Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

These are very important amendments because energy policy will be at the heart of this issue. We have talked a lot about agriculture, but perhaps this is now the moment to talk about energy. Energy and a change in how we approach it will be central to the making of this transition. There has been a reluctance to face the hard issues relating to energy. For example, there has been a reluctance to bring in a moratorium on data centres, which it is estimated will be using one third of all our national energy by 2031.That is the demand push. Again, the Government is not yet acting on that, although I hope it will. The issue has been discussed at length at the climate committee and elsewhere.

We are not taking the necessary actions to reduce demand or to be clear about what kind of supply is or is not acceptable in this country. Senator Warfield is correct about the Energy Charter Treaty. It clearly allows the State to make its own policies and decisions on energy. Nothing in the charter prevents Ireland from banning the importation of fracked gas but, as we have discussed, there are provisions whereby companies might seek financial compensation if they are impacted by a change in policy. Will the Minister clearly state whether that is why there is not yet a ban on fracked gas? If it is about waiting for the energy security review, why not introduce a ban now and remove it if the energy security review were somehow to indicate that we should? I doubt it will, however, because I imagine that the bigger issue in the context of the energy security review is the fact that 33% of our energy is used by one type of business.

The Minister will be familiar with the precautionary principle, which applied in the previous amendments. Surely we should take the opportunity in the Bill to send a clear signal and ensure there is a ban on the importation of fracked gas. Thereby, if it turns out that our caution is somehow not needed, we can undo it. If we are not doing that, we need to be clear.

On the actions the Minister mentioned in regard to the communication of policy, that has been sent under the Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill. It did not seem to be regarded by An Bord Pleanála when it made clear that planning permission had not yet been sought but that it could be sought again in respect of the Shannon LNG terminal and that there could be a case whereby it was brought through because of its strategic importance, given that it is still benefitting in its engagement with the planning process from the fact that it was once recognised as an area of potential strategic importance.

The Minister will be aware that there have been many calls for a section 30 measure, which is much firmer. Section 30 limits the powers of the Minister to engage in an individual case. That is clear, although it has been diluted with the powers of the Minister, which are meant to be checks and balances, being subsumed and granted to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage who, originally, was explicitly prohibited from intervening in policies on heritage matters. Now, according to the changes made, on heritage matters the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage may, under section 30, engage specifically and explicitly with the planning process through an application, a request or an appeal. I suspect that, moreover, that there are heritage matters in terms of the environment that are impacted by the LNG terminal. I urge the Minister to look carefully to those provisions within the planning process in that period when an application has not yet been made for the LNG terminal but there have been signals of an intent to make that application. If we were to introduce a ban at this point, it would be in place prior to any application, whether in Cork or any other part of the country. It would send a signal related not to a specific matter but to the policy of the State, whereby we will not import fracked gas.

This is important. All these energy questions are not tangents. There is a reason the Petroleum and Other Minerals Development Act, the National Oil Reserves Agency and everything else are listed at the back of this Bill. It is because energy policy is the key. We should send a good signal and strong message on energy policy by explicitly banning the importation of fracked gas, as proposed by my colleagues Senators Warfield and Boylan, who have done much work on this area.