Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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While I am not a member of the committee, I appreciate the Chairman giving me some time to make a contribution. I also appreciate the attendance of the Minister of State.

I will start with the Minister of State's last comment to the effect that the Government of the day had accepted the anti-fracking legislation. It was passed with the goodwill of the Members of the House on a unanimous basis. There were no dissenting voices. If one takes the view that fracking, by its very nature, is subject to licences and exploration, a term I use loosely, it is surely the case that the same concept and understanding could be applied to exploration offshore. Is that not the case? That is my first question.