Sarah O'Reilly (Aontú)
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I thank the Minister of State for coming to the Seanad this morning and attending the Commencement debate. I want to raise the lack of regulation of battery energy storage system sites, otherwise known as BESS. In July, the Joint Committee on Climate, Environment and Energy discussed BESS. Much of the discussion related to speeding up the roll-out. There was no meaningful focus on fire safety, environmental risk or proper regulation. That omission is worrying because communities across Ireland will be living beside these facilities with very real hazards and no real regulatory framework to protect people or the environment.

In Cavan, permission has been granted for two major BESS facilities at Shankill Lower and Pottle, despite multiple objections. At Shankill, there is no water access on the site and no decommissioning bond included in the planning permission. That means if something goes wrong or when the facility reaches its 35-year lifespan, it is the local people, farmers and families, and the local authority who will be left with a massive clean-up bill. International experts have repeatedly sounded the alarm. Professor Paul Christensen, who advises the UK's National Fire Chiefs Council, has said planners here simply do not understand the hazards of lithium ion batteries. Fires at BESS sites abroad have taken days to extinguish. It took 24 hours for a fire to be put out in Essex. In Liverpool, it took 59 hours to put out a major fire. Earlier this year in California, 1,500 people had to be evacuated after a major fire. California is now forcing developers to contribute to a fire mitigation fund. That kind of fire mitigation fund only scratches the surface. It does not deal with the risk to people, livestock or the pollution and leakage that can poison soil and water. We need to pause the roll-out of BESS sites until we have a proper evaluation process in place and there is real, statutory regulation of BESS sites. We need mandatory decommissioning bonds, fire safety standards and clear departmental responsibility.

Who is dealing with the oversight of these sites? In Cavan, it seems the site is totally unsuitable and yet it initially got planning permission, although that is now being appealed. The Department of the environment has said it is the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU. When contacted, that office said it is the Office of Emergency Planning. When that office was contacted, it said it is the Health and Safety Authority. When it was contacted, it told us that the local authority is responsible. From experience, I know that the local authority is wholly unaware of any procedures, policies or regulations.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Senator O'Reilly very much. The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, sends his apologies. He is at the UN this week so he cannot take this Commencement matter.

Electricity storage systems are part of the renewable energy future. Together with wind, solar and grid infrastructure, they are a key element of Ireland's transition to a low-carbon electricity system by delivering ancillary services and facilitating a more efficient use of our existing grid. Grid-scale electricity storage systems, including battery electricity storage systems, which the Senator rightly says is referred to as BESS, play a vital role in this transition by ensuring the proper functioning of the grid in providing system services, assisting in grid build-out, and providing targeted demand flexibility to the grid, reducing dispatch down and maximising the incorporation of renewable generated electricity through bulk electricity time shifting.

As of July 2025, there are 22 separate electricity storage systems connected to the grid network providing just over 1 GW capacity. One pumped hydro-storage facility, Turlough Hill in County Wicklow, accounts for 292 MW of this capacity with the remaining 756 MW provided by 21 stationary battery energy storage systems located throughout the country.

To support the incorporation of electricity storage systems on to the grid network, the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment published the Electricity Storage Policy Framework for Ireland in July 2024, as required under the climate action plan. Chapter 4 of that policy framework provides an overview of the existing safety and regulatory framework in place for grid-scale electricity storage systems, including battery electricity storage systems in the European and Irish contexts.

It is important to note that in Ireland, there is no single authority under which the entire safety and regulation of grid-scale electricity storage lies. Instead, a number of different organisations handle various aspects of electricity storage system safety and regulation. The CRU is responsible for the licensing, charging and market incentives for electricity storage undertakings, the regulation of electricity storage in the electricity market and electricity storage grid connections.

In Ireland, all battery classification and standardisation conform to EU legislation. All batteries used in Ireland are manufactured, sold and operated in line with relevant EU regulations and standards, including safety certification and the putting into service of batteries used in grid-scale electricity storage systems. The 2023 EU directive concerning batteries and waste batteries sets out the homogenisation of electricity storage batteries as well as safety testing and certification requirements relevant to grid-scale electricity storage systems. This includes lithium-ion battery electricity storage systems. S-BESS - battery electricity storage systems are subject to the same environmental controls as any other industrial or technical activity. The planning, construction and operation of these installations is subject to EU and Irish environmental rules.

From a planning perspective, electricity storage systems are subject to the requirement to obtain planning permission under the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, and associated regulations. Applications for planning permission for electricity storage systems are made to the relevant local planning authority, or An Bord Pleanála on appeal.

In making a decision on a planning application in respect of an electricity storage system, a planning authority must consider the proper planning and sustainable development of the area, having regard to the provisions of the county development plan, including any zoning or visual impact objectives, any submissions or observations received from the public and statutory consultees, any relevant ministerial or Government policies, including any planning guidelines issued by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and any environmental assessments undertaken.

Compliance with requirements relating to the planning, construction and operation of electricity storage installations is overseen and enforced primarily by the EPA and the relevant local authority in its capacity as planning authority and fire authority. Planning policy, including in relation to fire safety, and related guidelines are a matter for the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

Sarah O'Reilly (Aontú)
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I welcome the acknowledgement by the Minister of State of the importance of battery storage to our energy system. I am aware of its potential as an alternative source of energy, but what is missing from his reply is any real assurance that safety, regulation and accountability are being prioritised alongside the roll-out.

I am aware of Ireland's electricity storage policy framework and the procurement of 1 GW of new capacity. Where is the framework for fire safety? Where is the requirement for decommissioning bonds? Where is the clarity for local authorities that are granting permission in the absence of proper national standards and guidelines?We now have 21 stationary BESS sites connected to the grid. These are not small pilot projects. They are major industrial installations yet regulation governing them is light touch at best. Even on a flight, you cannot bring a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 on an aeroplane because it is likely to explode. Dublin Bus is banning escooters on buses because of the likelihood of explosion or fire. These are not small sites. They are massive. One battery storage site is the size of a 40 ft container and 20 of them will be left lying in a field after their lifespan. There are no decommissioning rules so there is a risk of leakage of lithium batteries into our water supply. The response here today is not good enough. Ireland needs a comprehensive regulatory framework. We need safety standards, environmental protections, decommissioning guarantees and proper oversight. There needs to be a moratorium on the grant of planning until all of this is sorted out.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Senator for acknowledging the important of battery electricity storage systems. They are vital assets to the overall operation and reliability of our electricity network during Ireland's renewable energy transition. It is not correct to say that there are no guidelines in place. The electricity storage policy framework for Ireland was published in July 2024 in line with the climate action plan. Chapter 4 of that policy framework provides an overview of the existing safety and regulatory framework in place for grid-connected electricity storage systems, including lithium ion battery electricity storage systems that deliver electric energy to the grid. The chapter also provides for the roles and remits of the various regulatory authorities and organisations in relation to standards, planning, construction, licensing, and safety of the grid scale electricity storage system in Ireland. The Senator may not have had an opportunity to read that but I am happy to ask the office of the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, to forward that document to her. Specifically, chapter 4 may address some of the questions she has raised here today.

Malcolm Noonan (Green Party)
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We welcome the additional briefing material that has been supplied by the Department regarding this. Is é sin deireadh an chláir. The House stands suspended until 11 o'clock.