Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate Deputy McLoughlin on introducing the Bill which will probably pass this evening or very shortly afterwards. I pay tribute to Love Leitrim and the campaign groups in Leitrim and south Fermanagh that campaigned actively against fracking and kept it on the agenda up to the stage where legislation is going through the House to ban it altogether.

Fracking is not a good industry and should not have been even considered in the first place. I was involved in the early stages when the proposals were announced. The proposers intended to drill 1,500 wells at that time. By their own figures, it was estimated that about 4% of those would leak, which in the case of Ireland would have meant at least 40 to 60 leaks of various magnitudes - some would have been very small, but some could have been catastrophic for the communities. That was not a risk that should have been taken. It should have been considered by us when we were considering licensing the fracking industry. I am glad to see that we will be banning fracking and we can see an end to that industry for the protection of communities around Leitrim and the other areas proposed, but also for our own protection into the future in terms of addressing our climate-change requirements.

I wish to respond to Deputy O'Dowd's comments on wind farms. The problem with wind farming is that it is geared up to make wealthy people wealthier. That is the whole point of it. We pay massive subsidies to wind farms for something that provides 60% of our electricity about 4% of the time. For me that is not a viable renewable energy source and we should not actively pursue it. There is a role for wind and I believe offshore wind energy will have a role. I believe that wave power and tidal power will provide our energy. I do not know enough about whether solar has any real value. I have seen advertisements for solar panels that even work in the dark. I think that is hilarious.

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