Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, to the House.

Nessa Cosgrove (Labour)
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I welcome the Minister of State.

In 2021, Ireland banned the importation of fracked gas. The Cabinet decision on Monday, 3 March to procure a State-owned liquified natural gas, LNG, terminal coupled with the granting of planning permission by An Bord Pleanála last week for a 600 MW gas-powered power station indicates a reversal of this policy. Conventional natural gas is damaging to the environment. LNG or as we know it, fracked gas, is particularly and immediately damaging to the local environment. It is known around the world that fracking leads to the contamination of drinking and ground water by both the fracking chemicals and escaping gas. It has been linked to earthquakes, including at least one in Lancashire that contributed to the UK's Government decision to ban fracked gas in 2019. There are communities in parts of the US where fracking is allowed, such as Pennsylvania. This is a high-profile issue. Much higher instances of devastating diseases, such as childhood leukemia, lymphoma, heart, skin and respiratory issues, have been verified. Thanks in part of the tireless work of Country Leitrim-based campaigners and former Fine Gael Sligo-Leitrim TD, Tony McLoughlin, a ban on exploration for the fracking of gas on the Irish land on inshore waters was introduced in 2017.

The 2020 programme for Government, Our Shared Future, stated: "As Ireland moves towards carbon neutrality we do not believe that it makes sense to develop an LNG - gas import terminals importing fracked gas." A moratorium on the construction of any LNG infrastructure followed in 2021 and when the Planning and Development Act made its way through the Oireachtas last year, the Government repeatedly assured us that there were no plans to import fracked gas. In a Dáil debate on 15 October 2024, only less than six months ago, previous environment Minister, Deputy Ryan, said: "The Government policy has not changed ... the Government does not support the importation of fracked gas ... the Government does not support the commercial import of LNG as the development of the infrastructure for the commercial import of LNG would be inconsistent with the decarbonisation strategy". He went on to say that Ireland's natural gas supply and infrastructure were adequate. He also recognised that a terminal for LNG would theoretically be filled with non-fracked gas. He said there was no Trojan horse. It is not feasible, however, to expect shipments of LNG to not contain fracked gas. What other threats are concealed inside this particular Trojan horse? The two previous Governments from 2016 to 2024, both of which included Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, either directly or through confidence and supply, have clearly directed the State away from the increased use of fossil fuels and emphatically rejected the use of LNG obtained through fracking. This has appeared to have changed in recent weeks. The Minister for the environment brought a memorandum to Cabinet, which approved a plan to develop a State-led LNG terminal to be based at coastal location. This is quite near the Minister of State's own constituency. It was confirmed that the Minister believes that the legal position is that we cannot distinguish between fracked and non-fracked gas. If that is the case, is it not better to not accept any form of LNG? We cannot be part of a system that enriches fossil fuel exploitation co-operation at the expense of the health and lives of children in Pennsylvania.

The granting of planning permission to Shannon LNG for a 600 MW gas-fired power plant in County Kerry appears to confirm the Government's direction of travel. There is a meeting this afternoon in Buswells Hotel with many environmental groups at 12 p.m.. A total of 12 senior climate academics based in Irish universities wrote to the Taoiseach in February warning of the dangers of LNG. The Minister for the environment appears to be ignoring them and it seems that they are inconvenient voices. I would like the Minister of State to clearly state if in fact that the Government policy has changed towards the use of LNG, how this will impact on our commit to reduce our carbon footprint by 51% by 2030 and become carbon neutral by 2050 and if we are to permit the importation of fracked gas, why has this policy changed. I also call for the release of all information, particularly any reports commissioned by the previous Minister, Deputy Ryan, relating to Ireland's future energy needs.

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for her question and for the opportunity to discuss this important matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister, Deputy O'Brien.

As outlined in the programme for Government, the Government is committed to taking decisive action to radically reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and to achieve a 51% reduction in emissions from 2018 to 2030 and to achieve net-zero emissions no later than 2050. The programme for Government also commits to achieving 80% of Ireland’s electricity generation from renewable sources by 2030 and to take all necessary action to ensure and protect Ireland's energy security.It is through delivering on this commitment that a secure and sustainable energy future will be delivered. I recently received Government approval to proceed with the development of a State-led strategic gas emergency reserve. The delivery of a temporary gas reserve is critical to Ireland’s energy security as we continue to transition to indigenous, clean renewable energy. Crucially, the strategic gas emergency reserve will also ensure compliance with EU standards and regulations. The emergency reserve will be in the form of a floating storage and regasification unit, FSRU, to be owned on behalf of the State by the system operator, Gas Networks Ireland, GNI. This is a similar approach to that used for oil security by the National Oil Reserves Agency.

