The Cathaoirleach of Kerry County Council says North Kerry feels forgotten about and neglected when it comes to Government decisions.
Cathaoirleach and Fine Gael councillor Michael Foley was expressing his deep disappointment to the decision to select Clare as the location for Ireland’s new Strategic Gas Emergency Reserve.
There had been calls for this emergency reserve to be located in the Tarbert-Ballylongford landbank.
However, Gas Networks Ireland has announced it’ll be located in Cahiracon in Co Clare.
Cllr Foley says while he supports the national objective of strengthening Ireland's energy security, he feels this represents a missed opportunity for North Kerry.
The Strategic Gas Emergency Reserve is a State-led project that will provide a temporary natural gas facility that can be used in the event of a disruption to Ireland’s gas supplies.
The emergency reserve will provide an alternative gas supply in the form of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).
The Government approved the delivery of the emergency reserve in March, and it will be delivered in the form of a Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU), which will be owned and operated on behalf of the State by Gas Networks Ireland.
Initially, 14 possible coastal sites were considered as potential locations and in recent months Gas Networks Ireland’s team of engineers and consultants undertook detailed site assessments at locations in Cork Harbour and the Shannon Estuary.
Gas Network’s Ireland says each site was evaluated against four specific criteria - technical, environmental, financial and planning.
It says following this comprehensive multi-criteria and cost-benefit analysis, plus its associated pipe route corridor, the site at Cahiracon was deemed to best meet the project needs.
John Fox is a member of the Tarbert Development Association. Speaking in a personal capacity, he says he’s very disappointed by the decision, adding they’ve been working hard on this for 17 years and they’d been looking forward to having such a facility located in North Kerry.
The multi-acre site in Cahiracon will be developed to include a deep-water jetty for a floating storage regasification unit (FRSU), an onshore facility, and a new connection to the national gas network.
