Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Sometimes you have to gather your thoughts when you come into a committee room. There is so much we juggle here in the day. I thank the Minister of State for his engagement, as always. He is really leading out his side of the Department very well and we are very grateful.

I will begin on SAF. There is an issue I have raised in the Dáil a number of times. We have a very exciting future in hydrogen production and how it can be used. There are buses in the capital city powered by hydrogen and there is a regional plan to roll it out more extensively. However, I have often raised the matter with the Minister, Deputy Ryan, of how Ireland has no national ammonia strategy. Global transport is moving that way. The Chinese have already commanded a position of world dominance in this in ammonia manufacture. European countries have an ammonia strategy. It is seen as being a far more stable fuel. If I can remember my leaving certificate science, my chemistry, if hydrogen, which it is hoped Ireland will have plenty of, is infused with nitrogen, you get ammonia and ammonia can be brought in tanker ships around the world. It is a very stable fuel and it is not as combustible. The most important thing about ammonia, however, is that an ammonia molecule has no carbon atom. In layman’s terms, it means it can be burned day in, day out every day of the year and it does not release any carbon into the atmosphere. We are light years away from having ammonia-powered planes, but that is not so with seafaring vessels. Many of the major shipping companies are looking at ammonia-powered engines. There are also various spin-off benefits, including fertiliser production and plastics. Ammonia is the way to go. There are other Departments which probably have a function on this but I would love to see it become part of the discourse of the Department of Transport so that, while we drive on with hydrogen, we also have a strategy on ammonia, and certainly in shipping into the future. I have been googling this. I do not expect the Minister of State to be an expert on it. Maybe he is.