Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 July 2026
948. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the position regarding the commitment in the programme for Government to “work to progress recommendations of the Shannon Estuary Economic Taskforce central to renewable energy planning, recognising the region’s potential”; which recommendations that have been completed or are in progress; to report on any key milestones achieved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56132/26]
View answerThe independent Shannon Estuary Economic Taskforce presented its final report to Government in 2023 containing 89 recommendations relating to national policy development and targeted initiatives for the Shannon Estuary Region, primarily focussed on measures that could enable the development of floating offshore wind projects of scale in the Atlantic, deployed through the Shannon Estuary. The publication of the final report marked the conclusion of the Taskforce’s activities.
The report included recommendations relating to offshore and onshore renewable energy, security of energy supply and energy cost competitiveness, and initiatives across the transport, logistics and connectivity, and tourism sectors, with relevant line Departments maintaining responsibility for considering the implementation of recommendations within their respective remits.
Since the publication of the report, significant progress has been made regarding the implementation of recommendations focused on renewable energy, including key national policy developments, including several led by my Department:
• The development and implementation of Powering Prosperity – Ireland’s Offshore Wind Industrial Strategy.
• The publication of the Roadmap for the Decarbonisation of Industrial Heat.
• The publication of the Large Energy User Action Plan.
Other key developments include the establishment of the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority (MARA), and the publication of the National Hydrogen Strategy; the Energy Security in Ireland to 2030 Strategy; and the National Biomethane Strategy.
In addition, Government approved the development of a national Designated Maritime Area Plan (DMAP) for offshore wind by the end of 2027, which will accelerate offshore renewable energy development by designating sites around Ireland’s entire sea area capable of delivering at least 15GW of ORE by 2040.
The Programme for Government 2025 contains a commitment to progress the Taskforce’s recommendations as they relate to renewable energy, and in that context, my Department continues to engage across Government to progress any outstanding policy recommendations for the relevant Government Departments.
My Department has continued to engage extensively with stakeholders in the Shannon Estuary region to ensure sustained progress on the Taskforce’s recommendations. In January, my Department hosted an Irish and UK industry-led event focused on future deep-water offshore wind technologies in Foynes, Co. Limerick. This event afforded stakeholders in the Shannon Estuary region, in particular, the opportunity to contribute a regional development perspective to the offshore wind dialogue, in line with that Programme for Government commitment. A number of Regional Enterprise Plan Steering Groups, including the Mid-West, have identified offshore wind as key opportunity area in their respective regions and have established offshore wind energy working groups to develop regional strategies to capitalise on the offshore wind opportunity; my Department meets with these working groups to ensure ongoing engagement and alignment at regional level.
