Ireland is unlikely to sign up to a European Commission plan to reduce natural gas usage by 15%, Business Plus understands.

The Commission has urged EU member states to reduce their use of gas to secure winter stocks, warning that Russia is trying to blackmail the bloc by threatening the supply.

But the Government is preparing to resist calls to sign up to the emergency plans.

Senior sources said last night that they did not expect Ireland to sign up to a 15% reduction "unless we absolutely have to".

Brussels is increasingly fearful of Russian "blackmail" that would see gas cut off to the continent.

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Unlike most of mainland Europe, Ireland is not directly connected to the Russian supply system.

Instead, the majority of gas imported here comes from the UK and Norway, with the remainder (around 30%) sourced domestically from the Corrib gas field off the coast of Mayo.

Speaking in Brussels on Wednesday, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said that "Russia is blackmailing us" and that the member states needed to prepare for the gas to be turned off.

"Russia is using energy as a weapon and therefore, in any event, whether it's a partial major cut off of Russian gas or total cut off... Europe needs to be ready," she said.

Energy Minister Eamon Ryan will meet with other EU energy ministers in Brussels on Tuesday to vote on the proposal, where a majority vote will decide whether the bloc progresses with a binding plan or not.

Mr Ryan told reporters yesterday that the Irish situation was "different" to the rest of Europe but that he accepted the Commission's point.

The Environment Minister said: "The basic point the Commission is making is an absolutely correct one. Because while we will not be affected by the supply in all likelihood, we will be affected by the price. No one should underestimate the scale of the challenge we have this winter because of our reliance on gas.

"The best way to protect ourselves from that is to switch. Switch away to our own renewable power. That's what we're doing at speed," he said.

Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Claire Byrne, Minister of State for European Affairs, Thomas Byrne, said Ireland was not going to claim exceptionalism but said our situation was different.

He remarked: "We have different circumstances that will somehow have to be reflected in this proposed regulation.

"Our gas comes from our own sources which are unfortunately declining and from Norway through Britain and British gas supplies as well, so we're not interconnected to the European market."

Mr Byrne said that despite this a reduction in gas supply would still see price hikes felt here. "Unfortunately, all of this does indirectly affect you because it attracts price. It's possible of course that a reduction in demand will help reduce the price as well," he said.

The British Ambassador to Ireland, Paul Johnston, told the Sunday Business Post last month that Ireland will not be impacted if the UK decides to reduce its gas exports from Europe.

Cabinet ministers were briefed earlier this month on plans for fuel and energy rationing in a "worst case scenario" event of oil and gas supplies being severely disrupted.

Separately, a plan coordinated by the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU) comes into effect in the event of supply shortages. It includes a graduates response programme which begins to reduce supply to the biggest industrial users and moves downwards to medium-sized businesses.

Russia is due to resume gas supplies via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline today following an eight-day scheduled maintenance shutdown. It is expected it will resume delivery of 40% capacity of supply, as it had been before the maintenance.

In a blogpost, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that a reduction of 70% of Russian gas "could be managed in the short term" through alternative supplies and energy sources.

"However, diversification would be much harder in a total shutoff," it warned.

+reporting by Craig Hughes