David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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63. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment further to Question No. 86 of 24 May 2022, the role of his Department in the decommissioning of the Kinsale and Seven Heads gas fields; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45773/22]

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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What are the Minister's views on the decomissioning of the Kinsale and Seven Heads gas-fields-related infrastructure; the pipeline that is already under the sea and any other infrastructure that would enable gas to come from the now-depleted fields but that might now be used for other reasons?

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The geoscience regulation office in my Department is responsible for the regulation of petroleum exploration and development in Ireland. Petroleum authorisations are issued under the Petroleum and other Minerals Development Act 1960 and subsequent Acts and include decommissioning operations of petroleum facilities. Decommissioning of petroleum facilities is subject to regulatory and environmental approval by the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications. Holders of petroleum authorisations are required to submit a detailed decommissioning plan to my Department, detailing how they will safely decommission the facilities with minimal impact on the environment. This plan is assessed and approved in line with international best practice. As part of the process, my Department engages independent specialist advice and liaises with relevant regulators such as the Commission for Regulation Of Utilities, the Irish Coast Guard and the Health and Safety Authority.

Two applications for decommissioning phases of the Kinsale gas fields were granted by my Department on 26 April 2019 and 26 February 2020 for plugging and abandoning of wells; the removal of the two platform topsides structures; the removal of the Kinsale alpha and Kinsale bravo platform sub-structures and all associated works.

An application for the next phase of decommissioning was received in October 2021. Public consultation on this application was held from 14 October 2021 to 17 November 2021. In July 2022, my Department completed environmental assessment of the application and it returned to the geoscience regulation office to make a recommendation on whether Ministerial approval should be given for the activities under application.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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The Minister has already alluded to our living in very unusual times. I put it to the Minister that we have an infrastructure in place which is an undersea pipeline and associated infrastructure on land which was used to transport the gas from the now-depleted undersea caverns.

Has the Minister considered using this infrastructure for floating storage regasification units? These could be used to alleviate our storage issue, which was mentioned earlier as part of the recently published report. Has he engaged with any suggestion with respect to this? Has he been asked to engage by any company with respect to that proposal? Does he agree with me it is worth considering and examining acquiring a floating storage regasification unit attached to the end of the pipeline that could store gas that could be hooked into our system. It would be LNG that did not come from fracking. It would not increase the amount of gas we use but would give us some insurance in the event of the other supplies being reduced.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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We consider a whole variety of different options and will still consider various options. Cork Harbour in particular has some real strategic advantages when it comes to a whole variety of different energy infrastructure. One of the storage options has always been looking at the likes of the Kinsale gas field, or the Ballycotton or Seven Heads fields as there is a network of fields there, to see whether they could have gas storage capability. One of the downsides of that is one requires a lot of cushion gas and that might affect the economics. Regarding the use of the pipeline from those fields back to the shore at the Inch terminal, we have to consider the age of the pipeline and the alternatives. A vessel of the sort the Deputy mentioned, if it were to be moored, I would expect to be moored closer and probably somewhere like Aghada, some part of Whitegate or a similar place where the original gas came ashore. One would not necessarily berth a ship that far out and the pipeline for that purpose would not make sense. We can look at all those options when it comes to the consultation on the energy security paper published yesterday but the pipeline now and the terminal at sea have been decommissioned and, therefore, I do not believe they will have a role in this process.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for his response. This is quite a serious issue and I thank him for taking it seriously. The pipeline is there and the Inch terminal is there. My information is it can be used for floating storage regasification units. I am not talking about using the caverns under the sea at all. The proposal that has been sent to the Minister's Department involves a floating storage regasification unit moored at the end of the pipeline which could be filled on a regular basis as required. It would act as insurance. The infrastructure is already there so I am asking the Minister to consider it. He should have a look at it and examine it, bearing in mind what he said about the age of the pipeline, the material and so forth. It should be seriously examined because we do not need planning permissions, foreshore licences or anything like that as that has already been done. All we need to do is get the work done to moor this gasification unit onsite and allow the gas to flow if required.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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As I said, the decommissioning of this started a number of years ago and it is my understanding the platforms are starting to be decommissioned. They have already been taken out.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Yes. They are not needed.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The pipeline has been displaced to seawater and the Inch terminal has been degassed. As I said, that was a very old pipeline in the first place and I think it was already 40 years on the seabed. Accordingly, I do not think that infrastructure will be used. The decision was made on good energy grounds and there was much detailed consideration. The Department assessed all the potential uses and came back with a recommendation for decommissioning, so that is what we proceeded with. However, as I said, there will be other infrastructure in the Cork Harbour area for offshore wind, the conversion to green hydrogen, the ongoing operations in Whitegate and Aghada and indeed at Marino Point and the Verolme Dockyard. They are the key strategic sites in Cork that have a real future in this new energy future and we must consider what that is. We should not look back to what was there at Kinsale but look forward to what we will build instead.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I fully agree with what the Minister has said-----

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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I think the Deputy was in-----

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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-----about green energy, hydrogen and so on. That is absolutely fantastic. However, I understand there has been no engagement with respect to companies that want to talk about regasification.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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I am bending the rules to a third response. Deputy Stanton has been in twice.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I am sorry. I thought the Leas-Cheann Comhairle called me. My apologies.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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I apologise if I did.

Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Always take the opportunity.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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Several Deputies are not here so we move to an Teachta Cairns.