A planning application for the State’s proposed LNG (liquefied natural gas) facility in Co Clare is expected to be lodged before the end of this year, Gas Networks Ireland (GNI) has said.
Legislation giving Minister for Energy Darragh O’Brien powers to bypass the normal planning procedures and directly approve the facility was passed by the Government late last week.
The Development (Strategic Gas Reserve) Bill is awaiting sign-off by President Catherine Connolly before becoming law.
That final move is expected within days unless the President has concerns about the law’s constitutionality.
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While the law will give O’Brien the final say on the project, it must still be assessed by planners in An Coimisiún Pleanála to determine any special conditions that should be attached to its development.
GNI said preparations for the planning application were already under way at the proposed site at Cahiracon, Co Clare.
“Since the site was announced in November 2025, Gas Networks Ireland has been progressing a schedule of site investigation works, marine surveys, environmental assessments, and has been engaging with the local community and stakeholders through a series of information events,” a spokesman said.
“Market engagement activities, maritime consents and the detailed engineering design phase are progressing. These efforts will support the submission of a planning application, which is expected to be submitted by the end of 2026.”
The facility will comprise a deep water jetty to accommodate a floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) and pipeline infrastructure to connect the FSRU to the national gas network.
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GNI said: “Construction timelines will be subject to planning approval and the Government final investment decision.”
The move to pass the Bill without amendments recommended by the all-party Committee on Climate, Environment and Energy and with only a brief Dáil debate has been criticised by climate campaigners and environmental groups.
Sinéad Loughran of Trócaire said the facility was at odds with Ireland’s climate obligations and the urgent necessity to phase out fossil fuels.
“It is fundamentally nonsensical and morally indefensible to introduce new fossil fuel infrastructure in a climate emergency,” she said.
[ Dismantling of climate law will reduce scrutiny of large infrastructure projectsOpens in new window ]
Aideen O’Dochartaigh from Not Here Not Anywhere said:
“The project has been promoted as an emergency measure, but this Bill fails to rule out commercial use of this terminal, which would be disastrous for Ireland’s emissions.”
The Government says the facility is needed for energy security reasons in case of interruption to the undersea pipeline bringing gas from Britain.
However, Jerry Mac Evilly of Friends of the Earth said: “We cannot have energy security by introducing more fossil fuels which are not only highly polluting but also highly vulnerable to price hikes and geopolitical events.”
The Bill is one of a series of actions by the Government aimed at reducing environmental and climate-based scrutiny of large infrastructure projects.
Under the Critical Infrastructure Act signed into law last month, projects will not be subject to Section 15 of the Climate Act, which requires all public bodies to consider the climate implications of new infrastructure.
Minister for Infrastructure Jack Chambers said at the weekend the Galway City Ring Road – which has been challenged on climate grounds for encouraging growth in private car use – would be the first project designated critical infrastructure and progressed under the Act.
Government departments have been asked to nominate other projects that are likely to increase carbon emissions to be designated critical infrastructure over the coming months.
The Dublin Airport (Passenger Capacity) Bill, signed into law last week, also disapplies the Climate Act.
It allows for the lifting of a passenger cap at Dublin Airport, which will allow the airport and associated flight and traffic emissions to grow.
