I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth, back to the House.
Gas (Amendment) Bill 2023: Committee Stage
Sections 1 to 8, inclusive, agreed to.
SECTION 9
Amendments Nos. 1 and 2 are related and may be discussed together by agreement. Is that agreed? Agreed.
I move amendment No. 1:
In page 8, line 7, after “Heritage” to insert “, Minister for Finance”.
This amendment seeks to amend section 9(2) by including a provision that the Minister for Finance may not be appointed by the Government as the majority-shareholding Minister of Gas Networks Ireland. Currently the subsection provides it may not be the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage; the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications; or the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform.
The rationale for the amendment is we are concerned that by allowing the possibility for the Minister for Finance to become the majority-shareholding Minister, there could be a situation whereby a profit or narrowly economic motive is the sole expectation placed upon Gas Networks Ireland. I will come to this more broadly in the amendment that relates to the shareholder letter of expectation. I have serious concerns in this respect, particularly given the comments made by Gas Networks Ireland which seem to contradict the climate Act and our carbon emissions targets.
Amendment No. 2 would require that the order nominating a majority-shareholding Minister in Gas Networks Ireland would require approval by both Houses of the Oireachtas. I will elaborate further when discussing amendment No. 3, which concerns the majority-shareholding Minister. We have concerns that if the Minister for Finance is involved, there might be some contradiction.
I thank the Senator. I am interested to hear her proposal because I did not know what it was grounded on when I looked at it. I will consider it more now. The Senator said she is worried there will be an expectation that profit should be the sole motive of Gas Networks Ireland and that would be brought about because the Minister for Finance is concerned with money. I did not foresee the Senator's argument.
Section 9(2) provides for the future majority-shareholding Minister in the event of a change from it being held by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The exceptions quoted in the subsection are those Ministers who could not be the majority-shareholding Minister into the future, namely, the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform and the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications. They are excluded from being appointed by order as majority-shareholding Minister in the Gas Regulation Act 2013 due to full ownership unbundling restrictions under the third gas directive. This does not apply to the Minister for Finance; therefore, there is no basis for that Minister to be excluded.
In other words, we are implementing the third gas directive. We had a look at the existing legislation from 2013 and picked the Ministers listed there because they are the ones required under EU law. I had not considered the Senator's argument regarding the Minister for Finance.
The concern, which we will get to when we give the example of the shareholder letter of expectation of Coillte from 2022, is if the Minister for Finance is the majority-shareholding Minister, he or she could try to generate the maximum number of shares for the public, as opposed to balancing that with the climate Act.
That gives us cause for concern because of the way in which GNI is working at the moment in respect of islanded data centres, as I have said. GNI seems to disagree that there is a risk and is seeking to plough ahead with attaching more and more data centres to the gas grid. There is a risk that, if it does not do that, these centres may become stranded assets or a Minister may tell these companies they cannot expand. Gas Networks Ireland believes data centres can address these issues through "the increased use of biomethane and hydrogen and are currently assessing the statement impacts and consulting with Government". If Gas Networks Ireland is instructed by a Minister for Finance to maximise profit or to operate only out of economic motives, it would be in a very strong position to argue that these data centres need to been connected to the grid and to expand the gas network to more and more households. On the flipside, our Minister for the environment, our climate Act and our sectoral targets are all telling GNI that it needs to go in a different direction, to completely move away from expanding the gas network and to examine alternatives for its future business plans that do not involve fossil fuels. That is our rationale. The role of the Minister for Finance seems to lean towards where GNI sees itself at the moment.
To confirm, are we debating amendment No. 2 at the same time as No. 1?
We are debating amendments Nos. 1 and 2 together, yes.
On amendment No. 1, it is not the case that Gas Networks Ireland would be legally allowed to focus solely on profit. It is subject to the climate Act. It is a named body so it must achieve the objectives set out in that Act, including the reduction in emissions and so on. It cannot solely focus on money.
Under the new EU gas package, there is a new directive to be implemented and, as a result, Ireland is legally required to implement rules on the use of biomethane and hydrogen and the decarbonisation of our gas network and our connection policy. We are required to put in those rules as part of the new directive on gas. That will place extra conditions and objectives on Gas Networks Ireland outside of solely making money. GNI clearly has a very important role in the decarbonisation of Ireland and in getting rid of the use of fossil fuels and switching to alternative fuels such as hydrogen and biomethane. GNI cannot focus solely on money.
