Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for the presentation. Mr. O'Sullivan spoke about Gas Networks Ireland's strategy for 2030 and 2050. Has that been costed and independently assessed? Carbon capture and storage is phenomenally expensive. Given where we are going, I wonder why Gas Networks Ireland is not putting a greater emphasis on hydrogen. There is a sustainability issue with carbon capture and storage. Planning permission is also a concern. The nuts and bolts of telling people in that region that we are going pump CO2 into the nearby caverns will not be straightforward. There are issues there. Since we are a small country in the scheme of things, I would have thought we should really push towards the hydrogen mix as a solution. Can the witnesses comment on that?

This committee has discussed the liquefied natural gas, LNG, facility planned for Ballylongford. Gas Networks Ireland is to some extent responsible for energy security. Its representatives can take my previous remarks in that context. Based on Gas Networks Ireland's long-term planning, is an LNG facility necessary from an energy security point of view?

Turning to decarbonisation generally, we all recognise that gas has to be a transition fuel. However, Gas Networks Ireland's strategy seems to be absolutely dependent on making carbon capture and storage operational by 2050 in order to achieve carbon-neutral status. Some might argue that this is not the best way to go, and that we should reduce our dependence on gas as part of that transition. When we talk about gas as a transition fuel, it is not a replacement for other fossil fuels. It is a way for us to make greater use of renewables. I note that Gas Networks Ireland has done a lot of work on renewable gas from the agricultural sector, which is helpful, but at the end of the day that does produce emissions. There is a significant hole in the strategy if carbon capture and storage does not become financially feasible.

Will our guests comment on that?