Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 6 May 2026
96. Deputy Eoin Hayes asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the funding that has been allocated to research and development in tidal energy under his Departments' remit over the past five years. [33308/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department provides funding streams for numerous research and development into renewable energy technologies both onshore and offshore, including the SEAI’s National Energy RD&D Funding Programme, which provides up to a maximum of €1,250,000 in funding for projects each year. This programme welcomes research proposals from all research disciplines and does not target specific technologies, like tidal energy. The successful applicants for funding in previous years are available on the SEAI’s website.
In addition to this, the SEAI and Marine Institute fund several research projects related to ocean energy. My Department does not keep a comprehensive list of all funded projects but these agencies should be able to provide the information on any funded tidal projects.
My Department also provides funding to support test sites, including the LiR National Ocean Test Facility in Ringaskiddy, Co. Cork. This facility provides for indoor testing of small to medium scale testing of ocean energy technologies, which includes tidal energy devices. Again, research and development here is not restricted to tidal energy and includes various related ocean energy technologies such as wave energy, floating offshore wind, etc.
My Department does not currently directly provide any funding specific to tidal energy as research and development for ocean energy is focused more broadly to assess numerous emerging technologies, with an emphasis on viability and affordability. As such, we do not have specific figures for the amount of funding provided to tidal energy, but we are committed to continuing to provide opportunities for researchers and developers in this area to access funding going forward.
