The Department of Energy and Natural Resources says it has been monitoring current tensions in the Straits of Hormuz, but says there is no threat to Irish energy supplies.

Britain obtains close to half its natural gas supplies from Qatar through Hormuz, which Iran has threatened to close. About 90 per cent of Irish gas supplies come through Britain, much of that from the North Sea.

Natural gas is used to generate much of the power used in the Republic and Northern Ireland.

Suppliers built up large inventories of natural gas in the autumn as they were anticipating another cold winter. However, the mild weather in Europe and the US to date means that the market is oversupplied.

Natural gas prices fell late last month as a result.