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

It is complicated because these are complicated issues and the timelines are tight. I would be interested to hear the Sinn Féin view on storage. I do not know if Sinn Féin was one of the 400 consultees in terms of which type to use. There are a variety of options. There is the option, which is coming back into view, of looking at the Kinsale gasfield, which had been used as a storage facility in the closing years of its operation and which has the right geological characteristics to be able to do that. We would have to put in a larger wellhead and, obviously, there would have to be a build-up because while it has existing cushion gas, it would need a further layer or volume of that. That is now being looked at by some people as one viable option.

I had a very good meeting with Gas Networks Ireland, which would have views on what is possible. In the work I have seen it do, it has cited examples in the US where there can be significant onshore storage facilities that will provide some of the flexibility and backup we need. Others are arguing for commercial locations and various types of LNG facilities. We will need storage, and we need it for security reasons as well as flexibility reasons. Picking the right one for the State's interest is what will be key. I look forward to hearing the Sinn Féin view in that regard.

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