Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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7. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to provide an update on the work his Department is undertaking to engage with other agencies to leverage support programmes and funding opportunities to maximise local supply chain content levels in the domestic Irish market, as contained within Powering Prosperity: Ireland’s Offshore Wind Industrial Strategy; to provide a breakdown of the agencies he and his Department have engaged with; the dates on which he met to discuss this and the outcomes of these meetings; how prepared the local support chain market is; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30283/24]

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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Will the Minister of State provide an update on the work his Department is undertaking to engage with other agencies to leverage support programmes and funding opportunities to maximise local supply chain content levels in the domestic Irish market, as contained within Powering Prosperity: Ireland’s Offshore Wind Industrial Strategy? Will he provide a breakdown of the agencies he and his Department have engaged with, the dates on which they met to discuss this and the outcomes of these meetings? I ask him to make a statement on the matter.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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This is a good continuation of our discussion with Deputy Quinlivan. As I said, implementation of Powering Prosperity: Ireland’s Offshore Wind Industrial Strategy is progressing well. Our Department is overseeing the implementation of the actions, working alongside the action owners across Government Departments and agencies, including Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland. We also have regular contact with the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, Science Foundation Ireland, SFI, Marine Institute Ireland and the Irish Maritime Development Office.

Enterprise Ireland is the lead enterprise agency on domestic supply chain actions. It is working with its client companies active in offshore wind to build their management capabilities, skills and ambitions to compete effectively at home and abroad. It funds relevant programmes such as Key Manager and GradStart and assists companies to access research and development funding.

Our Department's offshore wind industry forum was established in 2023. Senior officials in our Department consult on a quarterly basis with 20 companies and organisations involved in the supply chain. This forum met most recently in June, and the group commented favourably on the recent progress in implementing Powering Prosperity. Similarly, through the offshore wind research development and innovation, RDI, working group, also established by my Department in 2023, officials meet on a quarterly basis with colleagues from Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland, SEAI and SFI to progress the RDI actions and ambitions in Powering Prosperity. This group met most recently in May.

Our Department, Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland also co-own and lead on work stream 7 of the cross-government offshore wind delivery task force, which is dedicated to mitigating supply chain risks and capitalising on opportunities. This task force is chaired by the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan. Its monthly meetings afford an opportunity to update colleagues across Government on the actions our Department is taking via Powering Prosperity. There are meetings every two months between this task force and representatives of the offshore wind industry. Officials in our Department attend every meeting of the task force and its meeting minutes and full membership are published on gov.ie.

In addition to these key forums, our officials, together with Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland, regularly meet a very broad range of supply chain companies. Officials attended and spoke recently at the Global Offshore Wind 2024 conference in Manchester a fortnight ago, Wind Energy Ireland’s annual offshore wind conference and WindEurope in Bilbao in March.

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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There is a lot in the question and a lot in the answer. At the root of it, however, similar to my colleague, Deputy Quinlivan, is the concern about what we are hearing with regard to the readiness of the industry here, whether we look at ports, planning, the grid or supply chain. It is a statement of fact at this stage to say that none of our phase 1 offshore wind farms will be developed on this island. There is a real concern that will continue into the future. When we meet with representatives from ports, there is a question mark in terms of funding and their readiness for phase 2 projects. Really, I am interested in the outcomes and what we can expect to see in terms of development, such as, for example, whether there are proposals for future auctions to have conditions relating to Irish supply chains.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I assure the Deputy that we are making very detailed progress in our Department in terms of Powering Prosperity through skills and job and supply chain opportunities. That is acknowledged by the groups with which we are engaging. As the Deputy knows, the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications has responsibility for future auctions and grid development. The Minister, Deputy Burke, and I are very focused on ensuring that we have supply chain opportunities for smaller Irish companies and regionally based Irish companies.

Indeed, in Deputy O'Rourke's own area, there are wonderful companies doing extraordinarily innovative things, not just here in Ireland, but abroad. I am more than happy to meet those companies and address any of the concerns the Deputy has in terms of Powering Prosperity and how we can supercharge that, but we are very focused. This year was the first year that we had an Irish pavilion at the WindEurope conference. That is an initiative that came from my visit to WindEurope last year. We want to continue to build the Irish brand. In terms of Powering Prosperity, we have the strategy and the scaffolding to do that.

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister of State mentioned in one of his earlier responses in the Chamber that we are very well progressed and in a position to maximise these technologies and the huge potential, as he will be very familiar with himself, off the west coast. There is a significant piece there in terms of technology which, of course, is floating offshore wind. There is a concern that we are slow. We are slow in terms of DMAPs and in terms of sending the signal to the industry, to the researchers in the area, that Ireland is serious about developing our floating offshore capacity off the west coast of Ireland. Can the Minister speak to that in terms of exactly what he is doing? Is he engaging with industry? Are there developments in terms of research and development in Ireland, specifically in the area of floating offshore wind to ensure that we lead in that technology?

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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Before the Minister comes in, we will hear from Deputy Murnane O'Connor.

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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In the Minister’s opening statement, he spoke about the SEAI. I know the Government is really encouraging these grants and work is being done through contractors, but in recent months, while we are encouraging people to take up the grants, elderly people have come to me who would have got a small grant maybe 15 or 20 years ago who now go for this grant and are not allowed to get it. The Minister knows himself that winters are getting harder. There is a lot more rain. People are now - thank God - living to a longer age and I am having battle after battle trying to get that redone. I ask the Minister to bring that up as an urgent case.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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Deputy Murnane O'Connor has stretched the limit.

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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I know.

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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Grants for offshore wind.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The SEAI comes under the operational responsibility of the Minister, Deputy Ryan-----

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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I have brought it up twice now.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I am pretty sure we will bring that to his attention. To go back to the offshore side of things, there are quite different opinions in terms of how advanced the technology is and how suited it is in particular for offshore on the west coast of Ireland, as the Deputy will know. What we are doing in our strategy is that we will establish an offshore wind centre of excellence. It will look at a floating demonstrator of scale to see how prepared the technology currently is for the conditions of the Irish west coast, particularly the offshore west coast. The technology will catch up and we are very focused on ensuring that, working with the Marine Institute and MARA. The whole point of Powering Prosperity is that Irish supply chains and companies will be ready, but I am very focused on ensuring that we get that scale and demonstrator up and running in order for us to understand the Irish coast and its impact.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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Go raibh maith ag an Aire. Bogfaidh mé ar aghaidh anois go dtí an chéad cheist eile in ainm an Teachta Richard Boyd Barrett.