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THREE YEARS ago, an official report calculated that 2,000 jobs could be created if Ireland invested in ocean technology for electricity generation. It was an extremely cautious assessment. Since then, much has changed. Oil prices have sky rocketed. Prototypes for wave and tidal-stream electricity generators have come on line. The Government has agreed a three-year investment programme costing €26 million. And arrangements for two new electricity interconnectors to Britain are in place.

This is solid progress. But it does not represent the kind of ambitious can-do approach that would give Ireland a leading role in the development of ocean-based energy sources. Earlier this month, the United States ambassador to Ireland, Thomas P Foley, remarked that opportunities like this can be wasted and that “a greater sense of urgency was required” if we are to develop the knowledge base and the technological clusters required to become world leaders.