining a timetable towards this auction, scheduled for Q4 2024. The Maritime Area Regulatory Authority (MARA) was established in July 2023, a significant milestone in the State’s stewardship of the maritime area. The launch of MARA coincided with the publication of the first output of the Seafood-ORE Group, agreeing a Communications Protocol between the two sectors.Last month, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment published Powering Prosperity – Ireland’s Offshore Wind Industrial Strategy. This strategy aims to build a successful, vibrant and impactful offshore wind energy industry in Ireland, ensuring that the sector creates as much value as possible throughout Ireland and maximises the economic benefits associated with the development of offshore wind. The groundwork has also been laid for significant policy announcements this year, including the preparation of the Future Framework for post-2030 offshore wind deployment. The Taskforce has met on 14 occasions to date, with the next meeting scheduled for early June. Further information on the Taskforce, including its Terms of Reference, membership and minutes of meetings held, is available on gov.ie.
