Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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308. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if consideration will be given to the ring fencing of a supply of 200 million litres of agricultural green diesel and marked gas oil for the farm and forestry contractor sector up to the end of September 2022 to include the grass silage and tillage crop harvest in view of recent supply and cost inflation issues in Ireland with marked gas oil; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20659/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Ireland is required, under its membership of the International Energy Agency and the European Union, to hold strategic oil stocks equivalent to 90 days of net imports. The National Oil Reserves Agency (NORA) maintains these strategic reserves on behalf of the State. These stocks may be released to the market in the event of a serious shortage of petroleum products arising in domestic supply chains or as part of an IEA co-ordinated release. Since the onset of the conflict in Ukraine, my Department, NORA and the oil industry have, on a daily basis, monitored the volumes of product currently in the domestic supply chains, as well as tracking future expected consignments of product due to arrive at the commercial terminals, in order to identify any upcoming supply deficit.

My Department and NORA maintain plans to respond to any significant supply deficit.

The State's strategic reserves are in place to aid all sectors of the economy, including agriculture and forestry, and the importance of maintaining availability of all petroleum products is very much understood.