North West Greens welcome refusal of planning permission for Shannon LNG

An Bord Pleanála's refusal of planning permission for a €650m Liquid Natural Gas (LNG storage, redistribution facility, power station and battery storage facility) has been welcomed by the Sligo Leitrim Constituency group of the Green Party. 

The Green Party Chairperson, Bláithín Gallagher, commending the decision, said, "The Green Party, in collaboration with environmental campaigners, has successfully advocated against this LNG facility's establishment. 

"They had a statement included in the current Programme for Government expressing opposition, and subsequently, a policy statement was crafted and adopted by the government. This policy directly influenced the decision by ABP, securing significant victory for our shared future."

Welcoming the decision, the constituency group's Energy spokesperson and former chairperson of Love Leitrim, Johnny Gogan, said, "When Ireland banned fracking in 2017, a campaign spearheaded by Love Leitrim, the basis for our resistance to the Shannon facility was established. How could we then inflict fracking on communities in the U.S. where New Fortress Energy was planning to source their gas for export to Ireland". 

Gogan praised the work of Environmental campaigners such as Safety Before LNG, Future Proof Clare and his colleagues in Love Leitrim for their persistent work on the issue.

"If this comes to pass, it will not lock us into long-term LNG usage the way the commercial Shannon facility would have. Along with other campaigners on this issue, we will watch the outcome of the Energy Review with interest", Gogan added.