 name and organization President of the Irish Wind Energy Association Could I say it minister? Thank you very much for what you said about renewables, which I thought Really set the scene for where renewables can go forward from Ireland in a European context And I think what you have said covers both the onshore dimension in terms of The projects that are getting built at the moment and which are very important in their own right They what you said about major onshore and then which Is now becoming an increasing priority of the Irish Energy Association offshore you mentioned the whole issue of jobs and Just to make one suggestion is that I think the experience of the UK in recent times when they announced Offshore initiative shows that the whole supply chain and what can be delivered in the supply chain With a clear statement from government as to how they are going to develop forward in this case the renewable sector I think that would be really important and would be a very welcome addition to what you had to say. Thank you minister Would you like to respond to minister? Well, if you want to take a few I mean yes, I respond to Patty. I mean and in terms of Onshore, I mean, I think everybody is is is is fairly familiar with The record and the potential there and the fact that the reef is reef is to Has been approved and has been approved by government It's got state aides at turns and been approved by government and it's it's it's presumably on our website already and in terms of inviting applications and In terms of offshore, I mean Patty will be aware and some other people here will be aware that we've had a number of discussions with our British counterparts And I think we've probably taken them as far as we can take them for the moment Because the British are engaged in their own internal consultation process at the moment, which will very quickly conclude Because it has kind of reached the stage where we need to start to talk about the nuts and bolts of what would constitute an Intergovernmental agreement up to now there has been a lot of polite shadow boxing and various things You know round and about Inspirational statements and all that kind of thing and during the course of all this Intellectual ferment Charles Henry told me he managed to pick up a castle in Scotland and will not out be looking at the wind Flows there while he's out shooting grouse but He is I think Personally committed to the notion of an inter governmental agreement with Ireland and There's some rethink I think going on within the present British government and the the energy secretary Chris Hume has has the environment secretary has left the government recently and I don't know what will come out of the present consultation but The next engagement really has to be about what would be the shape of such an intergovernmental agreement that would govern the kind of Export possibilities that you're talking about and so on supply chain and I Think it's next week. I'm meeting the IDA and this is one of the questions that we're going to talk to them about I mean you know you You have to I think be able to demonstrate An export potential Before you know, we're seriously in the business of the supply chain operating from this island that would service that and we have to look at that and you know It it it does pose. There are a couple of projects that are Examining the possibilities of locating in Ireland whether any of them will actually happen I don't know but it is something that will be on the agenda. I think next week is our meeting with the idea Thank you very much Minister now because it's such a large crowd and We may have a lot of people who want wish to ask questions I'd start with taking two questions at a time and please confine them to questions rather than speeches. So, okay Thank you very much. I'm the ambassador of Finland and my name is Perti Mayanen and Everybody will after this remember my name As you guess Mr. Minister, thank you very much your friend presentation and in your presentation you already underlight the importance of the energy efficiency This is a very topical question also for the reason that the European Commission is preparing a draft Directive or it's it it is ready already and being discussed in the parliament and there are many many Important proposals in this directive including the the application to reach the 1.5 reduction energy reduction Every year I'm mainly asking you to clarify or Describe the overall iris position concerning the new directive and which way we are going at the at the moment And it says especially your opinion on this one point to five Object objective. There is also a discussion very important discussion concerning the reference year When we start comparing these reductions and this is 2011 at the moment and and there are very strong differences in Opinions and one more thing is that this process is getting very complicated for the reason that there are these 2,000 Amendment proposals by the European Parliament at the moment. So, thank you very much Sorry, Frank groomer grid and minister once you comment on your position regarding any proposed increase in the renewable targets both in European countries and You know what effect that will have here and your willingness to Increase the renewable targets going forward post 2020 obviously Yeah, well and I Can tell the ambassador that yes, we're very supportive of the objectives in the energy efficiency directive It seems to me that one of the one of the few things that we can meaningfully do meaningfully do is reduce consumption Our experience of dipping our toe in the water in terms of retrofit and so on you know would bear that out Indeed, there's also a target in the energy efficiency directive about the retrofit of public buildings and we certainly have Tremendous capacity in that area in this country Yes, you're right that our strong differences of opinion As a result, I think the Danes probably think that rather than Complete a directive that they're not happy with that it may well survive to the Irish presidency And it may not be got over the line before then but That that that is our view Well, we've been operating within the targets that are set and I'm Whereas I said in my remarks that I'm Assured by expert opinion that we have the capacity to meet our targets from on the shore and then with something to spare I don't think that that would necessarily drive me to reviving