Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is saying that it could be ensured that fracked gas is not used in this so-called State-led LNG terminal. However, the Government's policy statement from May 2021 is clear. It is not possible for Ireland, under the European treaties or EU directives concerning common rules of the internal market in natural gas, to legislate for a ban on the import of fracked gas into Ireland or to prevent the processing of fracked gas in the State. Will the Minister enlighten us as to how this is going to happen? The truth is that importing LNG is worse for the environment than burning coal. Oisín Coghlan made the point that we may as well leave Moneypoint open and burning coal rather than building a new LNG terminal.

The Minister relies a lot on the term "State-led". What does that mean? Again, under EU law, it is not possible for a State to exclusively own or operate a fossil fuel terminal. What does the term "State-led" actually mean? It is designed to give the impression that this is in some way publicly owned or controlled but that is not the reality.

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