Press Release: FPC Joins Over 140 Groups in an Open Letter Calling for Halt to LNG Plans 

Open letter rejects Minister’s claim that environmental groups agreed with proposed gas terminal.

March 2024

More than 140 environmental and civil society groups have reaffirmed their opposition to the building of “any kind of LNG terminal in Ireland”, rejecting a claim made by Minister Eamon Ryan last year that “environmental NGOs” had “no issue” with his proposal to build a “State-led strategic” gas facility. 

In an open letter published today, organisations from across Ireland and around the world, as well as TDs, Senators, MEPs and Councillors, have called on the Minister to halt plans for an LNG terminal he announced last November when publishing an Energy Security Strategy. 

The letter points out that the proposed terminal is “almost identical” to the floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) previously proposed by Shannon LNG. 

When publishing the strategy in November, Minister Ryan was quoted as saying he "had flagged 'the State-led strategic store' to his party and to environmental NGOs and there was no issue about it”.

Today’s open letter to Minister Ryan makes it very clear that many environmental groups have a big issue with his plan to build a floating LNG facility and that it will be met with strong environmental opposition.

Friends of the Irish Environment, whose High Court challenge to Shannon LNG’s planning permission extension was successful in 2020, commented in the open letter: “This NGO never agreed!”

Signatories of the letter include representatives from Fianna Fáil, the Green Party, Sinn Féin, Labour, People Before Profit, the Socialist Party, Right to Change, An Rabharta Glas and Independents for Change. Other signatories of the letter include Human Rights lawyer Dr Maeve O’Rourke and Professor John Barry from Queen's University Belfast.

Also signing the open letter were several US groups who experience first-hand the effects that fracking has caused in their community. Barbara W Brandom MD, from  Concerned Health Professionals of Pennsylvania, commented: “Don't allow LNG into your country. Give us in Pennsylvania a path to recovery from the devastation that we see. As long as the industry is expanding, the harm it brings to us will get worse and worse.”

The Protect PT (Penn-Trafford) group said: “Our organization is located in Southwestern Pennsylvania. 76% of the gas fracked in our communities is exported, and much of that goes to Europe. They frack under our waterways. They frack under our parks. We endure some of the worst air quality on the continent of North America. We’re fighting for our lives, but the only way it stops is if other countries stop buying this gas. This proposed LNG terminal’s impact would be measured in bodies.”

In recent weeks, Shannon LNG confirmed it had begun a pre-application consultation with An Bord Pleanála regarding a proposal for a new LNG facility on the Shannon estuary, which it said was in line with Minister Ryan’s proposals in the Energy Security Strategy.

New Fortress Energy last week also released a video showing plans for the fracked gas import terminal the company is seeking to build.

New Fortress Energy has previously been very explicit that the gas it would ship to Ireland would be fracked gas, telling the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC): “We intend to supply all existing and future customers with LNG produced primarily at our own Liquefaction Facilities. We have one operational liquefaction facility in Miami, are currently developing our Pennsylvania Facilities and plan to develop five to 10 additional liquefaction facilities over the next five years."

In April last year 200 groups wrote to Minister Ryan calling on him not to do an LNG U-turn and reminding him that, before entering Government, he had called the Shannon LNG project “a climate change issue of the first order”.

The letter is still accepting further signatures from groups and may be signed here.