By 2030, 80% of Ireland’s electricity is to come from renewable sources. The Government has set a target of 7,000 MW of installed offshore wind generation by 2030. For comparison, we currently have 25 MW off Wicklow in the Arklow Bank Wind Park. That target is for a mere eight years so it is a very ambitious target. However, the industry has continually rung alarm bells, saying this target will not be met. The latest alarm bell to be rung is by the UCC business school, which today described Ireland as a laggard in this area. It is really hard to argue with that, considering that three years into this Government, it is only this week that the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment announced that he plans to bring in an industrial strategy to deal with wind energy. Is the Taoiseach worried about Ireland being a laggard in this area? Does he still believe that Ireland will meet its renewable energy targets and its wind generation targets?

I do think we will meet those targets. If we miss them, we will not miss them by much. I do not accept we are a laggard in this area. I take the view that we took the decision to prioritise onshore wind. It made sense. It was cheaper to do, easier to do and quicker to do. We prioritised that. Approximately 35% or 40% of our electricity comes from renewables now. That is not bad at all by international standards. That is almost all from onshore wind. We are really getting going on solar as well. There was a period a few weeks ago where 10% of all the electricity that was generated in Ireland came from solar. That would have been unthinkable not so long ago. The next big step is offshore wind, including interconnection, batteries, grid development and all those things that are required. I will be hosting a special meeting about that in the Department of the Taoiseach in a few weeks’ time. It will map out how we can achieve the vision of energy independence within a generation, which I think we will do.