Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 24 November 2020

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government

General Scheme of the Marine Planning and Development Management Bill: Discussion

Ms Martina Hennessy:

The energy security review is looking at the totality of our energy requirements. Members will appreciate that while we are looking at investing significantly in offshore renewable energy, and we have a lot of onshore wind too, wind is not 100% reliable so there must be other sources of energy to provide backup when we do not have enough wind blowing to enable us to meet our energy requirements. That review process has begun. I understand the outcomes are expected towards the middle or end of next year. The policy position around what other energy sources we may need to have and what policies we need to enable that to happen, will become clear. At that point, should there be a requirement for additional areas to be brought under the remit of the marine planning and development management Bill, that is something that can be looked at then. Until then, no decisions will be made to move towards other sources such as LNG to provide backup.

I will ask my colleague, Ms Clancy, to respond on community gain.