Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 29 June 2023
53. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he intends to support Irish-based companies to continue to supply indigenous gas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31644/23]
View answerAs Minister for Enterprise; Trade and Employment I do not have a designated function related to indigenous energy extraction, supply or regulation. Those functions sit primarily with the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, as well as the appropriate independent regulatory bodies.
Natural gas plays a significant role in providing energy in our economy, power system and manufacturing base. That role will continue over the medium term, even as we transition to renewable energy sources to provide an ever greater share of our electricity, and, through electrification, power more of our heating and transport requirements. My Department and I are focussed on ensuring that Irish businesses can access a reliable, cost-competitive source of energy. Additionally, I want businesses to be actively considering and investing in decarbonising their energy use over time in line with our climate action objectives.
In future, I expect we will be using a greater portion of renewable gas. In this regard, a dedicated Biomethane Working Group, chaired by the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine, has been established. Its purpose is to oversee an all-of-Government approach to developing a National Biomethane Strategy, which aims to deliver up to the 5.7TWh of indigenously produced biomethane by 2030. Further into the future, I anticipate that Green hydrogen will play a crucial role in decarbonising our energy system. The Government is currently developing a National Hydrogen Strategy, which is due to be finalised shortly. This strategy will set out our vision for how hydrogen will be produced and used in Ireland, providing certainty to investors and industry as to how hydrogen will be deployed in the Irish energy system.
As the Deputy may be aware, the Programme for Government contains a commitment to end the issuing of new licences for the exploration and extraction of gas on the same basis as the decision taken in 2019 by the previous Government in relation to oil exploration and extraction. As outlined in the Policy Statement on Petroleum Exploration and Production, published in August 2022, this commitment states that no new authorisations for petroleum exploration will be granted, while applications that are already connected to existing authorisations can continue to apply to progress through the standard licensing lifecycle stages towards a natural conclusion, which may include expiry, relinquishment, production or rejection. All applications relating to existing authorisations will continue to be assessed against a number of criteria in accordance with Section 9A of the Petroleum and Other Minerals Development Act, 1960, as amended, and Section 3 of the Licensing Terms for Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration, Development and Production. This includes assessment of the technical competence of the applicant and the financial resources available to it in order to undertake the work programme and any other commitments pursuant to the relevant petroleum authorisation.
