Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

There is a major problem with all of this. The former Deputy, Mr. Colreavy, accurately warned the Oireachtas committee last year that fracking was essentially taking on a momentum of its own against the backdrop whereby we still do not fully understand the extraordinary health impacts. That is frightening, especially given that in Antrim, the oil extraction company InfraStrata recently began test drilling on land owned by Northern Ireland Water without planning or environmental assessment and without any consultation. The sad thing is that occurrence has now set the precedent for these matters on this island.

I put it to the Minister of State that the Environmental Protection Agency does not have access to the medical experts who need to evaluate this matter. It is a fact now that in 80% of the peer-reviewed studies conducted since 2013 - a total of 226 were undertaken in 2015 - the results were of concern. In all of the areas where the studies have been done serious hazards have been identified. We really should call it a day at this stage before we get into even more serious trouble.

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