unilaterally revising unilaterally our targets. I'm more interested in looking at the issues that have been raised with me by the offshore wind people in terms of What the potential is there? I mean, I should have said in the interest of accuracy when I said that government has approved our proposals for refit to for on for for onshore government has not approved refit for offshore and There are reasons for that going to need me, but I think people understand But that doesn't mean to say that the capacity about which petty tea and spoke That is there because we're richly endowed with these resources That we shouldn't set about examining the capacity there for developing an export market And that's the big challenge of our discussions with the British Thank you In the light of the very positive experiences we've had with agencies in this country and I can think of two for example the idea and With regard to industrial development and sustainable energy island with regard to renewables development Looking at hydrocarbons, which will continue to be important and looking at carib and the emerging debate on shale gas Are you minded to look at an agency approach? You know where the promotion if you like would be long in one area and regulation and policy in another and Thereby set out to inform the players the public debate and bring us I would say to a happier space when it comes to achieving your ultimate objective of development and resource development There's another one down here at the back Minister, thank you for your contribution. Cratton Healy is the name and two points. One is about a Cratton Healy Board of SAI and various other hats Wind associations and so on Minister two things I'm delighted to hear you you believe we'll meet our targets, but given what's going on with the curtailment issue We really really need to address that there was a meeting of the SCM committee yesterday with the wind industry We're waiting for an outcome as to how they will Approach the subject, but it is the witness Pretty much a consensus in the wind industry that the the government The department will need to do something about the refit scheme to solve the curtailment problem And I'm wondering would you comment on that and the second point is I'd be interested in you're thinking behind the constitutional claim to wind energy That you in your in your address. I'm wondering what the implications of that are if I might thanks Well, the implications Gratton is not to put you out of business It is merely to remind the audience of what is stated in the Constitution and that whatever measures and Whichever direction we go in in the future that you know, it has to be for the benefit of the people of this country and so on and You know, we have managed to reasonably successfully in a market economy rides the challenge between the Constitution and Nurturing the market economy and I Be interested in talking to you David About that idea. I mean If I fully understand you, I mean, of course hydrocarbons are Important and are going to continue To be important. There's there's no disputing That I Suppose it's in the area of shale gas that it probably arises more dramatically Are more sharply anyway in terms of the division of responsibilities to which you refer You know It's The debate is one way so far, you know Even though there isn't any hydraulic fracturing going on in this country, you know One would get the country impression From the depth of feeling being expressed in different parts of the country including a meeting I saw Television last night in Karakin Shannon, I think it was and You know It's not that the technology here is new but the phenomenon of shale gas is new in this country as I understand it and In terms of separateness, I mean The three companies were awarded licenses to do initial exploration work and desktop study and all that kind of thing But if they go to the next phase or seek to go to the next phase I mean, it has to go through a very rigorous environmental Impact assessment process and all the rest that goes with that if it's an offshore Hydrocarbon it has to go through a planning process and all the rest and so on You know that that What what would what would a separate agency bring to the party? As I say, I would be interested in talking to you about that. I mean obviously the shale gas one is is is causing a lot of Concern now whether that concern is stoked up on Evidence to based information is something that it's too early to say You know We certainly don't yet have the expert advice that would enable me to be satisfied that I could make a call on it One way or the other Even in the United States I think the EPA study in the United States has taken some four years and I presume when that emerges this year It'll be a major a major contribution To this document. I think it wasn't helped in the United States by The intervention of the former vice president who managed to push through legislation that exempted fracking from any of the normal Checks and balances that would normally have applied. It's referred to in the States as they the Halley Burton loophole and That hasn't you know Enhanced public support for for the process But suddenly I'd be very glad to to talk to you about would would a separate agency dividing the functions make it more efficient and Less problematic for me I I don't know. Gratton. I know your views very well on curtailment and As you know, we're we're discussing that I Honestly, I honestly couldn't Agree with your use of the word consensus In the industry because I have to say that different players in the industry have Represented somewhat different views To me on it, but I read your paper. I don't know whether that paper was published or not and I Must say I found it very informative and a very accessible and lucid account of Of the entire issue I'm not sure that I would agree with they will all be ruined says Hanrahan before the year is out conclusion But it I know that The curtailment issue Is and has been represented to me by different by different interests in the in the industry and We're looking at it Gratton. That's that's all I can say to you. I'm not trying to delay on it or anything like that we have Additional problems on our plate as a result of a more recent sim decision Which certainly came as a major surprise to me and I think to most in the industry So we have to have a look at that as well, but I don't want to stick my own