Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

In 2020, the European Union imported almost 24% of its total energy needs from Russia, including 19% of its total coal needs. Ireland's largest power station, Moneypoint, in County Clare, which is owned and operated by the ESB, uses coal which has in recent times been sourced from Russia.

In April, the European Union adopted a fifth package of restrictive measures against Russia in response to Russia's illegal and unprovoked military aggression against Ukraine. The fifth package includes an import ban on all forms of Russian coal. This affects one quarter of all Russian coal exports amounting to an €8 billion loss of revenue per year for Russia.

Ireland fully supports this action banning that coal. It means that ESB - as well as other European users - is required to source coal for Moneypoint from alternative sources.

As the Deputy will appreciate, matters relating to human rights assessments being carried out on the communities surrounding Colombian mines to assure the projection of indigenous and local communities does not fall under my remit and I do not have a function in this regard.

In the medium term, Ireland must plan for an electricity system without coal-fired power. The National Energy Security Framework, published by the Government in April, sets out a single over-arching response to address Ireland's energy security needs in the context of the war in Ukraine. The framework includes a number of measures which will reduce our demand for coal, including reducing the demand for fossil fuels and replacing fossil fuels with renewables. Of particular importance will be aligning all elements of the planning system to accelerate renewables, reviewing the grid connection arrangements for renewables and expanding the role of microgeneration.

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