Ireland had the lowest reduction in gas consumption across Europe over the past eight months according to latest Eurostat figures.
EU gas use fell 17.7 per cent between August 2022 to March 2023 compared to averages for the same months from 2017 to 2022.
But Irish demand for the fossil fuel dropped less than 0.2% - meaning we also missed a European Commission target to cut it by 15% after the invasion of Ukraine.
Read more: One in five Irish homes now behind on gas bill as cost of living crisis bites
Malta was the only country that fared worse than us with their gas use rising 12.7% from August to March but Malta is also the smallest gas consumer in the EU while Ireland is the twelfth biggest.
Irish Green Party MEP, Grace O’Sullivan, said: “A massive number of our neighbours have had to put a dramatic stop to long-standing dependencies on Russian gas this last year, so it is perhaps not surprising we are not the most affected by that amongst EU member states.
“However it is a stark reminder of just how dependent Ireland is on gas imports.
“We are still lagging behind when it comes to renewable energy production, though there has been some of the most significant progress in State history recently when it comes to offshore wind development.
“Ultimately, renewable energy is and has always been the only real way for Ireland to achieve energy independence.”
Her EU colleague, Fine Gael MEP Seán Kelly, said: “Permitting and licensing procedures remain one of the biggest hurdles in achieving mass deployment of renewable technologies.”
He believes “public interest renewable projects should be prioritised by competent authorities” and called for “further action to reduce buildings’ energy consumption”.
Mr Kelly added: “There needs to be a real focus on reducing energy demand via insulation of buildings as well replacing fossil fuel heating systems.
“We have been working on important legislation in this area at EU level in the form of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, where I led negotiations for the European Parliament’s largest political Group, the European Peoples Party.
“Here we called for national phase out plans for fossil fuels heating systems by 2035.
“This will go a long way removing market barriers in Ireland as well as get the proper administrative structures in place to incentivise people to switch.”
The news came just hours after environment group, Friends of the Earth, revealed it has written to Environment Minister Eamon Ryan asking him to clarify whether his coming energy security proposals will include a commercial Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal in Ireland.
LNG is fossil fuel gas that’s been cooled to liquid form so it can be transported in ships or lorries.
Plans for an LNG terminal on the Shannon Estuary has faced huge opposition because of potential environmental and climate impacts as well as concerns over the inadvertent use of fracked gas.
Friends of the Earth chief executive Oisín Coghlan says: “Permitting commercial LNG would be a fatal betrayal of Ireland’s legally binding climate obligations.
“Our concern since the beginning of the energy security review is that it would discount climate obligations and focus on more fossil fuels regardless of the impact on polluting emissions.
“We now have twin imperatives, energy security and climate security, and the answer to both is to get off fossil fuels as fast as possible, not to allow fossil fuel companies to build new pipelines and sell more gas.
“My clear message to Eamon Ryan is that opposition to new fossil fuel infrastructure, and LNG and fracked gas in particular, goes to the very root of his party’s position in Government.
“And any U-turn on LNG would be seen as a fatal betrayal of the climate movement at the very moment that we need climate activists to champion government climate action from giving more road space to buses and bikes to rewetting some agricultural land.”
The Department for the Environment, Climate and Communications say Minister Ryan will bring recommendations on the energy security review to Government for consideration within Q2 of this year.
They added: “Any matters relating to LNG and the topic of gas storage are being dealt with as part of the broader review process.”
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