Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)

I move:

That Dáil Éireann approves the draft South Coast Designated Maritime Area Plan for Offshore Renewable Energy, a copy of which was laid before Dáil Éireann on 26th September, 2024.

On behalf of the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, I welcome this opportunity to seek the support of Deputies for Ireland’s first forward spatial plan for offshore renewable energy. The draft DMAP identifies four maritime areas for accelerated and sustainable deployments of offshore wind off the south coast of Ireland over the next decade.

Today’s debate follows the approval of this motion by the Seanad yesterday. If approved by both Houses of the Oireachtas, the south coast DMAP will represent a landmark event in forward spatial planning in this country. It will signal a fundamental and positive change in how we manage and plan our extensive maritime area.

Protecting the marine environment and biodiversity, while supporting citizens reliant on the sea for their livelihoods, has been central to the creation of this draft plan. It has also been established in co-operation with local communities along the south coast through extensive, wide-reaching and effective consultation. By providing a long-term source of secure indigenous green energy, the south coast DMAP and similar future spatial plans around our coasts will ensure that we in Ireland continue to play our part in addressing the escalating global climate emergency. It is a further response to the twin challenges of energy security and affordability. It will spur regional development and economic opportunities along the south coast and throughout the wider economy.

Today’s motion is the culmination of a successful programme of legislative and policy achievements over the past four years to establish a robust framework for offshore renewable energy development in Ireland. In 2021, Ireland established its first national maritime spatial plan, known as the national marine planning framework, NMPF, and Ireland legislated to positively change the management of our seas and oceans through enactment of the Maritime Area Planning Act 2021. The MAP Act further created the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority to manage and regulate sustainable activities within our seas and oceans.

A further pivotal moment in our clean energy transition was signalled by the results of Ireland’s first offshore wind auction in 2023. This auction procured more than 3,000 MW of potential future offshore wind capacity to power 2.5 million Irish homes with green, secure and affordable energy. To capture the full associated economic opportunities, Powering Prosperity - Ireland’s Offshore Wind Industrial Strategy was published by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment last March. This ambitious strategy puts the development of offshore renewables at the heart of Ireland’s economic growth in the years and decades to come.

To achieve the actions and ambition of this industrial strategy, the Government is working closely with industry to unlock significant investment opportunities and drive forward our renewable energy ambitions.

To co-ordinate and drive the effective delivery of this new sector in Ireland, an all-of-government offshore wind delivery task force was established in 2022, which is successfully mobilising our society to capture this once in a generation opportunity. This includes ensuring that Irish citizens and businesses are equipped with the training and skills that enable Ireland to maximise benefits from the deployment of offshore renewable energy and the wider green energy transition.

Last year, a new plan-led approach to offshore renewables development was adopted by the Government, with the overwhelming support of the Oireachtas. Members of this House informed Government they no longer wanted a developer-led system, and that the designation of appropriate development areas should be led by the State. This decision determined that future offshore wind projects should be located within DMAPs.

We have listened and reacted. The preparation of the south coast DMAP gives effect to this decision. It will also align Ireland with similar plan-led approaches in other European jurisdictions, such as the Netherlands, Denmark and the UK, which are leading global practitioners of offshore wind. In fact, since the Oireachtas made this decision and embarked on the development of this spatial plan, more jurisdictions have followed suit and the overwhelming trend is now for offshore wind to be plan-led.

We are fortunate in Ireland to have already legislated for this approach through the MAP Act, and I want to thank Deputies for their leadership in having the foresight to ensure the legislative and regulatory system was in place. Other countries are still grappling with this. Through evidence-based analysis, the draft DMAP identifies four maritime areas for sustainable deployments of fixed offshore wind off the coast of Waterford and Wexford over the next decade. This includes a maritime area, known as Tonn Nua, which is identified for a 900 MW project to be built by the winner of Ireland's second offshore wind auction. This will commence next year, with terms and conditions to be published following adoption of this DMAP.

The first offshore wind project will contribute to the wider objective that 80% of our electricity needs come from renewable sources by the end of this decade. Fixed offshore wind projects located in the additional three maritime areas will deploy beyond this decade to deliver on our legally binding commitment to achieve a climate neutral economy no later than 2050. These projects will also bolster the energy security of Ireland, safeguarding the electricity needs of our homes, hospitals and businesses.

While the preparation of this draft plan has been led by officials from the Department of the environment, it has been developed as a collaborative cross-government plan supported by expert environmental and technical analysis. It has been further informed by robust environmental assessments and prevents development taking place in those areas of greatest sensitivity. Crucially, the draft DMAP has also been shaped by wide-reaching engagement with local coastal communities and key stakeholders. This continuous engagement has been facilitated through full-time locally based fishing and community liaison officers.

I am pleased to say that the overwhelming sentiment during consultation from people living in these areas was positive. There was an eagerness to capture opportunities that can be accrued locally by this new industry for this and future generations to benefit from. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of those who met with officials at town hall meetings, in local authority offices, on the quayside, in schools and in their workplaces over the past 12 months. Their views were listened to and have been expressed in this draft plan.

It is critical that the implementation of this plan does not take place at the expense of fishers and the wider seafood sector, which supports jobs and economic activity in local communities along the south coast. Maximising opportunities for successful co-existence with other marine users has been a core objective throughout this process. Local fishers have been consulted extensively over the past 12 months and have positively shaped the preparation of this DMAP. The new plan-led approach adopted by Government will deliver certainty to coastal communities and existing maritime users. It will also bring certainty to Ireland’s burgeoning offshore wind industry, the investment decisions of which will accelerate decarbonisation of our society and economy.

In regard to that, the clear evidence from other jurisdictions illustrates the transformative economic impacts arising from offshore wind and supply chain development. Independent analysis on the south coast DMAP highlights that more than 60% of these opportunities in terms of inward investment and sustainable jobs creation will directly accrue to Cork, Waterford and Wexford. Further societal opportunity will result in the mandatory community benefit funds that must be established by all offshore wind projects in Ireland which are supported through the offshore renewable electricity support scheme. It is a requirement that community benefits funds will be independently managed by local communities for projects identified by those communities.

The plan will be a harbinger of regional development, economic opportunity and societal gain. While the motion before us today is the south coast’s opportunity, it is critical that this will be followed by further DMAPs over the coming years. For the avoidance of doubt, future DMAPs must and will always focus on emerging floating technology, notably off our western seaboard.

The approval of this motion will give effect to the plan-led approach to offshore renewables development in Ireland, supported by this House in May 2023. The establishment of the south coast DMAP is a critical step towards unlocking Ireland’s offshore wind potential, while securing our energy independence and prosperity over the coming decades. Its approval by this House should be considered of strategic national importance.

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