Kildare households exposed as EU gas markets tighten

Households across Kildare are facing growing energy uncertainty as European gas prices have jumped by as much as 45% in recent days after Qatar stopped Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) production.

Local MEP Nina Carberry has called on the European Commission’s Gas Coordination Group, which meets today in Brussels, to activate its crisis protocol and increase EU-wide joint purchasing of gas from a wider range of countries.

CSO figures show that around 41% of households in Kildare are connected to the mains gas grid, while about 30% rely on home heating oil. In 2024, the average Kildare household consumed almost 8,000 kWh of gas.

Speaking from Brussels, the Kildare MEP said, “With the crisis in the Middle East escalating, we have seen how quickly international events can have consequences at home.

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“Families and businesses will feel this. More than 70% of households across Kildare are primarily dependent on gas or oil – and that is why I am calling on the Commission to trigger its crisis protocol.

“We need to show the same level of urgency as we did during the war in Ukraine. That means the EU Commission must immediately look at increasing the joint purchasing of gas at the EU level from other partners. It also means, in the long term, looking at expanding gas storage, and having faster rollout of anaerobic digestion plants and renewables,” Carberry added.

Carberry also warned of knock-on effects on gas prices for fertiliser costs, which are already at record highs, and has requested an update from the EU Fertilisers Market Observatory on price increases.