Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 21 October 2021

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport

Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals

Mr. Eddie Burke:

There is a figure of about 55%, but I will check that for the Deputy as I could be wrong. What is being covered will cover 90% of emissions from the maritime sector and, therefore, it is the bigger shipping companies and ships that are being affected.

In terms of what their view is, the Department has had discussions with the maritime sector and generally, they are okay with the approach that is there. As I mentioned, there is a slight difference of approach in the maritime sector compared to some of the other ones, in that some of what is being proposed is neutral on the type of fuel. The market is going to have to find its way through that and see which fuels come out as market leaders. That gives a bit of uncertainty for shipping, particularly if one is investing in shipping, in terms of what fuel to opt for, but we expect that is something that will work out over time.

In terms of the ports, undoubtedly there will be a cost. The supply of onshore electricity is very expensive. If a cruise ship with 5,000 people has to plug in, it is effectively a small town that is being plugged in. That comes at-----

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