Feargal Quinn (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. The Minister has been a regular here for many years. We get on very well together and he puts a lot of effort into his work and it is good to see him back again.

I note that this particular directive is about minimising risks of offshore accidents throughout the European Union, a move in the right direction, but I want to make some comments on the area of safety. I wonder if companies involved in risky operations could put up some sort of insurance in order that a quick clean-up operation could happen if an accident did occur. I understand that such companies would have insurance but perhaps there could be a dedicated environmental fund in case an accident that affected the environment occurred. Given that this is a directive, we have some flexibility on how the legislation is transposed into Irish legislation and perhaps we should include such a provision, particularly when we consider some of the disasters that have occurred in the Gulf of Mexico and off Alaska. Those large companies were probably well able to cover it but that would not always happen. If we were to approve some test for hydraulic fracturing in Ireland, we could get companies to pay into an environmental fund to give extra assurances, especially to the local population, that the environment around them would not be neglected. I heard what the Minister said earlier about fracturing, and I will come to that shortly.

The new legislation calls for all EU member states to prepare external emergency response plans covering all offshore drilling installations within their authority. While I do not doubt that our national authorities can draw up such plans, I wonder if we have the necessary equipment to put them into practice. For instance, I know that if we had a spill we could rely on the Air Corps to do some sort of aerial assessment but could it do such a job even more effectively if it had resources such as more unmanned aerial vehicles on which to rely? I do not know. Someone can fly over it and see where it is but if we cannot do something about it, without getting access using boats or whatever, having the knowledge but not having the equipment would be a disadvantage. Being able to cope with possible offshore accidents may require more investment. The Minister of State might comment on that area.

I was disappointed to hear the Minister of State say earlier that shale fracturing has no implications onshore in Ireland. I am disappointed that we are not even discussing it. We should discuss it. In terms of wider safety, this month, the Environmental Protection Agency said that its two year study into the safety issues linked with hydraulic fracturing for shale gas in Ireland is due to conclude in July 2016.That means that even if fracking was deemed safe, no exploratory application would likely be received until close to 2018. That seems to be a very lengthy period. I do not wish to sound as though I am encouraging, proposing or believing in it but I believe we should be discussing the whole question of hydraulic fracturing and I do not think we are. In the UK the Prime Minister is aiming to cut red tape for companies which want to conduct exploratory hydraulic fracturing. I cannot say that fracking is either right or wrong but we are moving extremely slowly in this area. When one considers the benefits the United States has had since the 1940s and 1950s with practically no disadvantages, it seems to me they have been able to solve the oil and energy crisis on that basis. I believe we should be discussing it at least. Perhaps the Minister of State will be able to tell me whether we are planning to discuss it.

Hydraulic fracturing has been around since the 1940s and it seems that Ireland will not go down that route, as things stand. It is really a taboo subject in a lot of ways. In spite of the fact that thousands of jobs could be created and we could drastically reduce our energy costs for both households and businesses, as well as reducing our reliance on energy imports, we have a culture of NIMBY, not in my back yard. Professor Quentin Fisher is an expert in this area who says that drilling a well is noisy and disruptive but after a few weeks only a building the size of a garden shed remains. He says that people may change their minds once they see how safe it is. I ask for the Minister of State's comments on hydraulic fracturing and safety. I am convinced that it is a topic we need to discuss and I am not sure that we are even taking the first steps towards a real discussion of it. In Britain they have decided and it was announced yesterday that they will initiate the process in Lancashire. Some people are not happy about it and there are some protests but on the other hand it is the sort of decision we have to be discussing and I ask for the Minister of State's views.