Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There is a particular element of Sinn Féin's motion on which I want to reflect and question. The motion calls for the creation and implementation of an all-Ireland energy policy that would clearly state how our renewable energy targets would be reached. The British Government has embarked on the development of a support mechanism for hydraulic fracturing in the United Kingdom which, sadly, includes Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland Executive is a regional assembly, not a government. It is in no way comparable with the sovereign Government of the Republic of Ireland. It is under the thumb of Westminster which, through the Chancellor of the Exchequer, has already embarked on the introduction of a series of tax measures to incentivise and encourage companies to come to the United Kingdom and engage in fracking. County Fermanagh is seen as a potential site for the production of shale gas. I would love to know what the Sinn Féin Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly and Administration are doing to ensure the waters of County Leitrim will not be polluted as a result of decisions taken, not in Belfast, but at Westminster. Perhaps Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh will reflect on this.