Rouse in favour of further offshore gas exploration
Hugh Rouse says his support for the licence extension is the proximity of a new Inishkea gas find to the existing modern onshore facility at Ballinaboy.
The decision to extend the exploration licence for a large area adjoining the existing Corrib gas field off the Mayo coast has been welcomed by a local election candidate in Ballina.
Fine Gael runner Hugh Rouse says the decision by Energy Minister Eamon Ryan is sensible and pragmatic both economically and economically.
“As a father of a young family I am a passionate advocate for their future in a clean green carbon neutral environment, but I also live in the real world,” says Rouse who describes himself as a “champion of the environment”.
“Even when wind energy and solar energy provide eighty per cent of our electricity, there will always need for either gas or oil to fill the twenty per cent deficit in order to keep the country going.
“It is far better to have our own gas supply off our own shoreline than having to purchase it at an exorbitant cost from the UK, Norway or Vladimir Putin’s Russia. We are experiencing a cost of living crisis and we are leaving this valuable resource in the ground. It doesn’t make sense.”
Mr Rouse added that what has copper-fastened his support for the licence extension to Europa Oil and Gas is the proximity of a new Inishkea gas find to the existing modern onshore facility at Ballinaboy.
“It furthermore ensures the staff employment for a further 30 to 40 years,” he concluded.
