Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I commend Deputy O'Rourke and his colleagues on bringing forward this important Bill on the last sitting day of the Dáil term. I support it on behalf of the Labour Party and I am glad we are having such a constructive and collaborative debate on it. The Government's proposal to adjourn the Second Reading of the Bill for six months has been accepted by the proposers. This is sensible given that a public consultation is under way and it is such an important issue on which a good deal of preparatory work needs to be done.

I very much welcome the concept behind the Bill, which is the introduction of a statutory basis for a green hydrogen strategy. It is an issue I have raised on a number of occasions since I was elected to the House. I recently tabled a parliamentary question to the Minister, Deputy Ryan, on the topic. We are all conscious that green hydrogen has always been the energy future, but there is a good deal of work still to be done to ensure it can become a viable source at scale. As we know, most hydrogen is produced by fossil fuels and is, therefore, known as grey hydrogen, but it can also be produced using renewable sources such as wind and solar power. That is the basis for the green hydrogen that is the subject of this Bill. The World Energy Council recently highlighted the challenges to scaling up hydrogen in an energy system, the main one being the chicken-and-egg problem of supply and demand and another being the problem of cost. Green hydrogen costs more than $5 per kg in the West but just as solar energy has become affordable to produce over time, the same can be said of green hydrogen. It is vital this energy source is made economically viable.

We need a green hydrogen strategy. As the Minister said, it is both an industrial and an energy strategy. In Ireland, we have an opportunity to build out our renewable capacity to ensure the ability, also based on renewables, to provide much greater energy security for our country. This is a major priority as we see the brutal war on Ukraine continuing to unfold. Indeed, we can become a world leader in renewables and offshore wind production. Green hydrogen must be a part of that strategy. We welcome the idea of a statutory basis for the strategy, as well as the public consultation and the work the Government is doing in this area. If we can build out such a strategy, it will allow us to become a green hydrogen exporter in place of a fossil fuel and liquefied natural gas, LNG, importer. This will have substantial benefits for us and in terms of achieving climate targets internationally.

According to the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, electricity accounts for only 20% of our energy system, with the majority still produced by fossil fuels. We will require more than electrification to reduce the amount of carbon emitted by our energy system. Already, our 2030 targets will require a reliance on other sources for days when there is little sun or wind. We saw that last year when there was a diminished wind supply during the summer months. During this transition, energy security must be to the fore of new policies. The increasingly alarming reports of energy shortages this winter, with potential rationing of fuel and energy, are focusing all our minds on the need to ramp up our capacity to produce energy through other sources such as wind, especially offshore wind, solar and green hydrogen. We must develop the infrastructure to produce hydrogen and to be able to store it.

We must produce hydrogen that is green and produced through renewable sources and that can then be used to power sectors including heavy transport, industry and indeed data centre power generation too. I listened to Deputy Cronin's remarks about cars and transport in her own area and the idea of hydrogen as the fuel to power transport. There have been low-emission bus trials here in Dublin with hydrogen-fuelled buses. There is real potential there for an absolute sea-change in how our public transport is fuelled. It is very exciting and a very positive development. While there is discussion as to the urgent need to phase out the use of energy intensive technologies we also need to build capacity while we are changing our habits.

I will not take any more time and I thank An Leas-Cheann Comhairle for letting me in. I very much welcome the Bill. It is time to develop and then implement a clear strategy both to build hydrogen capacity and to ensure that our hydrogen infrastructure is completely based on green hydrogen produced from renewable sources.

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