Mr. Dara Lynott:

Absolutely. If more fossil fuels are dug from the ground and burned, whether from the sea or land, it will create greenhouse gases. That is a fact. The EPA has a significant role in preparing the inventories for Ireland to determine whether Ireland complies with the Kyoto Protocol, which has gone, and the new targets for 2020 and 2030. The EPA knows it is still very challenging for Ireland to meet the renewable energy targets, particularly as Ireland's development is dominated by transport and agriculture. To add significantly more fossil fuels into that mix will make it very difficult for Ireland to meet 2030 targets or 2050 targets. This is why the renewable energy targets and the reduction of greenhouse gases by 85% to 90% by 2050 is a challenge for Ireland. There is a huge policy issue to be decided in terms of where Ireland gets its fuel in the future and where hydraulic fracturing, offshore gas and oil or imported gas and oil sit within that challenge.