Amendment No. 2 proposes that any order to change the majority shareholding Minister would require the prior approval of the Houses of the Oireachtas rather than such an order being subsequently laid before the Houses, where a resolution could then be passed to annul it. As I read it, the amendment proposes that such an order to change the majority shareholding Minister would require the explicit approval of both Houses rather than each House having the right to annul it. In other words, it gives the Houses a more active involvement. To me, it is the same thing. What we are saying in the Bill is that either House of the Oireachtas can, if it wishes, annul an order changing the majority share-holding Minister. It does not require the Houses to explicitly vote for it but, if either House wants to stop it, it can. They have that power. This is in line with the normal procedure and the normal pattern of other similar legislation. I believe the two measures are equivalent and, for that reason, I do not propose to accept the amendment.
Amendment put and declared lost.
I move amendment No. 2:
In page 8, between lines 17 and 18, to insert the following:
“(4) An order made under subsections (2) or (3) shall require approval by resolution of both Houses of the Oireachtas.”.
Amendment put and declared lost.
Section 9 agreed to.
SECTION 10
I move amendment No. 3:
In page 8, between lines 37 and 38, to insert the following:
“(4) The majority-shareholding Minister shall, on a bi-annual basis, lay before both Houses of the Oireachtas any shareholder letters of expectation issued in respect of Gas Networks Ireland.”.
The amendment follows on from our concerns about the Minister for Finance being the majority-shareholding Minister of GNI. It relates to a broader concern with regard to how shareholder letters of expectation have been used in respect of semi-State commercial bodies. The shareholder letter of expectation that issued to Coillte in 2022, for example, states that the company should be profitable and cash-generative, and there is at a later point merely a reference to balancing the commercial obligations with climate action. It beggars belief that, in the middle of climate and biodiversity crises, such a narrow commercial model is being applied to an organisation with responsibility for 7% of the land in this State.
Parliamentary questions seeking to get copies of the shareholder letters that issued to Bord na Móna have been refused by the Minister's Department. Senator Higgins's office had to request those shareholder letters under access to access to information on the environment, AIE, regulations and is awaiting a response. She cannot be here at present but she has her own nature Bill, which is ready to proceed to Committee Stage, to address this issue in respect of both Coillte and Bord na Móna. Critically, we need to know what expectations are being placed on Gas Networks Ireland in order for there to be some accountability in the Oireachtas in this respect. As I said, it was stated in GNI's gas forecast statement of 2022 that it believed data centres connected to the gas network could meet the principles set out in the Government's data policy document through the increased use of biomethane and hydrogen and it was assessing the statement's impacts and consulting the Government.
As the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications has accepted that GNI is at odds with the climate Act, I do not see why there would be an issue with publishing the shareholder letters and any expectations on the semi-State body for full transparency in order that we can ensure those commercial semi-State bodies are being asked to uphold their climate obligations, as opposed to what we have seen with Coillte, the only case we have seen, whereby it is to have a narrow economic and commercial basis. I do not see how there can be an issue with the publication of these shareholder letters. In public, Ministers speak about the importance of climate action and pose for photos at the launch of pilot projects, but in private they tell these organisations they can effectively carry on business as usual.
The Minister of State should make available to Senators, prior to Report Stage, the letters of expectation that have been sent to Gas Networks Ireland to reassure us Gas Networks Ireland has been instructed very clearly that it does not get a bye ball when it comes to climate action. If he is prepared to give that commitment that we will get those letters of expectation before Report Stage, we could withdraw the amendment but if not, we will press it.
I can say I am very unlikely to be able to get copies of letters of expectation for the Senator or to publish them. The code of practice for the governance of State bodies provides, in the case of commercial State bodies, for a shareholder letter of expectation that outlines the terms of the relationship with the parent Department. The shareholder letter of expectation contains commercially sensitive information and, as such, it would not be appropriate for it to be made publicly available. Again, I am not aware of any similar precedent for another commercial State body. On this basis, I propose to reject the amendment because it would not be appropriate for the shareholder letter of expectation to be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas.
Amendment put and declared lost.
Section 10 agreed to.
Sections 11 to 18, inclusive, agreed to.
SECTION 19
Amendments Nos. 4 to 6, inclusive, are related and may be discussed together by agreement. Is that agreed? Agreed.
