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public support. We see how the consequences of war in the Middle East are not confined to the Middle East. The flow of energy around the world has been disrupted and price rises and inflation will follow. We in Ireland need to look at our own defence … building of new large commercial flour mills; growing the wheat must be the next step. Likewise, we have not done enough on wind energy. We should have been able to fast-track the delivery of wind energy at sea. We are so dependent on imports

world where we would not need fuel. We are nowhere near that in this country at this time. We do not even have wind energy offshore, something I raised with the Taoiseach in 2022 during Leaders' Questions. I spoke about the Barryroe oil field and the chance that … world to look after ourselves. We could well look after ourselves without any other country. We are surrounded by water. That is where wind energy comes into play. We could have strong potential of an oil field off Barryroe. That was not researched, and when I spoke

urgency with which we need to transition our economy away from its reliance on fossil fuels and towards clean, indigenous, renewable energy. Wind energy produced off the Irish coast will not get stuck in the Strait of Hormuz. The inertia from the Government in building up our offshore

Party has always argued that the only way for us to meet these three interconnected challenges is for us to scale up wind, solar and energy storage at pace. One of the big changes between this Government and the previous one is that this Government has identified … offshore renewable energy projects all seem to be stuck in the mud. The State has a target of 5 GW of offshore renewable wind energy by 2030. At this point it looks like the Taoiseach's Government will achieve none of that. We are in a position

stuff. We are doing a lot around renewable energy, particularly onshore wind, but we have a lot more to do with offshore wind energy. We need to open our minds and perspectives into how we can ensure that we have energy security moving forward. It is about having

number of wind farms. We cannot dress it up and say that the guidelines will help to expand the supply of onshore wind energy because all of the impetus from Deputies and others has been aimed at restricting the growth of onshore wind farms. Let us be honest … society. I said yesterday that I was in this House when people were against onshore wind, gas generation and solar. We have a huge challenge in terms of energy independence, and we probably need a greater discussion on that

many warnings do we need? We need that pivot to decarbonisation and energy security. That means focusing more on offshore and onshore wind energy, making that happen and realising the moonshot moment famously mentioned a number of years ago by former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. We have not reached

Offaly, we have seen the development of a significant infrastructure of wind turbines, solar farms and battery storage. In January alone, with only 2% of the country's landmass, Offaly was the top generator of renewable energy in the country. Many speakers come into this Chamber and tell … people who took a very ambitious step in recent years to ensure we could meet our ambitious targets. I ask that the wind energy guidelines be produced and published as soon as possible. With regard to home heating, I ask the Minister to look at measures like

solar, but if you want to run a home on solar energy - I listened to a person recently who is getting solar energy – you are talking about a cost of €17,000 to €20,000. The grant is €1,800. That is paltry. In the name … knocking on the door of Moffat in Scotland for our fuel and we were to have independence in terms of fuel, wind energy and solar, but we did not. Nothing happened. We seem to be brain-blocked. Barryroe field was there to be explored

most recent one, from the start of this month, says: My Department is currently undertaking a focused review of the 2006 Wind Energy Development Guidelines ... The review is addressing a number of key aspects of the Guidelines ... [Blah, blah, blah.] That is the same reply I have been

offshore wind, we held the onshore RESS 5 and the offshore Tonn Nua auctions, which have delivered wind energy projects at competitive prices for consumers. The Department expects the five projects that bid into the offshore one auction to be in construction by 2030, marking a new phase

huge potential here. This potential transcends many Departments. There is the potential to monitor shadow fleets, subsea cables, gas lines and offshore wind energy; to survey ecological and habitat areas; and to tackle the trade of illicit drugs. That is only the start of it. This

majority of our energy. However, if other European countries had the potential that we have on our seabed, with offshore renewable energy, ORE, and with wind, they would be grabbing it and supplying it. They would be a producer of green hydrogen. They would use gravity storage. They … euro is being lost by solar farms and wind farms when there is too much sun and too much energy - the acceleration of our offshore wind, which I have spoken about, marine energy or green hydrogen, which we could speak about. Professor James Carton, my old engineering professor

translating it properly into the type of financial support that is needed quickly and immediately. I have my view on renewable energy and wind farms. I think we are destroying the countryside with them. Where are the regulations that were promised way back in 2016 or 2013? Where

generated through war and conflict with the most recent being the Russian invasion of Ukraine before this war. The Deputy attacked the wind and solar energy agenda and so on. He is actually creating a scenario where there would be more energy dependence into the future … energy dependence on fossil fuels, which would be a disaster for the country. If this teaches us anything, it is the necessity to double down on our focus and investment in renewables. There are hard choices to make on this. I was in the Dáil recently when

