Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Well done, that is great. I hope the Deputy was working with colleagues in a constructive manner this morning, as one would expect.

I thank the Deputy for the question. I know he has a certain view on this. I mentioned to colleagues earlier that we could not ignore the advice we have received with regard to our own energy security, and the FSRU is absolutely needed. I am going to be publishing the CEPA analysis in the coming weeks. I have made an offer to Deputies Daly, Whitmore, Heneghan and anyone else who is interested and wants to look at the independent analysis around this. I will be publishing it and I have also offered to hold a briefing for Members.

We are committed to our climate targets. I want to be very clear on that, but also within our climate action plan is energy stability and security. The decision on the FSRU is absolutely consistent with our climate action plan and, by the way, with our EU obligations. Our commitment to Ireland's electricity generation from renewable sources is absolutely firm. We want to accelerate the delivery of that, and it is through delivery on this commitment that a secure and sustainable energy future will be delivered. As the Deputy knows, I recently received Government approval for the State-led, State-owned, State-managed strategic gas emergency reserve. That delivery of a temporary gas reserve is critical to our energy security as we continue the transition to indigenous clean renewable energy. Crucially, the strategic gas emergency reserve will also ensure compliance with EU standards and regulation. That emergency reserve will be in the form of the FSRU, to be owned by the State through our system operator, Gas Networks Ireland with an approach similar to that in respect of the National Oil Reserves Agency.

In identifying this as the optimal approach, my Department has built upon an extensive review of security of Ireland’s gas and electricity systems which was approved by Government in the Energy Security in Ireland to 2030 plan published in November 2023. I am sure that is available to the Deputy as well. This plan includes a range of external reviews and analyses that considered all potential options and impacts from a security and sustainability perspective. The energy security package set out Ireland’s ambition to transform our energy system and support our climate objectives. The plan includes 28 actions under the pillars of sustainability, affordability and security. Under action 17 of that plan, GNI was tasked with reviewing and recommending the optimal approach. The extensive body of work that culminated in the publication of the energy security package has been complemented by the GNI report. A number of emergency exercises were carried out, and an updated projection regarding the compliance with EU N-1 infrastructure standard taking into account the most up-to-date data. The strategic gas emergency reserve is a transitional measure that supports a secure transition of our energy system, and the policy decision taken by Government ensures that the risk of stranded fossil fuel assets is reduced. The reserve will be used for emergency only and does not support increased gas demand.

The strategic gas reserve is not intended for commercial use. The liquified natural gas will be held in reserve for use in the event of a significant disruption to gas supplies and will be divested when no longer required to secure our energy systems. The policy decision ensures the risk of stranded fossil fuel assets is reduced. As I said, the reserve will be used for emergency use. The source of the LNG supply for the reserve has yet to be determined. The operation of the strategic gas emergency reserve will be underpinned by policy and legislation that my Department is progressing as a matter of priority.

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