Dr. Matthew Crowe:

I wish to respond to the Chairman's question on the data and the evidence. Thinking back to 2010 and 2011, when this first came on the EPA's radar, there was a lot of talk about fracking in America and other parts of the world. There was the possibility that it might happen in Ireland at some point. Our concern at that time was to get more information about the Irish context. The Irish underground is very specific to Ireland. Even within different parts of Ireland, it varies from one place to the other. The study addressed that to a certain extent. It looked at whatever available data there is in Ireland right now. Of course, at the time the study was originally designed, there was also an intention that there would be monitoring done in terms of boreholes, seismic monitoring, etc, but it was never done. We are where we are on that. The key thing is to get the Irish context of the data, information and evidence from a regulation point of view. If we were ever in a situation in which we had to consider an application for the extraction of shale gas, we would want to have all of the knowledge and information that we needed about the specific area in which that was going to happen. Some of that would be gathered in the course of an application. However, there are issues such as the strategic environmental assessment, which was mentioned earlier. There are things the State can do to provide that baseline information, which makes the job of regulators more efficient and effective.

In terms of risk, an issue Deputy Stanley raised, the main point is that hydraulic fracturing has not happened in the Republic of Ireland. The approach that has been taken in Ireland is the precautionary approach to do the research, get the data, collect the evidence and then base policy on whatever that happens to be. The policy context has changed since 2011. We now have a White Paper on energy, which we did not have then. There is a much broader context in which to examine whatever energy systems may be considered for Ireland in the future.

We also have the climate legislation, very specific targets for 2050 in residential and transport electricity generation and an 80% reduction of carbon dioxide compared to 1990 levels. The broader issue will be addressed in the national mitigation plan, which is to be prepared this year. The whole point of that plan is to set out a roadmap for how Ireland is going to reach the targets in the legislation that have been set for 2050. Everything has to be considered on that basis. Essentially, we are talking about decarbonising the energy system. At present, that system is heavily dependent on fossil fuels.

A total of 90% of energy in Ireland comes from fossil fuels. There is a much bigger issue at play in respect of the challenges posed by climate change which relate to how we move from an energy system that is heavily dependent on fossil fuels to one that is not. If there was ever a possibility that shale gas would be considered as part of a national energy resource, it would have to be considered within the broader policy consideration of decarbonisation and the targets set out in dealing with climate change.