Ciarán Ahern (Dublin South West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for coming in and engaging with us. I welcome the language he used in his opening statement, in being so frank that we are not on track to meet our first two carbon budgets and that this is removing any option of deferring action and forcing us to confront the gap between our ambition and delivery. While the language is welcome, we will see the colour of the Minister’s money soon when the national development plan is released and the Government's priorities in the NDP when it comes to prioritising public transport over the development of roads and, I hope, investment in offshore wind generation capacity, the national grid, water infrastructure and all of that.

Following up on Senator Noonan’s point on the State-backed LNG terminal, the Minister has told us he believes it is consistent with our emissions targets and carbon budgets. He has been talking about this State-led LNG reserve. In recent days, An Coimisiún Pleanála has written to the Minister asking him to clarify his policy and whether he supports the commercial Shannon LNG project. It appears that by opening the door to a State-led LNG project and allowing for the importation of fracked gas, he has opened the door to commercial interests as well. This is a relevant factor in the decision-making process of the planning authorities. Will the Minister write to them and clarify his position?