Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 161: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the planned date for the closure and cessation of coal firing at Moneypoint as required under the national climate change strategy; the steps that have been taken to date in 2005 towards the closure of Moneypoint by the target date of 2008; the planned timeline and strategy for the cessation of coal firing at the plant; the steps he has taken to date in 2005 to establish a modern CCGT plant; the steps he intends to take to provide capacity using a CCGT plant by 2008; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37153/05]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 162: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the plans he has made to comply with the requirement under the national climate change strategy to ensure the security of energy and electricity supply in the conversion of the Moneypoint plant output to gas; the steps he has taken to date in 2005 towards this aim; the steps he intends to take by the target date of 2008; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37154/05]

Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 161 and 162 together.

The reference to the closure and cessation of coal firing at Moneypoint under the national climate change strategy does not amount to a requirement. Commercial decisions regarding the future of the plant are a matter in the first instance for ESB. On 29 July 2004, my predecessor and current Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Dermot Ahern, gave shareholder approval to the ESB for a €368 million environmental retrofit project at the 900 MW coal fired Moneypoint power station in County Clare. The decision to approve the retrofit was taken in the context of the Government's commitment to maintaining fuel diversity in the interests of ensuring strong levels of security of supply. The Moneypoint project will ensure coal continues to be an important element of our electricity generation fuel mix and that our dependence on natural gas is kept at a sustainable level. It also means we will have gone a significant way to meeting our emissions reduction obligations in regard to sulphur dioxide, SOx, and nitrogen oxide, NOx, under the large combustion plant directive. The issue of carbon emissions is being dealt with under the emissions trading scheme.