Shannon LNG project must be evaluated on its merits

AS A former member of the Oireachtas and Chairman of The Public Accounts who represented West Limerick for 18 years I fully support the Shannon LNG project in Tarbert Co. Kerry which is under consideration by An Bord Pleanála.

I have a deep interest in further projects being developed on the estuary, hence my interest in this LNG project going ahead. I have followed ongoing developments over many years and was especially up to date as a director on the Shannon Foynes Port Company (SFPC) from 2012-2020 when the LNG project was discussed and the benefits it would bring to the estuary and the financial benefits to the SFPC.

In 2019 the previous government submitted the project to the EU for consideration of funding as a Programme of Common Interest. The Department of Environment Climate and Communications (DECC) was publicly supportive of the development of an LNG terminal for many years. On May 12, 2020 the DECC swore an affidavit in High Court proceedings in relation to the Shannon LNG project in support of it. This approach caused significant opposition from Minister Eamon Ryan who took up his position as Minister in

June 2020. His opposition was well known well before he wrote to An Bord Pleanála on October 19, 2021 stating he was opposed to the project because of fracked gas. New Fortress Energy have assured An Bord Pleanála that they will be using non-fracked gas for the LNG project. However, Government policy according to Mr Ryan is they are opposed to any LNG project being built.

I sincerely hope that An Bord Pleanála, who are getting unfavourable publicity at present, would be totally objective to this project and evaluate it on its merits. The objection of Mr Ryan was about the use of fracked gas.

I believe that for ideological reasons it prevents the minister from keeping all options on the

table when it comes to energy. This department had its own minister in the past and it is of huge importance now and in the reshuffle in December it should be seriously considered.

Aoife McEvilly, chair of the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, has stated that ‘if we want to provide security on days like this [calm days with no wind], we will need to continue to have dispatchable generation capacity to ensure that the lights stay on’. She was referring to gas.

The recent energy security review carried out by CEPA is not in favour of an LNG terminal. It was commissioned by Minister Ryan’s department.

The Irish Academy of Engineering, which found serious flaws with the report, state that the lack of an LNG terminal poses a high risk to the reliability of the Irish power system.

The logic of the Government proceeding with plans and spending hundreds of millions I don’t understand. When they have a shovel-ready project to proceed with and which can be adapted to

hydrogen when feasible with no cost to the State.

Michael Finucane, Newcastle West, Limerick.

Homegrown solution

WITH Twitter, Stripe and Meta shedding staff and Instagram, Google, Apple and Intel pausing almost all hiring, are we not in danger of putting all our eggs in the one basket as regards our multinational tax take?

At a time when our hospitals are creaking at the seams and our homeless figure continues to rise, our young nurses, doctors, and builders continue to leave our shores to pursue better pay and conditions.

Perhaps it is time we put our tax money into our more traditional industries? Which might help to solve a lot of our homegrown problems.

Tom Towey, Clonacool, Co. Sligo.

Two Ronnies

JOHN Lee’s report on the Ecofin and Eurogroup finance posts (MoS, Nov. 6) outlines the latest political joust on the State

representation at these important Eurogroups. Seems we are faced with another Irish solution to an Irish issue, in that like the Two Ronnies [Ministers Paschal Donohoe and Michael McGrath] both of them are to take to the stage. No doubt supported by two separate teams of public servants and political advisers, at double the costs to the taxpayer.

This is quite unacceptable at any time but especially at this economically stressed time and by the persons responsible for managing the State finances.

William Kelly, Dublin 5.

Hope for the future

DURING the past week, the spectre of a Trump presidency repeat took an encouraging albeit not terminal clout, while closer to home, the meeting of An Taoiseach and the British prime minister reflected a degree of mutual respect and recognition not witnessed since the preJohnston era in the UK.

The fact that both developments have been widely observed is remarkable and hopefully indicative of the ‘penny dropping’ as to the preciosity of democracy and its enduring vulnerability.

Michael Gannon, Kilkenny city.