I move amendment No. 4:
In page 12, to delete lines 30 and 31 and substitute the following:
“(ii) by the insertion of the following definitions:
“ ‘Act of 2014’ means the Companies Act 2014;
‘carbon budget’ has the meaning assigned to it in section 1 of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 (as amended), and means the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions that are permitted during the budget period;
‘climate action plan’ has the meaning assigned to it in section 4(1)(a) of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 (as amended), and means the annual plan prepared by the Minister to pursue the national climate objective;
‘emissions’ has the meaning assigned to it in section 1 of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 (as amended), and means in relation to greenhouse gases, emission of those gases into earth’s atmosphere attributable to industrial, agricultural, energy or other anthropogenic activities in the State;
‘greenhouse gas’ has the meaning assigned to it in section 1 of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 (as amended), and means—
(a) carbon dioxide,
(b) methane,
(c) nitrous oxide,
(d) hydrofluorocarbons,
(e) perfluorocarbons,
(f) sulphur hexafluoride, or
(g) nitrogen trifluoride;
‘national climate change adaptation framework’ has the meaning assigned to it in section 5(2)(a) of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 (as amended), and means the plan prepared by the State which specifies the national strategy for the application of adaptation measures in different sectors and by a local authority in its administrative area;
‘national climate objective’ has the meaning assigned to it in section 3(1) of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 (as amended), and means the State’s obligation, so as to reduce the extent of further global warming, to pursue and achieve, by no later than the end of the year 2050, the transition to a climate resilient, biodiversity rich, environmentally sustainable and climate neutral economy;
‘national long term climate action strategy’ has the meaning assigned to it in section 4(5) of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 (as amended), and means the long term strategy which specifies the manner in which it is proposed to achieve the national climate objective;
‘sectoral adaptation plan’ has the meaning assigned to it in section 6(1) of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 (as amended), and means the plans made by such Ministers of the Government as the Government considers appropriate, in relation to a matter for which each such Minister of the Government has responsibility;
‘sectoral emissions ceiling’ has the meaning assigned to it in section 6C(1) of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 (as amended).”,”.
The amendments in this grouping aim to bring Gas Networks Ireland in line with the climate Act. The State should be leading on climate action. A key step to doing that is making sure the mandates of State bodies are in line with the climate Act. Since October 2022, I have been calling for emergency legislation to prevent islanded data centres from connecting to the gas grid. At that stage, we had learned there were initially 11 data centres seeking connection to the gas grid. We have recently heard there are more than 25 seeking connection on top of that. These islanded data connections to the grid could, in effect, blow our carbon budget out of the water. Since that statement calling for urgent legislation, the Government's Climate Change Advisory Council has echoed that call and come out in favour of much stronger action against islanded data centres. In a letter to the Oireachtas joint committee, Marie Donnelly, the chair of the Climate Change Advisory Council, outlined that she does not want the Commission for Regulation of Utilities to sign any more contracts to connect data centres to the gas network and that if the Gas Act was preventing such an action being taken, the Government should take immediate action to change that. That is what we are attempting to do through these amendments. We cannot allow GNI to continue to grow its network unabated.
I welcome the efforts of Friends of the Earth, which has been mobilising its members on this important issue. As has been pointed out, the Minister, Deputy Ryan, stated, in the context of GNI, "The future will not be providing fossil gas to an ever expanding network of customers or users ... There is no big future expansion in gas use there." The best time to legislate against these islanded data centres was before the 11 to which I referred sought connections when the moratorium relating to data centres connecting to the electricity grid came in. Failing that, it would have been better for the Minister to have acted when there were 25 data centres seeking connections to the grid. Now the Minister is being given another opportunity to, in effect, put an end to the enormous risk that allowing the continuation of data centres to connect to the gas grid poses to the climate Act and our carbon emissions targets.
Before the Minister of State responds on the amendments and indicates whether he will accept them, I ask him to, at least, tell us how many data centres are currently seeking connection to the gas grid. Initially there were 11 of them, then we had to go searching for information and then we heard it was 25. We are now hearing rumours that the number has again increased. I ask the Minister of State to confirm how many data centres are in the pipeline and when the State is going to take firm action to prevent them from getting those connections.
I will request that information. I will see whether I can find out from the CRU or my Department how many data centres are seeking direct connection to the gas grid. It is a fair question.
