The Irish government has published the Maritime Area Planning Bill that could help to facilitate 5GW of offshore wind by the end of 2030.
The legislation will potentially establish a planning system for these seven to 10 projects.
Wind Energy Ireland has welcomed the publication of the Maritime Area Planning Bill and has called on all political parties to make it a “top priority” for passage when the Oireachtas resumes sittings next month.
Wind Energy Ireland public affairs head Justin Moran said: “The key message from last week’s IPCC report is that there is no time to waste.
“We must decarbonise our energy system as quickly as possible and offshore wind energy is critical for this.
“The publication of the Maritime Area Planning Bill, which will put in place a coherent planning system for our maritime area, is an important step towards enabling Ireland to finally take advantage of some of the best renewable energy resources in the world”
Moran added: “The challenge now is to get this legislation through the Oireachtas as quickly as possible.”
The trade body said it has already written to the leader of every political party in the Dail to “urge them to prioritise the bill”.
“It must get the proper, robust, scrutiny required of every piece of legislation but, if our elected representatives are serious about tackling climate change, it must be top of their agenda when the Oireachtas meets again next month,” Moran said.