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

The Deputy is right. That is an issue for CRU and in the end, An Bord Pleanála is the relevant planning authority in any application for such a facility. CRU's role in gas regulation goes back, by my recollection, to the whole Corrib issue, where this was a central issue - whether we could guarantee the safety of local communities. CRU does that on an ongoing basis. I have not asked it, to be honest; I would have to go away and check what its most recent analysis is but I am not aware of it commissioning any specific analysis in that regard. The only Government position has been that we would not have a commercial facility. We were looking at a strategic facility. CRU's analysis of the safety implications of that would only come when there is greater clarity as to whether any such facility is being used.

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