Dáil debates

Wednesday, 15 June 2022

Energy Security: Motion [Private Members]

 

11:42 am

Photo of Colm BrophyColm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am happy to confirm the Government's position in response to the motion proposed. The Government has moved a countermotion that affirms its policy position on reducing our reliance on fossil fuels. The programme for Government indicated clearly how we can achieve that, including by committing to ending the issuing of new licences for the exploration and extraction of gas. This mirrors the previous 2019 Government decision relating to oil exploration and extraction. That commitment has been actively in place since 2020, and the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications is no longer accepting applications for new petroleum authorisations and will hold no future licensing rounds.

The legislation copper-fastening the commitment in the programme for Government is the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act. The Department is also working through a revised policy statement on petroleum exploration to reflect the current policy and legislative position, which will be published in the coming months. The revised policy statement will give clarity to stakeholders on the position on authorisations in the future. As referred to earlier, it is important to note that the licence application assessment process is informed only by financial, technical and environmental considerations, not by considerations related to energy security or broader energy policy matters. As previously mentioned, the application for a lease undertaking referred to in the motion will be treated like all other applications for petroleum authorisation in accordance with the relevant legislation, with the full assessment being undertaken in line with the relevant criteria. It is under active consideration by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, and it would be entirely inappropriate to comment further pending the making of a formal decision.

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