Dr. Paul Deane:

With respect to financial feasibility, it must compete with cheaper pipeline imports to Europe and cheaper imports of LNG from outside Europe, particularly from Qatar and Russia. There is financial competition and Irish consumers could access some of that liquidity, and not just by accessing the liquidity through the interconnector to the United Kingdom.

There is also the question of where it sits in the climate science debate.

The role of gas is still an open question. As Professor McMullin stated, it is predicated on different technologies becoming commercially available and coming to market. It is interesting to note that the UK, which is starting to legislate for a net zero society by 2050, foresees the role of natural gas reducing by only 33% in the period to 2050. Natural gas will still play a primary role in energy supply but that is because of these technologies.