The first phase of a controversial LNG plant will cost households and businesses up to €85million through ‘customer tariffs’ – even if it is never built, the Irish Daily Mail can reveal.
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Mail → cost → tariffs
The proposed Liquefied Natural Gas terminal at Cahiracon, Co. Clare, billed as an ‘emergency’ reserve, has caused a storm with critics, who say it will carry imported fracked gas from the US, which studies show can be worse for the climate in the short term than burning coal.
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studies → bill → coal
And now the Government is facing accusations that it will be ‘ordinary people’ who will foot the bill for the LNG terminal.
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who → face → terminal
A ‘letter of comfort’ was provided by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities to Gas Networks Ireland according to briefings given to Government ministers in recent months.
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letter → provide → months
The letter allows Gas Networks Ireland (GNI) to recover up to €85million in initial development costs through gas customer tariffs.
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Ireland → allow → tariffs
Gas customers can still be charged the tariffs, even if the proposed LNG terminal does not proceed to construction.
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terminal → charge → construction
Sinn Féin’s finance spokesman Pearse Doherty told the Mail that ‘workers and families cannot keep being landed with higher costs’.
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workers → tell → costs
He said: ‘For months, the minister has dodged a simple question: who will pay for his LNG terminal?
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who → say → terminal
Now we know the answer.
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we → know → answer
Confidential Government documents obtained by the Mail show that GNI has been given the green light to recoup costs from its customers by the Commission for Regulation of Utilites (CRU).
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GNI → obtain → Utilites
‘The CRU has confirmed that GNI will be able to recover expenditure up to €85million (operating and capital) through customer tariffs, even if the project does not proceed to construction, provided such expenditure is efficiently incurred,’ the document says.
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document → confirm → construction
It comes as the Government is under mounting pressure to provide further public supports to mitigate rising energy prices.
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Government → come → prices
GNI serves over 720,000 customers across its network, which includes over 28,000 industrial or commercial customers, according to its website.
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which → serve → website
It has been authorised to enter into €61.1million in capital commitments on the project, along with €23.9million in operating expenditure, for preparatory work on the project, which includes engineering and design, site investigations, procurement preparation and purchasing land to bring the project to the final investment decision stage.
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which → authorise → stage
The proposed Liquefied Natural Gas terminal at Cahiracon, Co. Clare, billed as an ‘emergency’ reserve, has caused a storm with critics, who say it will carry imported fracked gas from the US
US gas industry representatives said earlier this month that they want to provide a continuous supply of fracked gas to Ireland after high-level meetings with Energy Minister Darragh O’Brien and GNI.
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they → propose → O’Brien
On March 4, 2025, the Cabinet agreed to progress with the terminal with Mr O’Brien writing to GNI later that month confirming the terminal had approval and asked it to accelerate the project.
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terminal → agree → project
However, it was a year later, on March 24, 202, when GNI formally applied for ministerial consent to progress the project.
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GNI → apply → project
Separate proposals to accelerate construction could require a further €45million to €59million in early commitments, plus the cost of a bridging vessel.
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proposals → accelerate → vessel
NewERA, which provides financial and commercial advice to the Government, warned that these costs were outside the existing CRU assurance and it was unclear whether they could be recovered.
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they → provide → assurance
In October 2024, Hollywood actor Mark Ruffalo joined a campaign against LNG in Ireland, urging the Green Party to ‘stop LNG’.
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Ruffalo → join → LNG
The confidential advice outlined that €4million budgeted for land acquisitions may not be recoverable as part of the ‘letter of comfort’ guarantee, but that it believed this could be recoverable from resale of the land.
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this → outline → land
The documents estimate the overall project will cost approximately €420million, though they say it remains subject to further development.
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it → estimate → development
The Business Post previously reported that the Government was told it will cost €900million to get the terminal fully operational by 2030.
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terminal → report → 2030
The terminal, which will comprise a jetty and an onshore receiving terminal and pipeline connecting the facility to the gas transmission system, is deemed necessary to ensure a supply of gas in the event of a major disruption to one of the country’s two gas interconnectors.
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which → comprise → interconnectors
The initial works are scheduled to be completed in 2027.
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works → schedule → 2027
The country relies on two gas interconnectors from the UK for around 80% of its gas supply, with the remainder coming from the Corrib gas field in Co. Mayo, which is declining.
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which → rely → Mayo
The documents note that the LNG terminal would ‘not fully mitigate the impact of a disruption to both interconnectors’ and can only be used as a temporary, emergency measure.
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terminal → note → measure
US gas industry representatives said earlier this month that they want to provide a continuous supply of fracked gas to Ireland after high-level meetings with Energy Minister Darragh O’Brien and GNI
However, in March US president Donald Trump told Taoiseach Micheál Martin that he hoped to reach a deal to sell American LNG to Ireland, saying the country had ‘better do something’ to reduce its trade surplus with the US.
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country → say → US
Earlier this month, a New Mexico trade delegation led by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and representatives from the Independent Petroleum Association of New Mexico (IPANM) met with the head of GNI, David Kelly, and Minister O’Brien.
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delegation → lead → GNI
IPANM said following the meeting that ‘Ireland is ready’ to have a serious conversation about what ‘a durable, long-term LNG supply relationship could look like’.
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relationship → say → what
‘Ireland’s situation is straightforward and urgent: the country depends on outside sources for the vast majority of its natural gas, and its last remaining domestic field is running dry.
'What’s shifted is the candour – Irish leaders are now openly acknowledging that the energy transition will take longer than planned, and that reliable baseload supply isn’t optional while that transition unfolds,’ the industry association said.
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association → depend → gas
A Department of Energy spokesman said the terminal is ‘critical to Ireland’s energy security’ and that ‘it is expected that the cost of the project will be borne by customers through the existing regulatory framework and/or other measures’.
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cost → say → framework
‘The standard approach for cost recovery for security of supply measures and investments to meet EU regulations is through the existing regulatory framework.
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approach → meet → framework
Government is exploring all opportunities to minimise the impact of the cost of this vital energy security measure on energy consumers,’ he said.
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he → explore → consumers
A spokesman for GNI said that ‘a final decision on the preferred cost recovery model... will be made by the relevant Government departments in consultation with the CRU’.
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decision → say → CRU
The CRU told the Mail no tariffs have been levied on customers yet and ‘the Government has not yet made a decision on the final cost recovery method for the project’.
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Government → tell → project
‘The letter of comfort issued was in the interest of ensuring a timely implementation of any measures that are ultimately decided upon,’ it said.
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it → issue → measures
The Green Party opposed LNG terminals during the last government.
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Party → oppose → government
In October 2024, Hollywood actor Mark Ruffalo joined a campaign against LNG in Ireland, urging the Green Party to ‘stop LNG’.
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Ruffalo → join → LNG
One study has found that US LNG has a greenhouse gas footprint roughly 33% worse than burning coal over a 20-year period.
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LNG → find → period
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