As Ireland prepares to assume the Presidency of the European Union, the question of energy security has rarely been more urgent or relevant. While we are making real progress on the development of renewables, we must also recognise the vulnerabilities that remain in our system. With the risk of disruption to gas supply, whether through geopolitical instability or hybrid attack, our critical infrastructure underlying the need for a strategic gas emergency reserve, and I support that in principle. The recent global energy shocks have exposed just how fragile energy systems can be and how dependent we are on imported fuels. While the current crisis may have eased, with petrol and diesel prices coming down at the pumps, it would be a mistake to assume that those risks have passed. The reality is that we are entering a more uncertain and volatile geopolitical environment and our domestic energy policy must reflect that. The Joint Committee on Climate, Environment and Energy undertook pre-legislative scrutiny of the general scheme of this Bill. We heard from a range of witnesses and had a pretty thorough debate about the merits of the facility. The clear conclusions from that process were that while reducing gas demand and scaling up renewables would significantly strengthen our position, those measures alone are not sufficient to fully address the energy security risks that we face. Ultimately, a strategic gas emergency reserve, implemented on a transitional basis only, and used only in the event of supply disruption, represents the most immediate and cost-effective way to enhance Ireland's energy resilience. Importantly, the committee was also clear that this reserve must not distort the market or lead to increased gas consumption in Ireland. It is an energy security measure only and should solely be seen as a bridge to maintaining greater gas security and resilience. I urge the Minister of State that the Government recognise the importance of this and ensure that this legislation remains focused on that purpose alone, and there are clear measures for decommissioning the facility, and a sunset clause, on the basis that it will not be with us in the long term. The debate also speaks to a more fundamental question about what energy mix we can expect to see in Ireland in the future. It is a topic that the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach knows comes up at the committee frequently. While we are rightly committed to a system predominantly powered by renewable energy, there will still be a need for dispatchable power. Renewable energy by its nature depends on the weather. While batteries are improving and can manage short-term changes in supply and demand, they do not and will not, in the short term, be able to sustain electricity supply over long periods. Yesterday at the committee, we discussed nuclear power. Lots of people have been getting very excited about nuclear power, but the hard reality, as we heard yesterday, is that it will be at least 2040 and most likely 2050 before we can get it. It is very expensive. We have no regulatory regime in Ireland and no legislation to support it. Much of the technology is unproven. Small modular reactors, SMRs, have been talked about for so long. There are 64 projects in various guises at the moment worldwide. Only two are in operation to demonstrate the technology. It is just not ready at the moment. Investment in our grid will alleviate some of the issues relating to power, providing a level of flexibility and interconnection with other markets which currently does not exist. Plug-in solar, as the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach, Deputy Heneghan, has mentioned numerous times, and as mentioned by Deputy O'Gorman, is another thing we should do to distribute the load. Without these transformations, the ambition of a renewables-led system cannot be realised. However, even with the grid upgraded, Ireland will continue to require reliable, dispatchable baseload power. For the foreseeable future, that role will continue to be met primarily by gas. I wish it was different, but that is the reality. The strategic gas emergency reserve is a reflection of that reality. It is a pragmatic and necessary step to ensure that, in the event of a severe disruption, we have the capacity to protect households, businesses, and critical services. When we looked at that issue, community groups came in from the environs where the facility is to be built. It is important that they are kept up to speed about what is happening. They have all sorts of concerns, from health to impact on the local community. It is important that the Government engages with those communities and brings them along on this journey as this facility is developed.

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