into that until I Find out a bit more about it and my understanding is that the industry is engaging with sim at the moment I don't know if that process has started yet or not Thanks Ronan Tynan member of the Institute first of all minister Thanks very much for a presentation that clearly is focused on jobs and growth in a very challenging brief you have My focus very much is from the ICT sector though in fairness as a perspective And I was delighted that you mentioned energy ICT and innovation is also an area where there are clearly major opportunities In fact, I'd even suggest you that the security sector is one that in this area They also have a lot of potential as this is the way I want to ask your question I mean it certainly probably isn't the first thing a minister for energy would be Briefed on but the whole question is cyber threats in the electric areas getting a lot of media play Anybody who follows this will be quite surprised actually and the reason of course is doing research this area myself at the moment Is these threats seem to become far more Serious with time and perhaps the reason we haven't had a problem is because those in the industry Have been doing a reasonable job in meeting that challenge So one I was curious to know are you aware of that? Is it an issue that you're concerned about you find your fellow ministers in this area concerned about it Is it an issue that you think should get more airplay is getting more airplay? For example, Ireland's infrastructure in the cyber security area is not really perhaps as obvious as it is in other countries With institutions appointed a lot of emphasis even on the military side and so forth So just to throw that at you. I mean obviously one doesn't want to be the first minister I'm sure to have that problem and luckily despite the I will admit the airplay or the attention this gets We still haven't had a major. Well, in fairness there have been some attacks on electric networks But I'm just curious really as to your perspective on that issue. Is it something you've noticed on your agenda? Thanks very much indeed Brian britain national offshore wind association Minister it would be remiss of me if I didn't say here today that your decision on the offshore refit Has put the offshore industry back by one or two years However, we very much welcome the as pati has said earlier on on behalf of the ars wind energy association Your commitment to engaging with our neighbors in the uk and the focus on intergovernmental agreement between the two countries I would also like to ask you That as part of the discussions that are taking place as directed by the eu to encourage Trade between eu member states that we're also looking at a market mechanism So that if Hungary or Czech Republic or whatever are short of renewable energy We have a major resource here that we should be seeking to supply to those states And I would like your commitment that that will be pursued at european level And finally in the context of moving forward Is it possible to look at public-private partnerships as we move forward? Particularly when you meet with the agencies because many companies in this country have invested a lot of money in the offshore industry And we need to work very closely with the agencies to capitalize on the supply chain opportunities that are afford Thanks Ronan, um We really haven't uh, we really haven't resolved on List of priorities for our own presidency yet. I mean great deal will depend on where the current presidency finishes up and so on Whether as the Finnish ambassador says the energy efficiency directive is still there The infrastructure package is clearly priority And I mentioned the energy ict interaction because we have some competitive advantage in this country in the ict area Now, unfortunately, the bad news I have for you is that yes, indeed I am the first minister to be landed with the cyber security Responsibility It has been recently passed over to me from the teshiks department and Beware of of greeks bearing gifts So, uh, yes, um We are Attempting in the unit to put together some skills in that area. I don't know about your suggestion about more airplay I think their whole existence is designed not to get too much airplay And all the rest but yes, I am aware of it and Yes, we are attempting to To cope as best we can I would agree with your remarks that The industry has been doing a relatively fine job In the area so far and so on I understand Brian. You're disappointed and I accept that entirely and I know the amount of work That you have invested in it and and I know that your investors as well You know Put a lot into it um The decision was made for a number of reasons cost being a cost imposed on consumers cost especially imposed on business and large enterprise users I mean very close to the top And so on we're in extraordinary straightened circumstances and I know I need to Do well on that point To this audience, but we are at the moment in such very difficult circumstances All I can say to you is that I'm very anxious to progress the discussions with My british counterpart and my assessment of his Convictions are similar. I think he wants to do likewise and You know any doors that we can open For you or that haven't been opened already, you know, we're very anxious to help in that regard and The public-private partnerships is something probably that we should discuss in the context of The next white paper in this area. I mean in the interim Because we have made the decision we have made on offshore refit Doesn't mean to say that the department and the agencies that are there will not try to be as helpful as we can To your sector of the industry as best we can Thank you very much minister On the right Our minister, thanks very much. This is most useful today um, Dan Haneweg, uh, like Gratton a variety of different hats One of those that's actually achieved the issuance of the guarantees of origin We are that the very first in the country who's actually had them issued We are ready to trade when the when the when the uk side are ready to receive So, uh, you know, we'll be patient and we understand the the process that is going through And if it is achieved within the timescale of the of the expiry of the of the guarantees of origin That would be most welcome indeed separately There's a feeling here a drift of thought that the very very large energy store, which I think we all know about is a