Review of Development (Strategic Gas Reserve) Act 2026

What you need to know

• The Development (Strategic Gas Reserve) Act 2026 was signed into law on 23 July 2026
• The Act creates a bespoke Ministerial approval process for the development of an LNG terminal at Cahiracon, Co Clare by Gas Networks Ireland
• The development of the LNG terminal is generally not subject to either of the Planning and Development Acts 2000 or 2024
• The Commission will carry out environmental assessments of any application for approval.
• The Act makes specific provision for judicial review (JR) of a Ministerial approval for development.

The Irish Government plans to develop a liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility at Cahiracon on the Shannon Estuary in County Clare. This is to provide the State’s proposed Strategic Gas Emergency Reserve (SGER). The project will include a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) connected to the national gas network. It will enable LNG to be imported, stored and converted back into natural gas if needed. The Government has described the project as a temporary, State-led measure intended to be used in the event of a serious disruption to Ireland’s gas supplies.

The principal rationale for the project is energy security. Ireland currently imports the vast majority of its natural gas through pipelines from Great Britain. We currently have no domestic gas storage or alternative supply route. The Government considers this dependence a significant vulnerability, particularly given the importance of gas for electricity generation and heating.

Attempts have been made to privately develop an LNG facility at Tarbert, Co Kerry, just across the Shannon Estuary from Cahiracon. The Shannon LNG project has been tied up in High Court judicial review proceedings for many years and faced further setbacks. To more quickly address the energy security issue, the Government announced in 2025 that Cahiracon is the preferred site for an LNG facility and that it should be publicly developed by Gas Networks Ireland.

To achieve this goal, the Government enacted the Development (Strategic Gas Reserve) Act 2026 in July 2026. The main purpose of the Act is to fast track the development approval specifically for the LNG facility at Cahiracon by Gas Networks Ireland. The main feature of the Act is that the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment is empowered to grant approval for the development instead of An Coimisiún Pleanála (the Commission). However, the Commission will still carry out the environmental assessments relating to the development application.

Procedure

Development related to the Cahiracon LNG facility is referred to in the Act as “designated development”. In summary, the approval procedure for designated development involves:

• Optional consultation process between the applicant and the Minister or the Commission, as appropriate, to discuss a proposed application for designated development.
• An application for approval for designated development must be accompanied by, among other things:
  1. A Natura Impact Statement (NIS)
  2. An Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIAR)
  3. A Flood Risk assessment
  4. A Water Framework Directive compliance assessment
  5. A submission to the HSA on compliance with the Seveso III Directive
• Five-week public consultation period. Submissions on environmental impacts must be made to the Commission. Other submissions relating to the determination of the application must be made to the Minister.
• The Commission must complete its environmental assessments of the application within 18 weeks. This does not include any period for the Commission to request further information or a revised NIS.
• The Commission can dictate to the Minister the conditions that must be attached to an approval in order to ensure the implementation of mitigation measures.
• Where any other type of consent is required for the designated development, the Commission must consult the other consenting authority. This is to coordinate the carrying out of the Environmental Impact Assessment of the designated development.
• The Minister may also direct any other authority to prioritise an application for other consent related to designated development.
• The Minister can only approve a designated development if the Commission concludes that:
  1. It will not have a significant impact on the environment, and
  2. It will not have adverse effects on a European site, or
  3. It could have adverse effects a European site but should be approved anyway due to imperative reasons of overriding public importance (IROPI).

IROPI

The type of reasons than can be relied on under the IROPI process is limited. The Act provides that, where adverse effects on priority habitat or species cannot be ruled out, IROPI for approving designated development can include:

• Human health
• Public safety
• Beneficial consequences of primary importance for the environment, or
• Further to an opinion from the European Commission, other imperative reasons of overriding public interest.

As the primary purpose of the Cahiracon LNG terminal is the security of energy supply, it is not clear which grounds of IROPI would be relied on, if required. It is possible the Minister may need to obtain an opinion from the European Commission confirming that security of energy supply is an imperative reason of overriding public interest.

The Climate Act

The Act provides that section 15 of the Climate Act does not apply to relevant bodies in the performance of functions for designated development[1]. This section was the subject of the Supreme Court decision in Coolglass,[2]. There is similar provision in the Critical Infrastructure Act 2026 that was signed into law on 25 June 2026.

Judicial review

The Act makes provision for the JR of a Minister’s decision to approve designated development. In summary:

• Where an ex parte application for leave to bring JR proceedings is made, the High Court may direct that the application be conducted on an inter partes basis.
• The Court may also treat the application for leave as if it were the application for JR.
• The Act expressly provides that the Court shall not grant leave unless it is satisfied there are “substantial grounds for contending that the decision concerned is invalid or ought to be quashed”.
• If the Court does grant leave, the grounds the applicant can rely on will be limited to those the High Court determines are “substantial”.
• The Court may, as a condition for granting leave, require the applicant to give an undertaking as to damages.

Conclusion

The Act paves the way for a potentially expedited and streamlined approval process for a publicly developed LNG facility at Cahiracon, Co Clare. The Act is designed, however, to ensure that any application for designated development be subject to environmental assessment as required by EU law. The Act also seeks to limit the scope of JR of an approval for designated development by giving the High Court powers to screen out non-substantial issues. The development of an LNG facility is intended to increase the State’s energy security. It will ensure a back-up supply of fossil fuels for electricity generation.

For more information and expert guidance, please reach out to a member of our Planning & Environment team.

The content of this article is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute legal or other advice.

[1] Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015, as amended

[2] Coolglass Wind Farm Limited v An Coimisiún Pleanála [2026] IESC 5