In identifying this as the optimal approach, my Department has built upon the extensive review of security of Ireland's gas and electricity systems, which was approved by Government in the Energy Security in Ireland to 2030 plan in November 2023. The plan sets out Ireland’s ambition to transform our energy system and support our climate objectives. The plan includes 28 actions, under the pillars of sustainability, affordability and security. Under action 17 of that plan, GNI was tasked with reviewing and recommending the optimal approach. The extensive body of work that culminated in the publication of the energy security package has been complemented by the GNI report, a number of emergency exercises, and an updated projection regarding compliance with the EU infrastructure standard N-1, taking account of the most up-to-date data.

The strategic gas emergency reserve is a transitional measure that supports a secure transition of our energy system. The policy decision taken by the Government ensures the risk of stranded fossil fuel assets is reduced. The reserve will be used for emergency use and does not support increased gas demand. These provisions will be underpinned by policy and legislation that my Department is progressing as a matter of priority. The facility will be owned and operated by Gas Networks Ireland and public procurement processes will determine any future delivery partners. Gas Networks Ireland will now progress the project through the relevant planning and regulatory structures. Final costs to deliver this strategic gas emergency reserve and the cost recovery model will be assessed and considered to inform a final investment decision. The financial, operational, commercial and regulation details will be finalised as part of these processes. The approval of the State-led strategic reserve concludes the energy security review. Related reports will be considered for future publication.

On the specific point raised by the Senator, I will bring this back for the attention of the Minister. Some of it was not dealt with in the response given but I will bring those specific points back.

Nessa Cosgrove (Labour)
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The Minister of State mentioned a temporary gas reserve, energy security and an emergency reserve. In the area I represent in Leitrim, people have been campaigning for this for years. I believe the evidence is very strong. Will the Minister of State ask the Minister what does he mean by "temporary"? How long will it take to build the terminal? It took five years to build a terminal in Poland. If we are actually supposed to reduce our emissions by 2050 how does it make sense? Do we really want to invest this money? We want to move away from fossil fuels but it will take five years to build it.

The Minister of State also talked about energy security, a term that is floated all the time. If we are under threat, I suppose from the Russians targeting our existing pipelines, then surely a floating LNG terminal would be the first thing someone would target. Would it not be better to use these resources to access, store and distribute the limitless and free natural resources we have in wind, solar and wave technology and to invest in the proper and smart electrification of these resources?

The Minister of State spoke about an energy reserve. This is where the research is coming in very clearly. It is not a matter of filling the terminal once. LNG needs to be fresh to maintain this. To maintain a seven-day strategic reserve requires six replenishments of the gas per year. I again call on the Minister of State to please try to push this back. This is such a concern. Is the Government totally reversing its policy, which was previously stated, to not choose fracked gas? Is that now null and void? Is this the way the condition is now?

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Cosgrove for her contribution on this matter. I note the concern she has raised in her contributions, which will be brought to the attention of the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien. The State-led strategic gas emergency reserve, operating on a non-commercial basis and for use only in the event of an emergency, would provide resilience to the gas system, mitigate against major consequences for our society and our economy that would arise from limited gas supply or disruption in Ireland. The Department is developing the appropriate policy and administration measures to ensure a strategic reserve provides the resilience to energy in a manner that does not inadvertently increase gas demand but that means the gas supply available on the market is compatible with Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Acts.

The Government focus is on implementing the 28 actions of the Energy Security in Ireland to 2030 plan, including action 17 for a very discrete and limited transitional role for LNG infrastructure in Ireland in the form of a strategic emergency gas reserve. This is central to enhancing the resilience of Ireland's energy system in the event of an emergency or foreign disruption to our subsea gas infrastructure. An application for fossil fuel infrastructure in Ireland is subject to planning consent and regulatory approvals by the relevant bodies. The provisions of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Acts 2015 to 2021 will apply.