Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful to the Minister of State for bringing some clarity to the question. However, his reply has not totally reassured me. He said:

The licensing options gave the holder the first right, exercisable at any time during the period of the licensing option, to apply for the grant of an exploration licence over all or part of the area covered by the licensing option. Tamboran Resources and Energi Oil plc have exercised that right and have submitted applications for follow-on exploration licences.

That seems to indicate that the Minister of State's hands are tied and that he will effectively have to give them the licence because they have exercised their option.
I appreciate what the Minister of State has said in the rest of his reply concerning the EPA research programme and environmental impact assessment. He also referred to a regulatory framework that would have to be brought into play. However, all that points to creating a structure to allow drilling for shale gas using hydraulic fracturing. Essentially that is the question.
I am sorry to be pressing the Minister of State on this but I am sure he fully understands where I am coming from. Is the Minister of State saying that based on the granting of the exploratory licence the law as currently constituted has given Tamboran and Energi plc the right to ultimately drill using hydraulic fracturing if they comply with all the regulatory framework, with the EPA conclusions and with the environmental assessment? Presumably the EPA will provide recommendations, assessments and conclusions, but the EPA will not making the law and will just be making a recommendation. I am sure the Minister of State knows exactly where I am coming from on the matter.