Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 1 June 2016
208. Deputy John Brassil asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his plans to ensure that the development of the liquefied natural gas terminal at the Ballylongford land bank in County Kerry is fully supported, given its strategic commercial and employment importance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13938/16]
View answerSince 2002, the regulation of the gas market has been the responsibility of the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER), which is independent in the performance of its functions. I have no direct statutory function in relation to liquefied natural gas projects, including specific projects such as the Shannon LNG project, which is a commercial private sector initiative.
An LNG facility would provide additional security of supply to Ireland, in that it would bring diversity to Ireland's gas supply sources and would bring connectivity to the global LNG market.
This Government is supportive of the proposal to construct a LNG terminal near Ballylongford and the Programme for Government commits to examining if there are ways to facilitate liquid natural gas on the island of Ireland.
As part of implementing my Department's Energy Policy Paper, "Ireland's Transition to a Low Carbon Energy Future", our dependency on imported gas, particularly in the context of electricity generation, will be examined. The potential role of LNG will form part of this analysis. However, final investment decisions are a commercial matter for project promoters to take.
