Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I accept what the Deputy has said, namely, that there are genuine concerns about the environmental and public health implications of the technology known as hydraulic fracturing. I accept that we have to get the science right and that any decision made in the future will have to be made on evidence-based conclusions. It is for that reason I have commissioned the EPA - I do not think anyone would question its independence - to cause this study to be delivered. It parallels many similar studies being undertaken in other member states of the European Union. The British Government recently brought forward tax advantages to encourage hydraulic fracturing in Britain and, generally, across Europe similar studies are being engaged in. There has been some exploratory drilling in Poland, but the results have been deemed disappointing so far. I presume there are many people in Poland who would say if shale gas is safe, that it would be a big step forward on the use of coal which is their country's main energy source. Europe cannot ignore the implications of the revolution in the use of shale gas in the United States. It has had a dramatic impact on the price of energy. Gas is between four and five times more expensive in Europe than in the United States. I need not point out to the Deputies the competitiveness implications of this for Europe vis-à-vis doing business with the United States. It is also something the European Commission and Heads of Government have to take into account.

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