The approval I have from the Government for this legislation is simply for the integration of the current activities of Ervia into GNI. It does not provide for the board to engage in any new function or activity. As Senators are aware, Gas Networks Ireland is a semi-State public body. Its shares are 100% controlled by Government Ministers and, as a result, it is subject to the same criteria as other State bodies regarding its climate obligations. In particular, Gas Networks Ireland is listed as a relevant body under the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015, as amended in 2021. The term "relevant body" includes a public body which is defined by reference to the Freedom of Information Act 2014, to which GNI is subject, and will continue to be subject with the passage of the Bill. As it is a relevant body, GNI performs its functions in a manner consistent with the most recent approved climate action plan. It has to be consistent with the most recently approved national long-term climate action strategy, national adaptation framework and approved sectoral adaptation plans, as well as with the furtherance of the national climate objective and the objective of mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to the effects of climate change in the State.
I will now turn to the questions on connection policy.
The implementation of the European directive on common rules for the internal markets in renewable and natural gases and in hydrogen is the more appropriate legislative vehicle for consideration of decarbonisation of the gas grid and GNI's role and functions as provided for in the Gas Act 1976. In particular, the final version of the European gas directive provides for member states to implement measures to phase out natural gas in order to reach the climate neutrality objectives set out by the EU or for other technical reasons. This final version of the European gas directive provides for the development of a clear regulatory framework allowing for the refusal of access and the possible disconnection of network users in order to attain this policy objective. Network users can be refused access or may be disconnected if this concerns infrastructure that will be decommissioned in line with the network development plan at transmission level or decommissioning is envisaged in line with the provisions of the directive. It also notes that, at the same time, adequate measures should be undertaken to protect network users in such circumstances. It is also important that the refusal of access and disconnection decisions are subject to objective, transparent and non-discriminatory criteria developed by regulatory authorities.
Gas Networks Ireland is required under the current 2009 gas directive, as amended, to publish a ten-year network development plan every two years and it must be submitted to the CRU for approval. This is available to the public and is published on the GNI website. The new gas directive updates the requirements involved to include biomethane and hydrogen developments and to ensure they are developed in conjunction with decarbonisation of the gas grid. It is now a requirement for member states to ensure that distribution system operators such as GNI develop network decommissioning plans when a reduction in gas demand requiring decommissioning of natural gas distribution networks or parts of said network is expected. These plans will be developed in close co-operation with hydrogen distribution network operators, distribution system operators for electricity and district heating and cooling operators, ensuring effective energy system integration and reflecting the reduced use of natural gas for the heating and cooling of buildings where more energy- and cost-efficient alternatives are available. Negotiations of this directive concluded at the end of 2023.
Another significant element the Senator is aware of is the publication of the Energy Security in Ireland to 2030 report. This outlines a new strategy to ensure energy security in Ireland for this decade while ensuring a sustainable transition to carbon neutral energy systems by 2050. Within this package is a specific action approved by Government to review gas connection policy and introduce gas demand flexibility measures. Under the Climate Action Plan 2023, the CRU has been assigned as the lead organisation to complete and publish an electricity demand side strategy and implementation plan. As part of this, the CRU is undertaking a review of the processing of new large energy demand connections to the electricity and gas systems. The aim of this review is to provide a pathway for new large energy user connections to the electricity and gas systems, which minimises the impact on national carbon emissions while taking into account the capacity of the system with regard to the supply of energy and grid infrastructure.
Given that the proposed amendment is outside the scope of the Bill, as agreed by the Government, I propose to reject the amendment while acknowledging GNI's current obligations under current and pending legislation.
The Minister of State has said repeatedly that Gas Networks Ireland is consistent with the climate action plan, that it is in line and its policies are in line.
It is legally required to be consistent.
The Department of the environment has said that islanded data centres are not compatible with the climate action plan. I will quote a Department official for the Minister of State:
A spokesperson for the Department of the Environment said that any centre not hooked up to the electricity grid could damage Irish emissions targets. The policy statement highlights the undesirability of 'islanded' data centres that would generate their own electricity from natural gas. The decarbonisation section of the Government Statement states: "Islanded data centre developments, that are not connected to the electricity grid and are powered mainly by on-site fossil fuel generation, would not be in line with national policy. These would run counter to emissions reduction objectives and would not serve the wider efficiency and decarbonisation of our energy system. Growth in 'islanded’ data centres could result in security of supply risk being transferred from electricity to gas supply, which would be a significant challenge given Ireland’s reliance on gas importation."
