Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator. I will certainly pass his comments on to the Minister. The programme for Government and climate action plan commit the Government to positioning Ireland at the forefront of a wider energy transition and the cutting edge of scientific and technological innovation in meeting our climate targets. Against that background and all of the actions we are taking under the climate action plan, the programme for Government and EU plans, the Minister, Deputy Ryan, recognises that the GH2 hydrogen valley and other proposals are a welcome and exciting indication of future possible opportunities for renewable hydrogen mobility, deployment and use.

Through the national hydrogen strategy, ongoing support initiatives and targeted research priorities I outlined, the Minister will continue to work with colleagues across Government and on an all-island basis. As I understand it, as recently as 19 September the Department of Transport provided the GH2 consortium with a policy statement letter. There is ongoing encouragement and discussion as we frame our hydrogen strategy. It is very exciting to see people in the regions take the initiative, not only on behalf of their regions but also of behalf of national and global climate strategies.