In the surreal world in which we live, we are witnessing a grim departure from legal norms and evidence-based policymaking. Take, for example, the Irish Government’s General Scheme of the Strategic Gas Emergency Reserve Bill 2025. The Bill provides for the accelerated development of a strategic gas reserve. Now the Strategic Gas Bill attempts to bypass this judicial landmark before the ink is even dry. As many of the submissions to the Oireachtas Committee on Climate, Energy and Environment argue, compliance cannot be legislated into existence; it must be proven through evidence-based assessment.

Source: The Irish Times February 17, 2026 15:01 UTC