That is a direct quote from a Department official in response to the 11 islanded data centres. We are now in a position where we know there are 25 of them. We do not know if that is the cap on it. There could be more than that, and the Minister of State is saying this is not the right place to do it and Gas Networks Ireland is legally obliged to comply with our climate legislation. That is deeply disappointing. While the Bill may be technical, it is amending the mandate of Gas Networks Ireland. If legislation amending GNI's mandate is not the right place for this, then I do not know where the right place is. We are in a climate emergency. The Minister of State's own Department has accepted that this is not in line with national policy.
A year later, we know this is a problem but still are not doing anything about it. The Opposition is coming forward with constructive proposals to try to put a stop to this, to try to at least keep within our carbon budgets but our amendments are being rejected. It is deeply disappointing. I hope the Minister of State will accept that Gas Networks Ireland is not acting within the climate action plan by connecting these data centres to the grid.
I appreciate Senator Boylan's raising of this issue and acknowledge that her amendment is an attempt to do something constructive. Neither I nor the Government wants data centres connecting directly to the gas grid. Clearly, the gas grid is almost pure fossil fuel at the moment, with only very small amounts of biomethane on it and we do not want data centres connecting directly to it. However, this Bill is not the correct mechanism for making sure that does not happen and this amendment would not have the right effect. We have a directive to be implemented which should achieve the same thing and we are also looking at specific planning policy requirements that would also have the same effect. That is our position at the moment. I am trying to achieve the same thing as Senator Boylan. I do not want data centres connecting directly to the gas grid but the amendment the Senator has tabled would not have that effect. It would not be effective.
Again, we are hearing that there is no inconsistency with what we are trying to achieve and what the Government says it wants to achieve but there is an urgency here. There is no inconsistency with what the EU gas package, for which we must wait, wants to achieve and yet, while we dither and dawdle about restricting the connection of data centres to the gas grid, more and more of them are connecting to it. More and more data centres connecting to the gas grid not only puts our carbon emissions targets in jeopardy, it also threatens our gas supply, makes gas more expensive and increases the costs for households. I do not understand how the Minister of State can say that we all want to do the same thing, but just not now. If not now, when? This is the opportunity to do it. This is the Gas (Amendment) Bill. We should be amending it and acting on what the Minister of State's own Department, the Climate Change Advisory Council, civic society and the Opposition have said. There is no inconsistency here; we all want the same thing so why would the Minister of State not accept amendments aimed at achieving that rather than waiting around for the EU gas package?
One of the main things I need to achieve with any legislation we pass is make sure it is legal and not challengeable. It is important that anything we do is non-discriminatory. If we tell Gas Networks Ireland that it cannot connect one customer but can connect another then the customer who was refused connection can legally challenge that. We have to decide what the connection policy for Gas Networks Ireland will be. Do we tell it that it is not allowed to connect anybody else to the grid? Do we tell it not to connect anybody above a certain threshold to the grid? Do we tell it to only connect people to the grid as a back-up rather than as a primary source of power? In other words, do we say that customers cannot have a gas connection if they do not have a sufficiently large electricity connection? The Senator can see that these are complex questions to answer. I am not creating complexity for the sake of it but if we do not answer those questions correctly we will be legally challenged by people who are very well resourced. They will say that they have been refused connection and that such refusal was discriminatory.
This goes beyond national legislation and is a concern for EU legislation. We now have a mechanism, under the gas directive, to do something about it. In fact, we have a mandate and are legally required to implement the gas directive, to make sure our gas grid is decarbonised and that we have a policy on gas connection which does not make it harder for us to meet our objectives. In the meantime, I expect that we will be able to use planning conditions or specific planning requirements to limit the connection of large gas users to the grid where it is an inappropriate thing to do.
What is the difference between introducing a moratorium on data centres connecting to the electricity grid and data centres connecting to the gas grid? No issues around discrimination of treatment arose with the electricity grid. We instructed EirGrid not to connect data centres to the electricity grid and no such issues were raised by the CRU or by Government Ministers at the time.
There could be a moratorium on gas connections and then a wait for the EU gas package to enshrine it not as a moratorium but on a permanent basis.
Senator Boylan asked what the difference is between putting in a moratorium on electricity connections for data centres and on gas connections for data centres. There is probably no difference but we do not have a moratorium on data centres being connected. It has become much harder and possibly nobody else is connecting at the moment but there is no national policy of a moratorium on data centres in Ireland.
