Dr. Paul Deane:

In essence, the question is whether we need LNG. From the detailed modelling we have undertaken in UCC, it is not entirely obvious that LNG infrastructure will be required in Ireland. We have modelled in detail supply interruptions coming from Russia and independently coming from Norway and north Africa. The lights have remained on in Ireland in all our simulations, which points to the fact that LNG infrastructure may not be required within Ireland.

The Irish gas system is relatively secure and resilient. It is worth bearing in mind that in the past four or five years, there has never been a supply interruption of gas coming into Ireland but there have been two supply interruptions on the electricity interconnectors - both Moyne and east-west. We are very lucky to have a resilient gas infrastructure and the recent twinning of the gas pipes coming from Scotland to Ireland has increased that resilience even further.

What helps the lights to remain on in the event of a severe supply interruption from importing states are factors such as the existing LNG infrastructure in Europe. There is abundant capacity for LNG in Europe, in Portugal, Spain and parts of France. Traditionally, Europe has been good at moving gas from the east to the west but in recent years it has improved at moving it from the west to the east, accessing more liquid LNG markets.

Energy storage in the UK also plays an important role in providing resilience in Ireland. Ireland has a long history of collaboration and gas-sharing with the UK that predates any of the impending Brexit issues. In general, the Irish gas system appears to be very resilient in respect of a number of points of supply interruption. As Professor McMullin mentioned, much of our gas is used to provide electricity, while the addition of the electricity interconnector between Ireland and France, which the Deputy mentioned, will further reduce Ireland's need for imported gas.