Michael Colreavy (Sligo-North Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his response. In my role as Opposition spokesman on communications, energy and natural resources, I speak with people from both ends of this debate. I speak with representatives from the companies whose motivation is clear, namely, the desire to make money, which is fine. However, I also speak with people who have been affected by fracking, including people from Colorado and Pennsylvania. Shortly after Christmas, the Taoiseach spoke in glowing terms of what he found in Pennsylvania but the people from those states have told me they thought their Government and the Government agencies were on the side of big business in each step taken with regard to hydraulic fracturing. I was glad to hear the Minister of State indicate the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, will take into account the possibility of flash flooding and of storms when considering this application. However, I ask further that the EPA and the Minister of State himself meet and converse with those who have been damaged by fracking, as well as talking to the businesses concerned and the regulatory bodies. The Minister of State also needs to hear the stories of those who have been damaged by hydraulic fracturing in other jurisdictions. I ask the Minister of State to give that commitment.

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