Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy may be aware, in June 2013 EU member states authorised the European Commission to commence trade and investment negotiations with the US. These negotiations are ongoing. Their purpose is to reduce barriers to trade and investment in order to generate jobs and growth. Ireland stands to gain significantly from this because of the existing significant flows of trade and investment between Ireland and the US. Briefing and update material on the negotiations can be found on the website of the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, www.enterprise.gov.ie.I assure the Deputy that the conclusion of an agreement will have no impact on the public policy approach adopted by Ireland towards the exploration for unconventional hydrocarbon resources.

The scope of the European Commission's mandate to negotiate with the US includes investment protection and the ISDS. Countries sign such agreements in order to set out certain ground rules when foreign companies invest in their territories. The Commission's mandate to negotiate clearly provides that the objectives of any investment protection provision would be without prejudice to the right of the EU and member states to adopt and enforce measures necessary to pursue legitimate public policy objectives, such as social, environmental, security, stability of the financial system, public health and safety, in a non-discriminatory manner.

I assure the House that no decision will be made on any proposal for the use of hydraulic fracturing as part of an unconventional gas exploration or extraction project in Ireland until there has been time to consider the outcome of the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, research programme directed at examining the potential environmental impacts of hydraulic fracturing.

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