Development (Strategic Gas Reserve) Bill 2026: Committee and Remaining Stages Seanad Éireann — 2026-07-16 ============================================================ Nessa Cosgrove (LAB), Labour Panel I have called this a Trojan Horse in the House before. This week, a new version of Homer's Odyssey is being released in cinemas nationwide. It is the tale of Odysseus's protracted journey following the end of the Trojan War. We all know the Trojan War ended when the cunning Greeks infiltrated the fortifications of Troy using a horse that was filled with Greek warriors. I know we might not have been talking about this, but this is a Trojan Horse. To say that the gas is for emergency use is an absolute Trojan Horse. It is going to be used in our energy mix. There is nothing else we can call it but a Trojan Horse. People question the strategic thinking of the Trojans in bringing a wooden horse filled with danger into their city. Historians, no doubt, are going to refer to this legislation in that way, because the reserve is not going to be used solely for emergencies. We are trying to define what an emergency is. There is no definition. Seven years ago, we led the way in the international community by committing to phase out oil and gas exploration. In fairness to Fine Gael, its former member Tony McLoughlin, who lives in my area, was actually behind banning the importation of fracked gas. This has been settled Government policy ever since. This amendment, which would reassert the commitment to reduce and legally phase out the use of natural gas, should not even be controversial at this stage; it should be accepted as a given. We are obliged to comply with our legally binding carbon budget targets. All this amendment does is reiterate that we will ensure compliance with these legally binding carbon budgets. We have tabled many amendments. According to the summary, the purpose of this Bill is to secure a supply of gas in the event of an emergency, yet it does not include a definition of an emergency. An emergency needs to be defined so the Bill will not allow and encourage the incorporation of gas that the Oireachtas has authorised for use only in an emergency into the day-to-day energy mix. The definition included in this amendment makes very clear what constitutes an emergency. That is why I wish the Minister of State would accept it. Without a definition of an emergency, there is a risk that we are going to be using filthy, horrible fracked gas in our energy mix. If the Government really believes the gas is for use in an emergency, why does it not accept this amendment? --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-07-16/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:52:17+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-07-16