Eamon Ryan, the Irish Minister for Environment, has hinted at the possibility of Irish public energy organisations investing together with GB Energy, a newly founded British renewable energy firm. This new venture in the UK, supported by £8.3 billion funds from taxpayers, aims to invest in environmentally friendly energy initiatives, including offshore wind projects. These plans were shared by Ryan at a recent discussion with Britain’s energy secretary, Ed Miliband, in London.
GB Energy, which will have its headquarters in Aberdeen, was established as part of the Labour government’s manifesto pledge. The cooperation between Ireland and GB energy comes due to the norm of partnerships in this industry given the massive scale of projects. Mr Ryan gave an example of ESB, which has already invested in similar British energy infrastructure.
Mr Ryan’s visit to Britain follows the visits by other senior Irish ministers, including Finance Minister Jack Chambers and Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe. The Tánaiste Micheál Martin was also in the country recently. This exchange of visits between politicians marks a ‘reset’ in relations of Ireland and Britain since Labour’s election triumph. British Premier Keir Starmer was also in Dublin a few days ago.
Mr Ryan expressed that he expects Mr Miliband to continue in his role longer than his predecessors. Their meeting focused on exploring the expansion of more electric interconnectors linking their respective grids. They discussed the existing Moyle link between Scotland and the North, along with the East-West Interconnector between Dublin and the England-Wales border.
The Minister confirmed progress on the third interconnector, the Greenlink cable, linking Wexford and Wales, remarking that it was nearly operational, and spoke of the need for additional such connections. He indicated potential plans to create three-way interconnectors between Ireland, the UK and Belgium, noting their strategic significance for Ireland.
The minister, who holds responsibility for transport, arranged a meeting with UK transport secretary, Louise Haigh, in London. He expressed his favour towards creating a special arrivals route at Dublin Airport for travellers from within the Common Travel Area (CTA) with the UK, which traditionally guarantees passport-free travel for citizens of both countries.
However, while the agreement is upheld at most UK airports, where passengers from Ireland bypass passport control, arrivals in Dublin from the UK regularly encounter passport checks. National flights from Kerry and Donegal also face passport control at Dublin Airport.
The minister attributed control over entry ports to the Department of Justice, yet hinted that a passport-free arrivals channel could feature in Dublin Airport’s expansion plans. He expressed his incredulity at the apparent lack of a solution to this issue, endorsing the potential for a passport check-free channel.
He dismissed recent claims by Ryanair CEO, Michael O’Leary, that he could use his ministerial status to remove the Dublin Airport passenger cap, calling it a “false narrative”. Decisions regarding the cap should involve Dublin Airport, Fingal County Council and An Bord Pleanála, he asserted. With respect to the airport, he stated: “the ball is in their court” to seek changes under planning laws.
Even though the minister is expected to retire as a TD at the forthcoming election, he intends to continue managing the Transport and Environment departments until his departure.