bit of a slam dunk and Would the minister be kind enough to bring it in competition In energy store to the point where the full measure of its Various different devices of scale Could significantly enhance the performance on the grid This in itself will substantially change the the curtailment issue because the higher the firm base of Generating on the system the higher the 50 percent of the at the current cutoff point will be And it's actually quite important to to move quickly into these Energy storage devices that also provide significant grid services. Thanks Thanks very much. I'm matt emcee farmers journal minister. Was it a coincidence or did I did I miss your non referral to biomass in any form? Thank you Well, uh, I don't want to reaffirm Dan, you know, we're We're as anxious as you are in terms of the In terms of the relationship with britain now some of You're a major your remaining question about energy storage and so on is As the late shameless sprint and said about the Dublin port tunnel away above my head And we we we should talk about it and see Whether we're in agreement or not. No, you're right matt. You're right. It's a complete coincidence complete omission We have the new refit in place refit three since last week or the previous week for biomass And I'm aware of a few interesting projects in the pipeline in that regard and I was I attended the The bioenergy conference last week And again, we had some very interesting discussions in this area I suppose, you know, it comes into the section of the My remarks, you know, where I was dealing with the state participation and state land and state companies, you know Probably also need to get some clarification there You know about Whether this is the best way that they're organized and The new new new era authority is established now And one of its roles is as shareholder executive And I would imagine that it will examine whether the present configuration of The organization of state companies, you know, is the is that the most Is that the most efficient? I And I was going to say something there chairman. I forgot I was on the record The the The point is anyway that eventually refit three came through and I think, you know, most of the Small companies represented at the conference last week, you know Seem to signal that that was the green light for them to proceed now whether there is greater capacity in that area you and the farmers journal and your Avid readers would probably know more about it than I do. I mean, there are questions about You know the future of agriculture after the present regime ends And that gives rise to certain questions as well, you know, no longer as you know Will we have a sugar quota and so on and so forth and you know some of the Some of the possibilities that might arise there. I know that Simon coveney for example is Is interested in that and uh, we're looking we're looking at it together In terms of the bioenergy area So it is only a coincidence or a no mission rather that it's not in the script It is not that I don't think that it's uh I'll be it smaller but very important contribution On the renewable side Thanks minister any final question. I think we're coming to the end one here. Is there another one that we want to group with it? Just one Two, okay. Good afternoon minister. Just a point of clarification. John McNamara B&M in relation to Refit two you mentioned it had stated clearance and passed by cabinet and that was on the website Is that open for applications? I may be I may be wrong about it being on the website But if it isn't it will be it was approved by cabinet on Tuesday. Okay. Yeah, so it's just a question of Doing the the necessary mechanical work together. Lovely. Thank you Yes, and there was one Sweeney minister from SEI Just just to I don't I understand what you you've said about refit for offshore wind and so on I just want to ask is is there um, is it open to consider Would you like to stand up so that we oh, sorry. Yes. Yes. Yeah, uh, is it open to consider? Sort of refit as a more complex instrument to being capped and at certain levels and and so on I'm thinking particularly as an incentivization to to enterprise development and specifically in the case of wave and tidal Which are not likely to produce any any sort of a charge on the tax payer for Quite a number of years to come but but to think of it as a form of Of incentivizing early stage Development and and small scale project development here. Is that is that still open? I mean I can understand the resistance to make to commitments to large positions on On the on the consumer, but but refit. I think May have a role as a kind of an incentivization policy for technology and industry development I'm just wondering is that still open as a topic Well, the refit just agreed The refit just agreed on as you know started life in 2010 And in fact the projects go back to 2010 and so on so any question of redesigning it Would have produced a delay of a further 12 months Or so and so on so that wasn't clearly feasible I mean, I don't have any It's a fairly arcane science. I don't have any preconceptions about looking at what happens after 2015 In terms of redesign and so on I'm I'm I'm quite willing to to take expert advice on it I mean in the ocean energy sector I don't understand that to be an issue that confronts me today or tomorrow There are other issues that confront me in terms of maintaining Maintaining the research efforts that is going on in that area and I visited I visited I mark Last week at at Hal Bowlin and so on and you know, certainly some very impressive work Going on there and I'm going to UCG UCG next week To talk to them amongst other things about that particular subject So the the main effort is to ensure that somewhere We find the money to ensure that the research work going on In an area that we may well have some advantages in personally. I think we have In the future is protected, but I think the The design of Future feed-in tariffs or whatever is certainly something that's open and that we should be prepared to look at I mean up to now. I mean the representations being made to me by the industry is to the effect that They need to get their full whack out of the existing system You know in order to be able to remunerate investment and you know, there are some Critical metrics if we were going to to tackle redesigning it, but in principle, I'm not opposed at all to looking at that