Energy Infrastructure
Seanad Éireann — 2021-12-07
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Lynn Boylan (SF), Agricultural Panel

I am not reassured at all, with all due respect to the Minister of State. The question concerns what these gas-fired power plant companies being told when they are set up here. Are they being given a deadline and being told this is a short-term investment?
Most of these large infrastructure projects would have a lifespan of 30 or 40 years. What assurances have they been given or what have they been told? What financial guarantees have they been given that this is going to be a secure investment if we are being told that we might not actually need them to switch on at all?
On the modernisation of the treaty, would the Minister of State tell us if a deadline has been set for the modernisation process? Currently it is going nowhere, or so it seems from all reports. Unanimity is required for changes, but Japan has said it does not want any changes. Six EU countries are calling for the EU to leave as a bloc because the treaty is unreformable and cannot be reformed. It is not compliant with the Paris Agreement. The EU's proposals as part of the modernisation process would not make it Paris-compliant. Is there a deadline for the modernisation process by which we just cut our losses and get out? What commitments have been given to these gas-fired power plants about the timeframe and how often they would be used?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2021-12-07/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:49:55+00:00
Sitting date: 2021-12-07