Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Some science experts are climate change deniers and are well-known and are perceived to be very knowledgeable. People can form opinions and very often, sadly, some people have a vested interest in the opinion they form, even if it is based on so-called expert research. Natural gas is a fossil fuel which produces heat-trap carbon dioxide when combusted as well as generating other global warming emissions. At every stage of the fracking process there are methane leaks, and methane is more than 30 times more effective at trapping heat than carbon dioxide. I am even more worried about the water table.

We already have enough problems with the water table which I believe are directly linked with the high rate of cancer in Ireland. The water table has been poisoned in many areas and the incidence of cancer is on the increase. The rate in Ireland is five times that in Italy. The water table presents a serious problem and fracking would only add to it.

See this speech in context