Mr. Ciarán Ó hÓbáin:

We will make a short presentation based on a PowerPoint document that is displayed on screen. The recent focus throughout the world on the potential use of shale gas has been particularly driven by the experience in the United States. In Ireland and elsewhere concerns have been expressed at two levels. First, there is concern about the potential negative impact of utilising the technology of hydraulic fracturing. Second, there is concern about the scale of the infrastructure associated with a development project.

In this short presentation I propose to outline the onshore authorisations granted to date and the types of work activities covered; to inform the committee of the link between the Environmental Protection Agency research - I understand representatives of the EPA will present at this meeting also - and decision making in the Department; and to outline briefly the regulatory regime that would apply during an exploration phase and, if a project moved to development stage, the regulatory framework that would apply at two levels.

We have a very short presentation relating to groundwater issues.

Members of the committee would be familiar at this stage with the licence options granted in February last year. There were three licensing options covering areas within Cavan, Clare, Leitrim, Roscommon and Sligo. They operate for a two-year period from 1 March last year to the end of February next year. The key point is these are licensing options and not exploration licences. The works to be carried and being carried out are primarily of a desk study nature and do not involve intrusive work, which one could have with an exploration licence. In advance of the licensing round that resulted in the licensing options being awarded, it was signalled that it is a condition of the licensing options that exploration drilling would be specifically prohibited during the licensing option phase.

People have a fair understanding of what is a licensing option. It is a form of contract with the Minister conferring a first right of refusal for an exploration licence. The purpose is simple; a company is not committing to the extensive type of programme that would come with an exploration licence but will invest both financial resources and time in considering data that is already there and potential. The company would be given a space to do this with the understanding that they would be the first party allowed to apply for an exploration licence at the end of that process. That is all a licensing option entails. By the end of February next year the holders must decide if they wish to apply for an exploration licence and if an application is to be made, it must be supported by an environmental impact statement.

I will deal briefly with the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, research and its importance in decision making from the Department's perspective. The committee knows that the EPA carried out preliminary research into the environment aspects of hydraulic fracturing and published a report earlier this year in May. The EPA is currently scoping a more comprehensive study, and the committee will hear more about that this morning. There is a key link between that research and decision making. The Minister in the House has made it very clear that no decision will be made to allow hydraulic fracturing until the results of this further EPA research has been considered.

The next issue is the regulatory framework that would apply at the exploration and possible production stage. Much of the discussion to date has been focused on the production stage, which would be a large-scale development with a significant number of paths and traffic movements. The initial stage of any project is an exploration stage, which would be of a much smaller scale. The Minister has confirmed that having regard to the nature of the proposed technology, even if the threshold provided by the relevant directive did not apply, he would apply the environmental impact assessment process to any application at the exploration phase.

That assessment would be informed by advice and submissions from a range of parties, including the EPA, the National Parks and Wildlife Service and a list of bodies with which the Department would have to consult. It is a long list of bodies, including non-governmental organisations and local authorities, and there would be a public consultation phase where the Department would seek submissions from the public at large. Additionally, a safety permit would be required at the exploration phase from the Commission for Energy Regulation and a planning consent would also be required. I drew distinction between the exploration and production phase in terms of scale. It is clear that at the exploration phase there is a detailed level of interrogation of an application and a number of required consents.

If a project goes through the exploration phase and demonstrates the possibility of a commercial development, it is possible to move to a development and production stage. At that time there would be a more significant number of consent processes that would apply, including a planning consent from An Bord Pleanála falling under the strategic infrastructure Act. A number of consents would also be required from the Minister, including a petroleum lease, a plan and development consent and a gas pipeline consent. A safety permit would be required from the Commission for Energy Regulation, as well as an integrated pollution prevention licence from the EPA. A Gas Act consent from the energy regulator would also be required to connect the gas to the national grid.

There is a broad range of relevant EU legislation and I touched on some of this earlier, particularly the EIA directive. There are other directives which may be of relevance, depending on the nature of the project. A part of our presentation will deal with groundwater, and I will finish our contribution after my colleague, Mr. Verbruggen, has dealt with that.