Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

There are a number of important questions. The primary motivation behind the digital single market across Europe is not so much focused on the impact on domestic consumers; rather, it is about facilitating continued economic growth within the European Union and removing obstacles to stimulating investment and growth within Europe. It is a matter of enabling Europe to compete with Asia and the United States. It is designed to encourage innovation and enterprise within the Union and to allow greater access to these markets for Irish businesses. However, it is fair to say that a single digital market could only have a positive impact on prices. It is certainly very difficult to understand why it should have a negative impact on prices. A great deal of work has yet to be done. Different member states have different traditions and histories in this regard. The members will know from recent engagement with my officials that there is a great deal of work to be done.

Senator Mooney is correct that what has happened in the United States has had a profound impact on the global energy market. It was not foreseen as recently as five or six years ago. The scale of discovery of shale gas and shale oil has had a considerable impact on gas prices in the United States. The result is that the United States is now engaged in the export of coal to Europe. I will not say it is cheap coal, but it is certainly cheaper, and that is beginning to change the geopolitical map in energy terms. The United States is heading fast towards self-sufficiency in energy production, which would have been unthinkable only a few years ago.

The Senator asked about the impact of US developments on Ireland. They have little enough impact but they have major implications for Europe at Commission level in the sense that serious issues of competitiveness arise owing to the fact that the cheaper energy stock is available in the United States.

The Commission is due to publish a paper on hydraulic fracturing by the end of this year. Many member states will be interested in it. Some member states are far more positive about the new technology than others. Poland, for example, is very anxious to proceed with it. Its rationale is that fracking makes a contribution to lowering carbon emissions because shale gas would be a better prospect considering its reliance on coal at present. The British Government recently made taxation changes to encourage hydraulic fracturing in Britain. Countries such as France have a temporary moratorium while they examine the issue.

The moneys have been assembled and the basic groundwork has been done for the major study by the EPA. Given the length of time it took the United States Environmental Protection Agency to produce its report, I do not believe we will have ours in 2014. I believe it will be 2015. As the Senator knows, there will be no hydraulic fracturing taking place in Ireland in the interim. It is important that we carry out a proper, thorough and professional assessment of the technology and that we can ultimately rely on the science. In political terms that is a long way down the road, but Europe cannot turn a blind eye to the competitiveness implications of what is happening elsewhere in the world. We will have to engage in the debate, but I would like to see us engage in it when we have proper scientific analysis that will allow us to engage on the basis of fact.