Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

As I said, the Government has adopted a policy-based approach in respect of LNG which allows it to carefully consider the implications of any measures that could interfere with either our energy or economic security. The Taoiseach announced in September 2019 that future exploration licences would be awarded for natural gas only. The energy security review published in April 2023 recommended policy measures to strengthen the security of Ireland's gas supplies in the medium to long term. The review sets out the assessment regarding the security of gas supplies, which is that the existing policy on natural gas is not adequate to address the range of risks and ensure security of our gas supplies in the medium term. In addition, Ireland urgently needs to meet the EU N-1 standard. This EU regulation aims to safeguard an uninterrupted gas supply throughout the EU, especially for protected customers during difficult climatic conditions or supply disruptions. The energy security review states that Ireland's energy security will be significantly improved and risks will be greatly reduced if Ireland implements measures to implement the EU N-1 standard and it will enable the implementation of a strategic gas emergency reserve on a transitional basis for use in the event of a disruption to gas supplies.

The Senator will be aware that the Minister, Deputy Ryan, has been more committed than any Member of the House to the transition away from fossil fuels. Last year, thanks to the climate action plan, we saw a 6.8% reduction in emissions, bringing us to the lowest level in 30 years. We are making that transition and that is hugely important. The Senator's comments to the effect that we are giving a gift to the fossil fuel industry are completely unfounded. This 6.8% reduction was driven by a staggering 22% reduction in electricity emissions. This happened despite significant levels of population growth and economic growth in this country. Having said all that, the Minister with responsibility for energy has a responsibility to keep the lights on in the country and for that reason the Department published the energy security package in November last year. That package recommended that the Government consider the development of a State-owned LNG floating storage and regasification unit as a temporary security-of-supply measure. This is primarily intended to ensure against risks to the existing pipelines to Great Britain. The amendment to the Planning and Development Bill is being inserted to facilitate this kind of investment should we, as a Government, make a final decision to pursue it.

I want to be clear that this is a very different proposal to a commercial LNG facility. Previous proposals for LNG infrastructure in the Shannon region would risk significantly increasing gas demand in Ireland rather than simply acting as a back-up. In the Oireachtas climate committee last week, the Minister, Deputy Ryan, suggested that, given the relatively long lead-in time for the construction of such a State-owned facility and the anticipated timeline for phasing out gas in the Irish economy, it may not be a cost-effective option after all. It may, instead, be possible to deliver the required security of supply by ramping up our efforts on renewable generation and electricity interconnection with our neighbours. That is something to which the Minister and the Government have been deeply committed and have made significant progress on over the past four and a half years. This is not a concrete decision. The Minister has just asked for more research to be carried out to ensure we have an evidence-based policy. It is prudent to keep our options open by passing the amendment to the Planning and Development Bill.

It is also important to note that this Bill is providing for a planning process. The principle here is that decisions on an application are made by going through this process, which is far from anti-democratic, on the basis of Government policy and relevant assessments. As far as I know, the only type of development that is banned at application stage in this country is nuclear power because the country has declared itself a nuclear-free zone. I am not aware of Ireland having been declared an LNG-storage facility-free zone or an energy security-free zone. It is a really responsible amendment from the Minister, Deputy Ryan's, Department and it is critically important that it is supported.

Senators Higgins, Ruane, Black and Flynn have proposed an amendment to amendment No. 169 in relation to a person being eligible to make an application for maritime development if he or she has power conferred by statute to compulsorily acquire a maritime site. I cannot accept this proposal which would delete the phrase "!whether or not any preconditions to the exercise of that power have been satisfied" from this provision. This wording replicates the existing position in relation to land development and is appropriate.

Amendments Nos. 168 and 169 update the eligibility requirements for someone to make an application for maritime development under section 85(2) to include eligibility for someone who has a power conferred by statute to compulsorily acquire a maritime site. This mirrors the eligibility requirements for land and is provided as Part 14 of the Bill relating to compulsory acquisition has now been expanded to include the maritime area.