Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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115. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources to set out his views on whether it is appropriate that the lead company, details supplied, employed to carry out the Environmental Protection Agency two-year study into hydraulic fracturing has been identified as pro-hydraulic fracturing by a number of environmental experts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23135/15]

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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This is much like the last question. I will try to avoid repetition, but it will be difficult. I will reiterate my point. The people who say fracking is not dangerous stand to profit from it, more often than not. A serious amount of research says otherwise. I appeal to the Minister to think seriously before even dreaming of allowing fracking to commence in Ireland. It is a no-brainer.

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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There is no prospect of there being any developments in this area for quite some considerable time. The Environmental Protection Agency commissioned study is under way. It will not report before the middle of 2016. I would have thought that at that stage we would require a significant period either for me or whoever has the honour of being in this position as Minister to review and consider the matter then, as well as debate it in the House. In that sense I should reassure the Deputy.

As we have said already, the research programme is managed by the EPA. It is co-funded by the EPA, my Department and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency. There is oversight from a broad-based steering committee that includes my Department.

The consortium I mentioned earlier includes the British Geological Survey, University College Dublin, Ulster University, Queen's University Belfast, AMEC, Foster Wheeler and Philip Lee Solicitors. They all have expertise that they bring to the table. It will be open to those bodies to collaborate and work together on the research and evidence. Ultimately, it will be for the EPA to ensure a report is produced. In the circumstances, I believe we should allow that work to conclude. We should have confidence that it will be robust. We can evaluate the work in due course when it comes through, but not before the middle of 2016 at the earliest.

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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We have a big problem in politics in how we make decisions, because we work from one election to the next. On top of that, we have an extra-large problem when it comes to addressing climate change in that none of us sees it as directing us in the near future. We do not feel it will affect us in the near future and that is a problem for us.

It is an attitude that has hampered progress. The Minister pointed out that he might not be in this role in the next Government. However, he has an opportunity now to leave his mark. The country is screaming out for someone to take up a position, which the Minister can do, of saying it is about time we took climate change seriously. If he has read Naomi Klein's book, This Changes Everything, the Minister will know its contents are frightening. The Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill the Government is introducing is a pittance and does not address the problems we are facing in the long term. Sadly, too much of our decision-making is short-termist. We struggle to make plans for the long term whenever doing so will cost money.

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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I largely agree with the Deputy's comments. The problem from the point of view of political discourse is that with an issue like climate change, people too often regard it as something to be dealt with by someone else, somewhere else and at some other time. In fact, it is an issue that affects all of us, and it is already impacting our planet and must be addressed.

To direct the Deputy to an indication of my bona fides on the matter, I delivered an interim presentation on 3 June on the White Paper on climate change. My speech is on the Department's website and, as I recall, I also tweeted it. I might tweet it again this afternoon. I ask the Deputy to take a look at that speech, in which I referred to some of the issues he has raised. As I said, addressing climate change is the greatest project of our time. There is no bigger issue.

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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It is a huge disappointment that the Government has refused to include targets for the period from 2030 to 2050 in the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill. The Scottish Parliament has introduced targets that are double ours after 2020. The Minister says he is seriously interested in this issue. I certainly will have a look at the speech to which he referred. Does he seriously maintain that the climate change Bill that is about to go through the House is good enough to deal with the challenges we face?

Michael Colreavy (Sligo-North Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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The EPA report on fracking does not include consideration of an issue that will have to be taken into consideration by the political system, namely, the negotiations on the transatlantic trade and investment partnership, TTIP, and the investor-state dispute settlement, ISDS, system. Particularly under the ISDS system, energy companies will undoubtedly threaten governments. If they are not given consent even to explore, they will certainly look for the money back and may even charge governments for the potential profits they will claim they might have been able to make had permission been granted. That is a factor which must be taken into account by the political system. The EPA cannot do so because the matter is not within its brief.

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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I will take on board Deputy Colreavy's insights in regard to TTIP and ISDS. To answer Deputy Wallace's question, I support the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Alan Kelly, in bringing forward the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill. That legislation constitutes progress. In fairness, however, notwithstanding its importance, it is only one element of what we need to do. The notion that putting targets into legislation would, by definition, make those targets happen is a little naive. The international targets up to 2020 are legally binding and it will be a real challenge for us to meet them. In the coming months, especially after the meeting in Paris in December, we will see the process kick in whereby individual member states are given targets for 2030. They will be very challenging and demanding targets and we are obliged to comply with them. That will require a collective effort by the whole country and the whole political system if the challenge of climate change is to be addressed properly.