Michael Conaghan (Dublin South Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his reply, but I am still confused. The EU Commissioner for energy regulation attended the joint committee dealing with energy matters several weeks ago at which he gave the informal advice that member states should not make a decision for several years on hydraulic fracturing. There are studies being undertaken in Poland and much more information has yet to come to hand. Yesterday the committee met departmental officials, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Good Energies Alliance and much of the discussion centred on how the information is not yet available to make a decision on fracking. Tamboran Resources which declined to attend the committee meeting considers any discussion would not be meaningful at this time, also stating more information is needed. In the September 2012 EU news bulletin for the Irish Brussels office, issue No. 94, I note the Directorate-General for Energy is offering funding to public authorities to organise early stage dialogue with citizens and launch information campaigns on shale gas as a basis for informing decision-making of its potential industrial exploitation. Not only that, but there is a budget of €200,000 to cover five or six hearings, which is 50% of the total eligible costs. Effectively, €400,000 will be spent by public authorities – I am not sure what is meant by "public authority" – to inform the decision-making process and engage in public consultations.

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