IRELAND SHOULD “not be over-reliant on gas” and should be making a much greater commitment to ocean energy resources, Bord Gáis chief executive John Mullins has said.

The new taoiseach should also combine environment and energy portfolios in one department, Mr Mullins said, and he would be suggesting this to Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny. Opening an ocean industry forum in Dublin yesterday, Mr Mullins warned Scotland was “surging ahead” in a sector which Bord Gáis estimated to be worth up to 70,000 jobs here and €120 billion.

In spite of the cited high cost of investment, Mr Mullins pointed out those in the energy industry knew “you don’t invest for short-term gain”. “Ireland needs to be decoupled from the international price of oil or else many aspects of our economy will be seriously impacted by rising energy costs across electricity, heating and transport,” he said. “We must invest now for this scenario and not when the peak oil shock comes. And, as CEO of Bord Gáis, I say we cannot be over-reliant on gas, and we must look at our country’s energy resources as a whole.”

Mr Mullins welcomed last November’s publication of a draft offshore renewable energy development plan, but said “specific time-bound actions” and a “one-stop shop” for facilitating development were required.

Ireland was “sending a signal of having very little ambition” in ocean energy, he noted. “Energy infrastructure in Ireland over the next 10-20 years has to be about developing and facilitating national energy security of supply and not just accessing the cheapest sources of energy . . .”

A new administration “must learn the lessons of previous years when our economic development was blinded by property,” he said. “Ireland has some of the best wind and wave resources on the planet and our technology in this area is world-class. We cannot waste this intellectual capital, it must be nurtured and invested in now.”

A Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland study, which forecasts 52,000 jobs in ocean energy with a net present value of over €9 billion by 2030, was outlined by NUI Galway economist Dr Karyn Morrissey. The Department of Environment is developing a fast-tracking system of foreshore licensing which will give priority to all energy-related projects, and draft new legislation is ready, department official George Burke told the forum.