That is certainly news to everybody on the climate committee because we have been repeatedly told that there is a moratorium on connections to the electricity grid by data centres. EirGrid only a week ago told the committee that its view was that it was detrimental to the Irish economy because it was not in a position to connect any data centres to the grid due to the moratorium it was instructed to comply with and that it wanted to see some sort sustainable policy direction. I do not agree with it. There is a point at which we have to say we cannot keep accommodating data centres. We have been informed repeatedly that there is a moratorium on data centres connecting to the electricity grid. It is on the basis of that moratorium, when it was announced, that data centres then applied to Gas Networks Ireland for their gas connections. They did not do that just out of the blue going, do you know what, rather than an electricity grid connection, we are going to go for a gas connection. The reason they are going for gas connections is they cannot get connected to the electricity grid because there is a moratorium on electricity grid connections.
It is much harder now to connect a data centre to the grid. I do not know if anybody has managed in the recent period of time to achieve a new data centre connection. There are a lot of new rules to do with asking data centres to be outside of Dublin and making sure they have sufficient backup and are entirely powered by renewable energy. In other words, rather than an outright moratorium, a lot of new conditions are attached.
The Minister of State said he would check the ten-year network development plan. One has not been published since 2021, which, I would point out, is in breach of SI 16/2015 - European Communities (Internal Market in Natural Gas and Electricity) (Amendment) Regulations 2015. We are dragging our feet on this issue. The Minister of State is not going to accept the amendments; I get that. It is deeply disappointing. You cannot talk about an emergency and then not act like there is an emergency, which there is when it comes to gas connections of data centres.
Amendment put and declared lost.
I move amendment No. 5:
In page 12, between lines 32 and 33, to insert the following:
“(i) in subsection (1)—
(I) by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (a):
“(a) The Board shall own, operate, develop and maintain a system for the transmission and distribution of natural gas, being a system that is carbon budget-aligned, economical and efficient and shall perform its functions in a manner consistent with—
(i) the most recent approved climate action plan,
(ii) the most recent approved national long term climate action
strategy,
(iii) the most recent approved national adaptation framework and
approved sectoral adaptation plans,
(iv) the furtherance of the national climate objective, and
(v) the objective of mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and
adapting to the effects of climate change in the State.”,
and
(II) by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (b):
“(c) Nothing in paragraph (a) shall be construed as imposing on the Board, either directly or indirectly, any form of duty or function to promote, advertise or incentivise new connections to transmission or distribution gas systems.”,”
Amendment put and declared lost.
I move amendment No. 6:
In page 13, after line 40, to insert the following:
“(d) in section 10A—
(i) in subsection (4), by the insertion of the following paragraphs after paragraph (h):
“(i) the terms and conditions upon which applications for new connections or expansion of the gas network must be assessed to consider the expected emissions profile of the new connection, and of its contribution to the decarbonisation of Ireland’s economy; and
(j) the terms and conditions upon which an application may be refused if it is considered not to be in the public interest to provide additional capacity to meet the requirements sought.”,
and
(ii) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (7A):
“(7B) The Board shall be entitled to refuse connection on the grounds of the expected emissions profile, long term carbon emissions or inconsistency with the carbon budget programme or sectoral emissions ceilings as per sections 6A and 6C of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 (as amended).”,
(e) in section 10B, in subsection (3), by the insertion of the following paragraphs after paragraph (f):
“(g) the terms and conditions upon which new connections or expansion of the gas network may be refused on the grounds of the expected emissions profile, long term carbon emissions or inconsistency with the carbon budget programme or sectoral emissions ceilings as per sections 6A and 6C of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 (as amended),
(h) the terms and conditions on large energy users to facilitate accurate hourly emissions reporting, grid carbon intensity transparency and optimisation of computing loads to maximise use of renewables and minimise carbon emissions, and
(i) on undertakings on organisations operating in the gas sector in the general economic interest, public service obligations which may relate to security, including security of supply, regularity, quality and price of supplies, and environmental protection, including energy efficiency, energy from renewable sources and climate protection.”,”.
Amendment put and declared lost.
Section 19 agreed to.
Sections 20 and 21 agreed to.
Title agreed to.
Bill reported without amendment.
When is it proposed to take the next Stage?
Next Tuesday.
Is that agreed? Agreed.
Report Stage ordered for Tuesday, 27 February 2024.
It is proposed to suspend until 4.30 p.m. Is that agreed? Agreed.
Cuireadh an Seanad ar fionraí ar 3.51 p.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 4.40 p.m.
Sitting suspended at 3.51 p.m. and resumed at 4.40 p.m.