Paul Murphy Asks if Summit Addressed Nord Stream Destruction
Paul Murphy asked whether the summit discussed the destruction of the Nord Stream pipeline and whether the Irish government supports an independent international investigation to determine responsibility. He also raised questions about renewable energy policy, onshore versus offshore strategy, solar rollout, costs and infrastructure security.
Nord Stream inquiry
Paul Murphy asked if the summit had any discussion about the blowing up and destruction of Nord Stream, noting the event's impact on gas prices and the largest single discharge of methane the world has ever seen. He highlighted a recent UN Security Council vote where, he said, the US and several allies abstained on a motion that would have provided for an independent international investigation.
Government response on pipeline security
The minister replied that Nord Stream itself was not discussed specifically at the summit, but said there was discussion on the security of pipelines going forward and on undersea cables. The minister emphasised designing such infrastructure so it is not easy to tamper with.
Renewable energy status and strategy
The minister defended Ireland's renewable record, stating the country produces about 40% of its electricity from renewables. He explained the choice to prioritise onshore installations first as the quickest, least expensive and most efficient route, with offshore and floating offshore to follow. He noted solar recently provided a period where it supplied 10% of electricity and argued solar can be deployed much faster than offshore wind, which may take five to seven years.
Costs, public ownership and infrastructure investments
Responding to reports of high costs, the minister said an adviser - Mr Ryan - advised that comparisons may not be like for like and that UK contracts are index-linked while Ireland's are not, which affects long-term cost profiles. The minister said public ownership is best delivered through state-owned enterprises such as the ESB. He also referenced recruitment at Mara and cited a £250 million investment into Ross-Lair as part of wider port investment plans, and offered a detailed follow-up to the deputy from his office.
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I want to ask if there was any discussion at this summit about Nord Stream, in particular the blowing up destruction of Nord Stream, which had devastating impacts in terms of for people, with the increase in gas prices, which was a consequence, and the largest single discharge of methane that the world has ever seen, with significant environmental consequences. It seems that nobody is really interested in finding out the answer for who is responsible, and there was a recent vote at the UN Security Council with the US and several of its allies abstained on a motion in order to block a resolution providing for an independent international investigation to find out who is responsible. So was this discussed at the summit? Does the Irish government agree with the idea of an independent international investigation, and will they support efforts to agree with? Thank you. Thanks, Deputy, for the questions. Just in relation, when it comes to renewable energy, I do not accept that we are laggards at all. We produce about 40 per cent of our electricity now from renewable energy, that is a lot higher than a lot of other countries, but I think what happens sometimes, and that is understandable, is that people who are in a particular subsector, or of a particular niche, see things from their perspective, perspective, and do not see it from the wider perspective. So often people who are promoting floating offshore wind energy only see that, they do not see that there is more to offshore wind energy than floating, and they do not see that there is onshore, and they do not see that there is solar, and I think if we look at things from the point of view of the public interest, we should look at things in the round, and of course it made sense in Ireland for us to do onshore first, and that is why we are doing offshore later, because it was the quickest, least expensive, and most efficient way to do it. Other countries that are more densely populated, or of different geography, were not able to do as much onshore as we did, so they went offshore. And I think that is the way we need to see it, and again, as I mentioned earlier, one period in recent weeks, 10% of our electricity coming from solar, and a lot more that can be done there, and pretty quickly, solar can be done very quickly. We will have huge amounts of solar in Ireland before the first new offshore wind farm is actually built, because it can be done in months or a couple of years, rather than five to seven years, which is probably how long offshore and floating offshore is going to take. Aware of the reports in the Sunday papers about us having the highest cost, Mr Ryan has briefly informed me that it is not the case, and perhaps we are not comparing like what like. We understand in the UK, for example, the price that is paid for the electricity is index-linked, so it goes up every year, whereas we are not going to do that. So it might cost more at the start, but because it is not index-linked, it gets cheaper over time, if that makes any sense. But I will let the economist work out the detail of that, but he assures me that we are getting a fair price. Deputy, all you asked about Mara, I think the answer to the question is yes, and I know they are recruiting, but I do not want to swear to that at the moment. So I will make sure that the deputy gets a detailed reply from my office about that. On the ports, £250 million going into Ross-Lair, more investments to come, we need to invest in our ports. When it comes to public ownership, I think best done through our state-owned enterprises, like ESB for example, that is going to happen. When it comes to Nord Stream, there was no discussion specifically on the Nord Stream pipeline itself, but we obviously did have a discussion on security of pipelines into the future, and also under C-cables, and to make sure that they are designed in such a way that they are not easy to tamper with. Thanks to our listeners. Thank you, Mathias! Thanks a lot! Thank you, Monika. Thank you so much! Bye-bye, Professor!
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