New research criticises a lack of Government support for the offshore renewable sector and raises serious questions about Ireland's ability to plan and build the infrastructure needed to produce offshore wind energy.
Lecturer in Economics at University College Cork Business School, and lead researcher on the report, Dr Frank Crowley, said Ireland has a unique geographical advantage but we are "completely a laggard" in the area.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, he said: "We have the natural resources to be the leader in Europe and globally in this area. But we're not.
"Actually we're well behind many other countries and we're well behind the UK in this space, we're well behind France, Portugal and other areas and we have to ask ourselves the question why, and why are we taking a wait and see approach?"
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he rejects the suggestion that Ireland is "a laggard" on offshore wind energy.
Onshore wind energy has been prioritised, he told the Dáil, and "the next big step is offshore".
Mr Varadkar added that he will be hosting a meeting on this in his department in the coming weeks.
Dr Crowley said the industry is in its infancy but there are some well-established firms that are also operating in the onshore renewable space.
"Overall, we have a very highly educated personnel and innovative sector, but most of them are telling us that there's a lack of Government engagement, that there's a lack of support, there's a lack of funding and overall it is a lack of certainty in the sector," he said.
Funding is a major problem, Dr Crowley added, and Ireland is taking a wait and see approach.
"If we look at the Irish context at the moment, we are completely a laggard in this particular area.
"We have a unique geographical advantage, we have the natural resources to be the leader in Europe and globally in this area but we're not.
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"This type of a sector needs an awful lot of capital investment. It needs some serious funding. It will take a long time to build it up. It's not like a light switch that you can turn on.
"So, it is something that we need some action [on] really from the Government if we are going to be leader in this."
Dr Crowley said that there are a range of problems, including planning and the length of time it is taking to make decisions to get projects off the ground.
"There's a lot of reports coming through that it is taking over a year for many of the onshore renewable plans to go through the planning system.
"The offshore sector is much, much more complicated, needs an awful lot more reports, reviews a lot of time considering about sites, where are the ideal places to actually make investments.
"We don't actually have expertise in that particular area in An Bord Pleanála at the moment.
"So, there's a lot of scepticism about the ability of our institutions to be able to react on time to this and get it through the planning process."
Read more:
Can Ireland lead the offshore renewable energy race?
Dr Crowley said a lot of research is being carried out and he welcomed the announcement of a Government plan in the area but said: "It's a strategy.
"We should be absolutely acting on this. There's significant capital investment that needs to be done, particularly around our ports and our grid. We are talking a decade before this sector really starts to get established and we should be making moves now.
"We're way behind and we have a comparative advantage in this particular area. It's a high added value sector. We can have a significant industry in this space and be at the technological frontier. We're not.
"We're way behind and in my opinion, we should be acting immediately," he added.
'Out of synch'
Ireland is years behind its competitors and "not at the races" to capitalise on the "huge opportunity" in floating offshore wind energy in the Atlantic, according to Pat Keating, CEO of Shannon Foynes Port Company.
Speaking about Government policy regarding wind energy, Mr Keating said: "The pace of roll-out, or the pace of implementation here. That's what's missing."
Mr Keating told the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications that major investors, such as Shell and Equinor, are frustrated by the unhurried approach to implementing wind energy policy.
"There's a number of policy issues at the moment that actually are preventing developers from even looking at their projects," he warned.
"We've the best resources in the Atlantic, certainly Europe-wide," he asserted.
"So, resource is there, demand is there. The piece in the middle is the implementation piece," which he said is "out of synch".
"Ireland initially nailed its colours to the fixed offshore," Mr Keating said, but now needs to get behind "the huge opportunity" that floating offshore facilities present.
"That's where the big investment is going to happen," he said.
