John Brassil (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will outline a brief history of the project, which is in my constituency. It was first announced in 2006 and was fully supported by the local communities, local industry, and every politician and political party. It had received full planning and licensing by 2012 and was supported by the EU as a project of common interest in 2013, which was renewed in 2015 and 2017. In 2016, during the most recent general election campaign, every candidate from Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, People Before Profit, Sinn Féin and the Labour Party, as well as Independents, fully supported the project, while many mentioned it in their election literature and committed to delivering it if elected. Today we face a debate on whether it should proceed based on the fact it may or may not involve fracked gas. I remind the House we already import gas from the UK, which has an LNG facility. Are we now to ban the importation of gas from the UK and endanger an already precarious energy supply system? There is a ban on nuclear energy, under the Electricity Regulation Act 1999, although we import it from the UK and are building a 500 km line to bring electricity from France to Ireland. When it is built, we will import 750 MW of nuclear energy from other countries.

I ask the House to be consistent. If we want to have a debate, let us have it on the issues. This week, the Climate Change Advisory Council, an independent body under the leadership of Professor John FitzGerald, stated we will need some form of gas as a transition fuel for the next 30 years. From where will get the gas for the next 30 years if we are to provide the necessary transition, which we all support, from fossil fuels to 100% renewable energy? We need a functioning economy, security of supply and to deliver policies that will have an impact on the climate change agenda we all support.

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