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Shannon
LNG announces Delay in Lodging Planning Application, giving Green
Minister for Energy Éamon Ryan time to order An Bord
Pleanála to Stop Fracked Gas Terminal as per published
government policy
An
Bord Pleanála was told yesterday by Shannon LNG that it does
not plan to lodge its planning application for "another couple of months" -
an official from the Irish planning authority told 'Safety
Before LNG' today. This now gives the Irish government
Minister for Energy Éamon Ryan plenty of time (and no excuse)
to order An Bord Pleanála to comply with the recent
published Irish government policy against LNG terminals and fracked gas
imports. The order must be given before the planning application is
lodged. Campaigners learned earlier in the week that the planning
authority was notified on May 26th of the new policy which it was only
obliged to "have regard to". The Board proved it had regard to the
notification alright when it acknowledged receipt of the notification on May
27th and then chose to ignore the policy as it deemed Shannon LNG was a
strategic project that could apply for fast-track planning permission
directly with the Board (on payment of €100,000).
It is
now clear that Minister Éamon Ryan must go further and give a
direct order to An Bord Pleanála to comply with the new
policy, powers that can be implemented via the Minister for Planning
under Section 29(1) of the Planning and Development Act.
The
news has been met with relief by campaigners who were shocked when Shannon LNG and New Fortress Energy launched a media blitz earlier this week
telling the world that they were lodging a new planning application in
spite of clear Irish government policy published on May 18th
which states:
“In
order to implement the Programme for Government commitment that it does
not support the importation of fracked gas, the Government
has approved that:
pending
the outcome of the review of the security of energy supply of
Ireland’s electricity and natural gas
systems it would not be appropriate for the development of any LNG
terminals in Ireland to be permitted or proceeded with"
The
company launched what it called a "virtual public consultation" via a
slick marketing portal at https://step.consultation.ai/ and
has been so brazen as to refer to the filthy fracked gas import
terminal plan as the "Shannon Technology & Energy Park" which
is nothing more than a floating LNG terminal with a power
station and plans to have up to 8 massive data centres. In plain
English - US-owned data centres powered by US-fracked gas, probably
paying next to no taxation and wrecking the climate while they are at it
since scientists have informed the Oireachtas Committee that importing
US fracked gas into the Shannon Estuary would leave a carbon-equivalent footprint 44% greater over a 20-year period than
importing coal
to Moneypoint power station 2 miles away on the county Clare side of
the Shanon Estuary. How do they plan to get away with that? By
benefitting from
another loophole in the Climate Bill which will not measure the
emissions produced over the full lifecycle of the fracking import plan
- but only measure, in true tax-dodging style - the emissions
produced from burning the gas in Ireland.
If
there is a silent policy to welcome this project contrary to published
government policy then that would be a serious breach of transparency
and good governance. It is now time for the government to order An Bord
Pleanála to comply with the new policy and the power is with
the Green Minister Éamon Ryan to do so.
No
more excuses.
Notes
for the Editor:
1.
Officials
from the Irish Government Department responsible for planning
confirmed on June 22nd that it did not send An Bord
Pelanála any guidelines under section 29 of the
Planning and Development Act which would oblige it to comply with
the new Irish policy against the development of LNG terminals.
Only a notification it can ignore under section 143 was sent. The
reason given for not sending a section 29 Ministerial policy Directive
against the development of LNG terminals and fracked gas imports was
because "the Policy is not a Policy of
the Minister for Housing, Local
Government and Heritage".
It was
confirmed that the notification which only obliges An Bord
Pleanála to "have
regard" to the government policy was sent on
May 26th, and it was completely ignored by An Bord Pleanála
one week later when the Board ruled that Shannon LNG qualified for
fast-tracking planning.
The
pressure will now go back to Minister Éamon Ryan the Minister
responsible for the new policy and the Government to ensure that
Minister Darragh O'Brien issues guidelines to An Bord Pleanála
that will force it to stop the Shannon LNG project from being proceeded
with before the planning application is lodged, which is reportedly
imminent.
The
Green Party Minister needs to explicitly request that Minister
Darragh.O'Brien issue guidelines ordering An Bord Pleanála to
neither permit nor proceed with any appliction for an LNG terminal in
Ireland as is current government policy. Otherwise it will be clear
that Minister Ryan has deliberately kept the door open for Shannon
LNG.
The
Minster must also now make public the actual letter his Department sent
to the Planning Department which was the basis of the notification to
An Bord Pleanála.
It
seems that the door is constantly being kept open for Shannon LNG in
spite of clear government policy to the contrary. This is
unacceptable. Éamon Ryan and his department officials keep
dropping the ball on Shannon LNG and it is now going beyond a
coincidence. We wonder how they can be so removed from the loopholes
they are creating for the Shannon LNG fracked gas import terminal in an
area of policy they are supposed to be completely immersed in.
An
Bord Pleanála will receive around €100,000 for
dealing with the planning application. .
- Government policy in
regard to LNG and fracked gas imports published on May 18th states:
“In
order to implement the Programme for Government commitment that it does
not support the importation of fracked gas, the Government
has approved that:
•
pending the outcome of the review of the security of energy supply of
Ireland’s electricity and natural gas
systems, it
would not be appropriate for the development of any LNG
terminals in Ireland to be permitted or proceeded with;"
- Shannon
LNG lodged a pre-consultation application
with An Bord Pleanála in order to be able to apply
directly to An Bord Pleanála for an LNG terminal in Tarbert in
County Kerry
- ABP
granted this special fast-track planning status to Shannon LNG on June
2nd.
- This
decision was possibly influenced by local plans which support the
building of the terminal and the fact that Shannon LNG still remains on
the Projects of Common Interest (PCI) List.
- But
ABP seems to have completely ignored the
communication from Minister O'Brien's department notifying it
of the new policy which was sent to ABP on May 26th -
one full week before the decision in Shannon LNG's favour was made on
June 2nd.
- The notification of
May 26th is only obliging ABP to "have regard" to
government policy which it can ignore whereas Guidelines issued under
section 29 of the Planning Act are an order that An Bord
Pleanála "shall
comply "
with government policy.
- It
is now extremely urgent that
guidelines are
sent to
An Bord Pleanála by the
Minister of
Housing, Local Government and Heritage on the
agreed government policy on LNG and Fracked gas imports, because it is
clear that Shannon LNG intends to apply to An Bord Pleanala imminently
(as it told the Department of Environment in early March and which the 'Sunday
Business Post" is reporting today) and that planning could be
granted if the government notification of the policy will be ignored as
it was in the pre-consultation decision. This is urgent because An Bord
Pleanála can only take
the guidelines on board if it receives the Guidelines before the
full application is lodged.
- “Ministerial policy directives“
section 29 states that “The
Minister may, from time to time, issue policy directives to planning
authorities regarding any of their functions under this Act and
planning authorities shall
comply with
any such directives in the performance of their functions”.
Under
section 30 of the Planning and Development Act, the Minister shall not
exercise any power or control in relation to any particular case with
which a planning authority or the Board is or may be concerned
Notes
for Editor
1.
Confirmation from Department of Planning:
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