The High Court has agreed to consider a developer’s challenge to a refusal of planning permission for a €650 million liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal on the Shannon estuary near Ballylongford, Co Kerry.
Last September, An Bord Pleanála rejected an application by Shannon LNG, a subsidiary of US multinational New Fortress Energy, seeking to build a power plant, battery energy storage system, floating storage and other associated works.
Shannon LNG proposed that LNG would be shipped to Ireland and “re-gasified” on the site before being put in the national gas grid.
The majority 8:2 decision was based on a 2021 Government policy on the importation of fracked gas. The board decided it would be inappropriate to permit or proceed with the development of any LNG terminals in Ireland pending the review of energy supply.
On Monday, Mr Justice Richard Humphreys granted permission for Shannon LNG to try to overturn An Bord Pleanála’s decision via the High Court’s judicial review mechanism.
The developer’s senior counsel, Neil Steen, instructed by McCann Fitzgerald solicitors, said his client is also seeking to challenge aspects of the fracked gas policy.
The court’s grant of leave, given while only the applicant was represented in court, does not prohibit the opposing parties from arguing that this element of the action has been brought too late, Mr Steen noted.
The case, brought against the board and various State parties, has been adjourned for two weeks.
Shannon LNG, with an address on Molesworth Street in Dublin, says the court should declare as invalid the Government May 2021 adoption, at the request of the Minister for the Environment, of a policy statement on the importation of fracked gas.
The policy states 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 claims the board’s decision is invalid as it “slavishly adhered” to a single policy statement of the Government. The board applied the fracked gas policy “as if it were an overriding consideration and/or prohibition and thereby abdicated its decision-making function”, it is alleged.
The decision also misinterpreted the policy, which, in express terms, records the Attorney General’s advice that “a legal ban on the importation of fracked gas could not be put in place at this time”.
The applicant also bases its claim on European Union law points.
The developer also wants the court to declare that it should not have to pay the other side’s legal costs, even if it loses the case, due to a provision covering certain environmental and planning claims.
The planning board’s refusal of permission was welcomed at the time by Minister for the Environment Eamonn Ryan. The Green Party leader said: “The future is not in investing in fossil fuels. At a time when the world is burning, we cannot expand our use of gas.”
In April, he said an LNG terminal would expand Ireland’s use of gas, contrary to legally-binding climate targets.
