Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)
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Question 961: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the position regarding his policy for carbon capture technology; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29133/08]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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My approach to determining policy in relation to carbon capture and storage (CCS) in the Irish context is to ensure that the potential for Ireland is examined carefully, taking account of the range of complex issues that arise, for example on the technical, engineering and environmental fronts and of the number of stakeholders involved. The monitoring of international developments and progress in relation to the feasibility and implementation of this technology in different situations is also an important task required to underpin policy development in this area.

Accordingly, my Department is establishing a cross-cutting group which will oversee a fully joined up approach to CCS developments at home and at EU and international level. The group will comprise my Department, the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI), Geological Survey of Ireland (GSI), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the ESB, the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) and other players, as necessary. I am satisfied that the need for a "joined-up government" approach to CCS activities in Ireland will be met by the cross-cutting group led by my Department, which will provide the necessary cohesion and oversight. The assessment of the prospects for geological storage of carbon in Ireland is still necessarily at a relatively early stage.

A study by SEI, EPA, Geological Survey of Northern Ireland and GSI examining the potential for such storage on the island of Ireland is proceeding. The study is approaching completion, with a launch expected in the autumn, and at that point I will then decide how best to proceed further in the matter.

An EPA-GSI project to evaluate the prospect for potentially favourable sites in the Moneypoint region is at the project initiation and scoping stage.

The question of legislative underpinning for future CCS projects will be kept under review in light of developments. The Commission's recent proposal for a Directive on the storage of carbon, which was published as part of its January 2008 climate change package, will be of particular relevance in this regard. The Directive will be enabling rather than mandatory and will provide a framework to manage environmental risks and remove existing legislative barriers. The detailed negotiations on the directive are taking place in the Environment Working Group.

The Commission's Strategic Energy Technology Plan was adopted by the EU in at Spring Council March 2008. It set out a proposed roadmap for energy research for the period to 2020 and a number of key EU technology challenges for the next ten years including a CO2 capture, transport and storage project of industrial scale. I also welcomed, in principle, the overall direction of this plan and my Department is participating in the relevant implementation structures.