John Kelly (Labour)

-----instead of Deputy Pat Rabbitte because Conor Lenihan granted the licence to explore in the Lough Allen basin. I ask the Minister to introduce a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing in the Republic of Ireland until the completion of a study of the potential impact of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water resources by the United States environmental protection agency. This study commenced in February 2011. An interim report is expected in 2012 with additional reporting expected to be published in 2014. It is hoped the 2012 report will be of particular guidance to the Irish gas exploration case.

On another issue, I question what protection is available to people with regard to wind energy. Many people think wind farms are beautiful in the distance but many others do not want them at their back door and they have legitimate concerns. By all accounts there are proven health risks associated with wind farms and these are not disputed. When I have inquired as to the protection provided for people, I am told their concerns will be taken into consideration. Yet, I have never seen any local authority or An Bord Pleanála taking their concerns into consideration. The developers are supposed to work in an open and transparent manner but this is not happening. Instead of informing those who live nearest a proposed wind farm, the developers pick out suitable areas, contact the farmers concerned and do sweet deals at the kitchen table. They give the farmers a lot of money and sign a contract to rent their land for 20 or 30 years. At that stage they inform the rest of the people in the locality that the wind farm will be going ahead. At this stage they begin the negotiating process with the locals, when the deal is already agreed which cannot be reneged upon. I am conscious that county councils are desperate for rates and it is their policy to grant permission for wind farms no matter where they are to be located. An Bord Pleanála will overturn any provision in a county development plan about the distance of wind farms from homes. The regulations in the UK and Europe stipulate that if a wind turbine is 135 m tall it will be at least 2 km or 2.5 km from the nearest house. I suggest there should be similar regulations in this country as this would alleviate many fears.

I refer to the issue of natural gas and the Corrib gas field. Bord Gáis undertook surveys of many towns in the west of Ireland to ascertain the viability of bringing natural gas to those areas. The surveys were based on the populations of those towns and as a result, they did not consider towns such as Irishtown, Charlestown, Kilkelly, Ballaghadereen. We proved to Bord Gáis that Shannonside Co-Op in the town of Ballaghadereen uses more electricity than the whole town of Castlebar. The Western Development Commission has issued a report which has been forwarded to the Minister. The report states that €13.5 million in energy costs in the west of Ireland by bringing natural gas along the route of the N5. I ask the Minister to give it favourable consideration.