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

The key point is that we should not have granted an exploratory licence. We have brought in a company that pretends to be a friend to the Irish people, has been gathering information and will take the Government and the people to court to protect its imagined future profits. The Minister of State is aware that it has already taken legal action in connection with the Belcoo development. In the US, Canada and Australia, it has taken local and national governments to court because it felt that they were not facilitating its development plans. These are dangerous people. Their job is to take money from national governments. If their company does not take it from the ground in gas and the Government decides that, after all of the explorations, it will not get a licence, it will try the legal route to extract money from us as sure as night follows day. The exploratory licences should never have been granted and we should not treat the company as a potential friend.

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