Dr. Paul McGowan:

Yes. If a customer has been through that process and is not happy with the outcome, we will accept a complaint from him or her. The statutory process then initiated is akin to arbitration. Our decisions are binding on the supplier or network operator involved but not on the customer. We deal with a constant stream of complex complaints.

Typically, fracking - the full term is hydraulic fracturing - is a method for extracting gas from shale bed rock. We are aware that some companies have proposed to pursue fracking in Ireland. I will put our role in perspective. The question of whether someone should be authorised to explore for or extract gas by means of hydraulic fracturing is a matter for the Department and the Government. Our role relates to the safety of the process used to carry it out. The simplest way to put it is that a company cannot explore for or extract natural gas, whether by conventional or unconventional means, unless it has a safety permit from us. No company will receive such a permit unless it can demonstrate to us that it is able to carry out the process safely. The international standard is that the risk must be "as low as is reasonably practicable". We are in the process of putting the framework together and expect to go live with it in November 2013. We are conscious that a major study of fracking is being pursued by the Environmental Protection Agency. We are involved in the steering group that is developing the terms of reference for the study, but we will not be directly involved in deciding on the content of the report. Our future role will be to adjudicate on each individual application to engage in hydraulic fracturing on its own merits.