Mr. Dara Lynott:

I thank Deputy Naughten. In answer to a number of his questions, I would say this is unique. It is unique in that we are using a proportional approach. Other countries rushed to exploratory licensing rather than standing back and doing the research on it. Ireland and the EPA have decided to do this research. Subsequently, Departments have decided to take their decisions regarding licensing. A number of countries have started and stopped and are now doing the research with a view to determining whether this is a good or a bad thing. The second unique feature of this research is that looking at research in the US is not applicable in many cases to Ireland. The geology of Clare, Leitrim and Fermanagh is quite unique and very complex in terms of hydrology and geology. For that reason the EPA was very much focusing on trying to get as much information as possible to capture the complexity of the geology and hydrology. Part of that is also about seismicity - the potential for earthquakes. In addition, there is the radiological nature of some of the groundwaters that are very deep underground, which have much longer exposure to rock containing radionuclides. All of that is part of this study. I cannot answer the Deputy as I do not know. Like the Deputy, I will be waiting for the study to tell me what the issues are. Well construction is definitely part of this research. Also, what I call decommissioning, or long-life decommissioning, is part of this research. A broad swathe of research is trying to accurately map the complexity of the system. It is also looking at construction standards and impacts. Our own initial study in 2012 said that well integrity was a key point. If the well is not constructed correctly, that provides a pathway from the surface or from the mid-layers to the lower layers or from the lower layers to the mid-layers. That is a key issue, and the research will have to look into it.

With regard to housing dispersion, another unique aspect in Leitrim is the housing patterns compared to very uninhabited areas of the US where fracking is taking place. A huge part of the study will have to look, particularly in terms of seismicity, at how houses are dispersed and where they are dispersed. I agree with the Deputy that this raises the bar in terms of environmental impact. That too will have to be answered by this research. I agree with the Deputy. The research is unique to Ireland because of the geological pattern that stretches from Clare through Roscommon and Leitrim to Northern Ireland and also reaches into Scotland. Dr. Brian Donlon will confirm whether I am correct, but I think Scotland recently stopped any fracking activity until it starts its research into this area, because it realises also the complexity of the geology and the hydrology.

I reiterate that there will be no hydraulic fracturing taking place as part of this research. It is about understanding what is under the ground in Leitrim. That will be there for generations and for the whole of the country as a resource for the country. Data will be collected whether hydraulic fracturing happens or not. Those groundwaters and that geological information will become part of the national canon of environmental information that is available to everyone, pro- and anti-fracking, to use as they wish.