Senior figures in the Green Party have warned that if the party leadership acquiesces to the construction of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal it will cause a deeply damaging rift in the party.
All of the party’s public representatives, including party leader and Minister for Climate Eamon Ryan, vehemently opposed plans to build a commercial LNG facility on the Shannon Estuary and made the issue one of its “red lines” during the 2020 general election, and Government negotiations.
However, Mr Ryan has said that circumstances have changed since the attack in 2022 on the Nord Stream pipelines that carry natural gas from Russia to western Europe. He said it heightened concerns about energy security in countries like Ireland.
Gas storage
In recent months, Mr Ryan has said that Ireland might require some gas storage facility as an emergency stopgap but argued that it would use natural gas and would not be commercial.
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US company New Fortress Energy wants to build a €650 million LNG import terminal on the Shannon estuary in Ballylongford, Co Kerry.
On Sunday, the Business Post reported that, in an interview, Mr Ryan accepted he might now have to consider accepting an LNG terminal for energy security purposes. A soon-to-be-published review of energy security is thought to have concluded that a non-commercial natural gas facility would be far too costly.
Senior Green Party sources stressed Mr Ryan’s comments could not be interpreted as him opening the door to that eventuality.
However, senior figures in the party expressed concern that if it were to concede on this point, it would create significant internal tension.
Cllr Dan Boyle, a former TD and senator, said that opposition to an LNG plant was a core policy position for the party.
“I would be particularly concerned if there was any watering down on the principle of opposing any fossil fuel infrastructure that is commercially led,” he said.
His view was supported by several of the party’s TDs and Senators who spoke on an off-the-record basis.
“I don’t see how it makes sense as strategic storage. LNG is really for transporting gas in large quantities rather than storing it for long periods,” said one Oireachtas member.
“And I don’t see how the ‘security of supply’ argument stacks up either. Would not a terminal be as vulnerable to attack, or more so, than the interconnector? How would we defend it from a hostile act?”
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Asked by the Business Post if commercial LNG would be required, the Green Party leader said that was a matter for the energy review to consider.
“The world changed a year ago when these Nord Stream gas pipelines were blown up in the Baltic,” he said.
“The concern about energy security and particularly gas pipelines was heightened. So we do need a form of storage and an alternative gas supply route and gas supply resource.”
Key metrics
He said three key metrics would apply. How much security will it provide? Does it fit with Ireland’s climate obligations? And how much will it cost?
Mr Boyle said that the Greens in Government had been under constant pressure, particularly from Fine Gael, on the issue. He said Mr Ryan was fully aware of the strong views of the party’s elected representatives and membership on LNG.
In January 2022, Mr Ryan, in a submission, told An Bord Pleanála that the Shannon LNG facility should not be permitted “under any circumstances”.
