Mr. Dara Lynott:

I do not know is my honest view. We have commissioned research which has done a worldwide view. It has said there will be issues associated with groundwater contamination, fracking fluid, treatment and disposal of flowback. These are all the issues and we know these exist from our US EPA research. What we are trying to do is find out if these known impacts could be amplified in an Irish context. It is then up to policymakers, legislators and Departments to take that information to decide which way they want to take it. Regulators like An Bord Pleanála, the Commission of Energy Regulation, the Health and Safety Authority and the EPA, have to take that information and use it as best they can.

We know there are issues. We are trying to find out if those issues could be amplified in an Irish context which has a much more complex geology and hydrogeology. If they are amplified, that raises the bar of whether fracking can be regulated in any way in Ireland. This is what this research will tell us.