Catherine Martin has rejected actor Mark Ruffalo’s claim the Green Party is breaking its election promises regarding the proposed Liquefied Natural Gas terminal in the Shannon Estuary.
The Arts Minister and former Green Party deputy leader was speaking after the Hollywood star accused her party of "trying to jam through a bill to fast-track building Liquid Natural Gas terminals".
It comes as the Dáil prepares to vote on the Planning and Development Bill which aims to reform the planning system.
Speaking this afternoon, Minister Martin told Newstalk her party has not changed its stance.
"The Green Party have always been and remain vehemently opposed to the importation of fracked gas to a commercial facility - that is still our position," she said.
"That has not happened under our watch in this current Government.
"What's being proposed in the planning bill is about a backup facility - it will not be commercial, it will not be fracked gas".
Mark Ruffalo
In a staged video interview on his Instagram, actor Mark Ruffalo - who has previously been outspoken on environmental issues - claims the Green Party is breaking its own promises.
"The Irish Green Party’s about to do something really terrible to the environment and our climate," he said.
View this post on Instagram
"They’re trying to jam through a bill to fast-track building Liquid Natural Gas terminals that would import fracked gas from the United States and I need you to help me tell the Irish people all about it.
"The Green Party, which promised the voters that they would stop the import of fracked gas and LNG when they joined the coalition government in 2020, but since then they've been opening the door for the Irish Government to build an LNG terminal in the Shannon Estuary of all places".
Ruffalo has called on the Government to permanently ban LNG.
"They need to remove the LNG fast tracking and prioritisation as a strategic infrastructure from the Planning Bill and permanently just ban LNG now," he said.
He also encouraged people who are "Irish or Irish at heart" to sign a petition against the move.
Friends of the Earth has said the changes to the planning bill would designate the proposed LNG terminal as "strategic infrastructure" – meaning the planning application could be fast-tracked to An Bord Pleanála.
