Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

In 2011 we all got to know about this issue. In the dying days of the last Government, there were options for licences granted to two companies, one being Lough Allen Natural Gas Company and other being Tamboran Resources. Those of us on Leitrim County Council at the time became very aware of the whole issue of hydraulic fracturing. A film entitled "Gasland" was circulated and many, certainly public representatives, were invited to view it and see what was going on in many other parts of the world where this practice is taking place. It was horrifying. We saw footage of fracking in vast desert areas, including many places in the centre of the United States. Compare these regions to where we live, namely, the drumlins of rural County Leitrim, Sligo and the mountainous areas of Fermanagh and such places. There is a total difference. To imagine this kind of process could be employed in our communities is absolutely frightening. I commend in particular all the people who stood up and fought for this legislation. Leitrim County Council dealt with motions to ban hydraulic fracturing. While we got them passed, they were not passed unanimously. There were those who were convinced by lobbyists that it was a matter of progress and jobs. It is absolutely tremendous that we are here today in the national Parliament expecting unanimous support for a ban on hydraulic fracturing. Credit for this is due to the ordinary people on the ground who did so much trojan work to make this happen and bring this day about. Some are in the Visitors Gallery this evening.

I congratulate Deputy McLoughlin on the Bill. As Deputy Stanley stated, we introduced similar legislation earlier in the year. Whichever Bill came up first was going to be supported by everyone in the House. That is the way we need to move forward on this issue. It is an issue that is about the ordinary people standing up to the corporations and big business and saying people's lives and the environment matter and that ordinary people deserve a future, a future that cannot be bought in pounds, pence, billions of euro or promises of some big future nobody will ever see. We have all seen that the hydraulic fracturing business and the big corporations around the world do not employ ordinary people from the local communities. They bring in teams of experts from abroad, many of whom move around the world as cheap labour to be employed on the fracturing pads. When they dry out a place, they move off to somewhere else, leaving behind an economic and environmental mess. We do not want that; we want to ensure that it does not happen.

I am glad the Government has withdrawn its amendment. There are many aspects of the amendment that were very dangerous. Reference was made to the report for the EPA carried out by CDM Smith. CDM Smith is a company that is backing the gas industry. On the cross-Border element, Queen's University Belfast and UCD have both withdrawn because they recognised the report was going nowhere and that it was totally inappropriate.

We need to say very clearly that when this legislation gets to Committee Stage, it will be developed and expanded to ensure it is as strong as possible to guarantee the future of all our people and that we will not leave the door open such that another Government or set of circumstances will ordain a similar or other form of exploration may be permitted in order to take the gas out of the ground. Regardless of whether it is there and whether it is accessible or safe, if we are concerned about our future, ending climate change and taking ourselves in a different direction, we must consider a new way of doing things. We must put all our energy and efforts into renewable energy and renewable sources of developing future economies. That will not happen if we continuously depend on fossil fuels. I refer not only to onshore fuels but also offshore fuels, as stated earlier.

Great credit is due to Deputy McLoughlin and all those who have brought this Bill forward. As I stated, I was a little worried about some of the content of the Government's amendment, particularly the line on adverse effects on the utilisation of the State's natural resources under the State's energy policy. The latter should not be about fossil fuels. We need to set this marker. Our doing so begins tonight. I commend in particular the many people who have done so much trojan work in recent years since we fist saw "Gasland". They made this day happen. I give due credit to Deputy McLoughlin.

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