Taoiseach has not been able to provide me with any firm sense of when that renewable energy from offshore wind will start to feed into our national grid. What we know when it comes to security of supply is that Qatar has shut off its entire production … basis of security of supply, LNG fails the test. It is the Government's policy to hard-wire that failed approach into our energy system. This will leave Irish households vulnerable to consistently higher prices and leave the State vulnerable to energy shocks caused by international events like

should consider introducing new, maybe emergency, legislation if existing powers are insufficient to deal with it. This further underscores the need for wind and solar energy in Ireland. I call on all sides to de-escalate the dangerous situation and move towards an end to the conflict while

milestone of over 2 gigawatts of installed solar capacity was achieved in November; - offshore wind capacity is also being prioritised, with the Minister for Climate, Environment and Energy and Minister for Transport, Darragh O'Brien TD, announcing the acceleration of the National Designated Maritime Area Plan for offshore

simply need more renewables. We need to expand our capacity, protect our consumers from the volatile markets and accelerate our output of renewable energy. That will entail looking at our planning laws, which must have local consent, and we must also invest in the grid. I welcome … date, especially in relation to the SEAI grants for residential solar panels, heat pumps and intensive offshore wind developments. Ireland is hoping to have 5 GW of offshore energy by 2030. The benefits are clear in that we are going to have energy security. We are going

This reinforces the argument that we have to double, treble or even quadruple our efforts on energy self-sufficiency and ramping up renewables, not only wind, but also wave, tidal, solar and producing green hydrogen. We have to treat it like a war-time situation. If this eases

difficult decisions at times. Ultimately, decarbonising our energy system is the best way to secure energy independence and reduce costs for families. That means clearing the decks for progress in offshore wind, like others have mentioned here, and as Deputy Heneghan said, clearing the decks for progress

change in our investment in renewables. At Cabinet level, there is the clearing house for offshore energy. However, we have to talk about what we are doing with regard to onshore wind and solar and how we can make sure we have a more transparent but expedited planning

what could potentially happen if relations with the US continue to become as volatile as they have been. When Russia invaded Ukraine, the energy security analysis was updated to reflect that and it needs to happen again. It also needs to be honest about what is possible … that understands what real energy security looks like. What it does not look like is shipping in LNG from across the world at enormous cost. It looks like building up infrastructure that we control here at home. It looks like investing in wind, storage and grid resilience

high prices we are seeing at the garage forecourts. The Minister does not even have to take our word for it. The International Energy Authority has explicitly said that people should be encouraged to work from home so that the cost of commuting is mitigated. This … renewable potential off our coasts that is almost entirely untapped. We have literally one offshore wind farm, in Arklow, built more than two decades ago, and it is no longer generating any energy. I have serious questions about our target of 5 GW of offshore generation

That is the bottom line here. Ireland's energy security is hanging by a thread. We cannot keep relying on imported diesel in global markets we have no control over. The Government's promise in 2022 was more offshore wind farms but the only one we have … first of these offshore wind generating plants be developed in Ireland? I am bringing forward a proposal for Ireland's first zero emission freight corridor pilot scheme from Cork Port to west Cork, not alone as a climate measure but as a real energy security solution. We have

Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the proportion of the 2030 target for onshore wind that has been achieved (energised) to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21680/26

Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the proportion of the 2030 target for offshore wind achieved (energised) to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21681/26

Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the proportion of the 2030 target for offshore wind capacity specifically for renewable hydrogen achieved (energised) to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21683/26