Seán Kyne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On Thursday, 23 June, and Friday, 24 June, there will be a public consultation for the Galway hydrogen hub, GH2. The consultation takes place in the Galway Harbour Hotel. It starts on 23 June, running from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m on that day, and continues from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on 24 June. Along with many other people, I attended a launch of the public consultation yesterday. The members of the Galway hydrogen hub consortium include SSE Renewables, National University of Ireland, Galway, NUIG, Córas Iompair Éireann, Bus Éireann, the Port of Galway, Aer Arann Islands, Aran Islands Ferries and Lasta Mara Teo.

This is an innovative approach to decarbonising sectors, particularly those that cannot be electrified. It is a multimodal, zero emission, green hydrogen transport hub that can be easily replicated throughout Ireland. It is a wonderful initiative and a new approach. Clearly, there are other things that are needed, including a hydrogen strategy in this country. It is anticipated that during peak production, approximately 8 tonnes of hydrogen will be produced per day. Hydrogen produced at the site will be compressed and stored in permanent hydrogen storage tanks before being dispensed to vehicles at the hydrogen refuelling station. This is a wonderful concept. There is a whole consultation being developed with the intention to go to planning permission and all that goes with that as well. I urge people in Galway to drop into the Galway Harbour Hotel on 23 and 24 June to get a complete overview of the project. Environmental surveys and scoping are going on at present. It is anticipating that a planning application will be lodged in the autumn and the decision is expected later in the year or early next year. It will then go through the whole tenders and construction phases. Using the natural resources of our wind farms is a wonderful innovation and approach.

Yesterday, I asked the question of whether it would require the development of offshore wind for this to reach the full ambition and scale that is necessary. There would be enough offshore projected up until the end of 2030. However, for this to realise the full scale and ambition that is necessary and to allow for hydrogen buses, taxis, shipping and heavy goods vehicles, offshore needs to develop. I know there was a Commencement debate on it this morning. This is a very exciting development in Galway. Again, I would urge people to engage in the public consultation on 23 and 24 June at the Galway Harbour Hotel.