Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, to the House. I thank him for taking time out of his busy schedule.

Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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I do not think there has been a Cabinet reshuffle and the Minister of State is the Minister for Transport-----

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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Not yet.

Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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-----but I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House. This matter was billed as being for the Minister for Transport, but I know that the Minister of State is very competent and able and has his hand across all aspects of government.

My matter relates to the ambitious Galway hydrogen valley project. On 14 April 2022, I met, as did a number of Oireachtas Members, with the Taoiseach at the Port of Galway conference on renewable energies and the opportunities particularly for the west of Ireland. The Taoiseach spoke very supportively not only of the Galway hydrogen valley project but also of hydrogen generally and the challenges that face our ports.

Interestingly, I read in one of the national newspapers last weekend that there are still huge challenges, particularly with the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority, MARA, which, basically, will be the marine planning authority in time. I read about how we need to be prepared, ready and responsive to the challenges of renewables.

The Port of Galway has a plan or project called the Galway hydrogen hub, GH2 for short. It has enormous potential and is a game-changer for the west. I support it and commend the Port of Galway on its ambitious plans for the first hydrogen valley. The hydrogen valley recognises the ecosystems that link hydrogen, research, production, distribution and transport for end users as well as the challenges facing all those associated with this project. Everything is doable, however, and that came out very much at the conference. The potential is enormous, as I said, for the hydrogen valley in Galway. It will deal with and enable renewable strategies. Sustainability and decarbonisation are key objectives for the Government and are now at the very heart of public transport policy, and that is important. I acknowledge genuinely the Government's progressive steps in this area across all Departments in respect of renewable energies. The focus, as the Taoiseach said, is on supporting this project in Galway. It is very well supported by the private sector, industry, Galway City Council and all the stakeholders, and they were present in large numbers at that conference and engagement with the Taoiseach. The challenges in this regard, as I said, are renewable energies. It is clear there is a future for sustainable growth. This is clearly an exciting project.

Finally, I pay tribute to the Port of Galway and its board, the city councillors and the stakeholders, who are really committed to this hydrogen valley plan for Galway. When I left for the west for those few days and visited a number of sites, it was clear to me that the region is energised and, indeed, that the west is awake. This is a wonderful project. I would like to hear what plans, energy and focus the Department of Transport is giving to this very important project.

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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The Senator is right to be excited, interested and encouraged by what is being done in Galway. It is really positive.

As he rightly noted, sustainability and the need to decarbonise lie at the heart of transport policy, as set out in commitments under the programme for Government, the national development plan, NDP, the whole-of-government climate action plan and key strategies such as the national sustainable mobility policy. Against the backdrop of a shift away from fossil fuels and towards clean and green energy sources and fuels, renewable hydrogen has rightly been identified as one of several technologies with the potential to decarbonise hard-to-abate transport sectors. Those include the long-haul road transport and the maritime and aviation sectors. The Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, who apologises that he cannot be here, has a strong understanding of this potential role for renewable hydrogen as part of a wider energy sector transition.

The Minister has also a keen awareness of the need to identify the best investment and policy landscapes within which renewable hydrogen might be deployed to support transport decarbonisation objectives. This requirement, supported by strong evidence and data and industry insights, is particularly important, because while the Government's political commitment is clear, the policy framework to implement and support the delivery of green hydrogen in Ireland is in its early stages of development.

In that context a hydrogen strategy is being developed as a key priority within the national energy security framework by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications. The strategy will outline the pathways towards the production of green hydrogen and its use in Ireland's energy mix. The consultation for the strategy is under way and it will be considered on a cross-governmental basis before being finalised this year.

Pending the publication of the planned national hydrogen strategy, the Department of Transport has put in place a range of initiatives and measures to support potential early movers in hydrogen mobility. These include grant support for the purchase of heavy-duty hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles, some of which we have seen in action already; an accelerated capital allowance tax incentive for purchasers of hydrogen vehicles and associated refuelling equipment; hydrogen bus technology trials on suburban public service obligation routes in Dublin and Cork, including in my constituency; and a proposal that, from 2023, green hydrogen should receive quadruple credits or certificates that could be offset against the national obligation on supply of renewable fuels for transport with the potential to create a market value of benefit to suppliers of green hydrogen for use in transport.

Building on these initiatives, the Department engages with many industry stakeholders in an advisory capacity concerning policy on the development of green hydrogen as a future renewable energy for the transport sector. The GH2 consortium the Senator mentioned is among those groups, and the Department has engaged with the consortium since 2021.Policy advice recently provided by the Department has included a statement of the current policy context for renewable hydrogen in transport to inform the consortium's proposed hydrogen valley project.

In line with the commitment in the programme for Government to ensure Ireland is at the cutting edge of scientific and technological innovation, the Minister for Transport has also identified renewable hydrogen for transport as a key element of his Department's climate research programme. To that end, working with counterparts in the Northern Ireland Executive and as part of the Government's shared island initiative, the Department has commissioned research on the potential for cross-Border co-operation to inform the approach to implementing hydrogen refuelling infrastructure across the island.

The first phase of this research is underway and is assessing the options concerning safety regulations for possible future hydrogen refuelling infrastructure, including best practice and guidance on interoperability and delivery. A second phase of research, which is expected to be commenced next year, will involve a feasibility study concerning the delivery of transport refuelling on a cross-Border basis on the island of Ireland, including examining the criteria for optimising location and use. Within the overarching framework of the Government's forthcoming hydrogen strategy, these research projects will support and inform the next steps in the consideration of hydrogen development for transport and the possible future procurement of the delivery of public hydrogen refuelling infrastructure.

Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive response. I will read it in more detail later.

I want to try to keep the focus on Galway, in particular the GH2 project, and will continue to do so. I flag something I noted from gov.iethis morning. There is now a campaign to appoint members to the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority, MARA, with which the Minister of State will be familiar. I want to renew my call for the Government, when considering the appointment of the board, to consider people with expertise in renewables. It is important we have mixed competencies on board, in particular in organisations like MARA. I again renew my call for local city and county councillors, who have traditionally been on many of these boards, to be considered for nomination to boards given their expertise in proper planning and sustainable development in their local communities.

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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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.