The Green Party has rejected assertions that it has reneged on its opposition to a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal in Ireland following criticism from Hollywood actor Mark Ruffalo.
Mr Ruffalo, best known for his role as the Hulk in the Marvel films, has hit out at the Greens for backing an amendment to the Planning and Development Bill, which would label LNG terminals as strategic infrastructure developments.
“The Irish Green Party is about to do something really terrible to the environment and our climate,” Mr Ruffalo said in a video on X, alongside Cork actress Alison Oliver.
“They’re trying to jam through a bill to fast-track building liquid natural gas terminals that would import fracked gas from the US.
“What’s worse is that the Green Party promised the voters that they would stop the import of fracked gas and LNG when they joined the coalition government in 2020.
“But since then, they’ve been opening the door for the Irish Government to build an LNG terminal in the Shannon estuary of all places.”
A Green Party spokesperson hit out against Mr Ruffalo’s comments, describing the video as a “very misleading account” of what the amendment to the planning bill does.
The spokesperson said that, as Ireland transitions to a renewable energy-based future, there may be a requirement for a gas reserve as a backup in case of interruption of supplies coming from the UK.
They said that the amendment would allow for a State-owned offshore gas reserve as a backup, which would be “temporary in nature, would have to operate under strict climate limits and could not contain gas from fracked sources”.
“That is the only reason for this amendment. Keeping the lights on in Ireland is not something that Mark Ruffalo needs to worry about but it is something that the Irish Green Party obviously cares about,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson added that Environment Minister Eamon Ryan has sought further analysis on whether greater investment in electricity storage and interconnectors could give better protection to Ireland in the gap before gas use declines dramatically.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio, Mr Ryan said that accusations that the amendment will accelerate the building of LNGs were wrong.
“I think they’re reading something into an amendment that doesn’t actually exist in reality. It is there for technical reasons, not for any change in policy,” Mr Ryan said.
Under existing rules, strategic infrastructure developments are not required to be approved by local planning authorities, but instead immediately go to An Bord Pleanála for decision
The bill, which is the third biggest piece of legislation in the history of the state, is a major reform of planning laws. It has been criticised by elements of the opposition since it was introduced last year.
A final vote on the bill is due to take place on Wednesday evening, where TDs are expected to rubberstamp the legislation.
Green Party TD for Wicklow, Steven Matthews, said that the party still remains opposed to LNG and importing fracked gas, and that amendments made to the planning bill will not change this opposition.
“When you have a bill of that size, of course there are going to be concerns,” Mr Matthews said, but reiterated that this does not mean the overall legislation should not be passed.
He said that labelling any proposed LNG terminal as a “strategic infrastructure development” would not change anything, given that previous applications for such projects applied through the same methods.
“This change in the planning bill doesn’t change our position,” Mr Matthews added, while also rejecting any assertions that the bill is being “rammed” through the Dáil.
Mr Matthews said that he has worked on the bill over the last three years, as chair of the Oireachtas Housing Committee, highlighting the long committee stage scrutiny of the legislation.
“It [planning] impacts every part of our lives. This is a critically important piece of legislation,” he added.
Oisín Coghlan of Friends of the Earth has also hit out at the Government over the changes to LNG designation, saying that it is an attempt to gaslight the Irish public.
He accused the Green Party of taking its eye of the ball on the bill, while raising concerns about a High Court judgement which overturned an An Bord Pleanála refusal for a commercial LNG terminal in Kerry.
“If almost the last thing this Government does facilitates an LNG import terminal getting approval, then the legacy of the Greens in Government will be in tatters,” Mr Coghlan said.
He said that the risk of an LNG terminal being approved has “skyrocketed” with the new bill.
