Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank all of the Senators for their contributions here today on this important Bill. I also take this opportunity to commend Deputy McLoughlin on his work. As most speakers have stated, the local community groups, like the Love Leitrim campaign, in places like Leitrim, Roscommon and elsewhere have brought this to the fore. They have lobbied, campaigned and proposed that their local elected representatives at county council level would pass and agree motions at their local authorities. Obviously people have campaigned in the run-up to a number of elections, which has achieved widespread cross-party support. Indeed, I have not met anybody yet or certainly nobody has publicly stated in either Chamber that he or she agreed with fracking or were supportive of onshore fracking, which is welcome.

I acknowledge that Senator Leyden from Fianna Fáil has expressed support for this Bill. Certainly, that support was reciprocated in the Dáil as well. I agree with his concern about the possible impact, were fracking to go ahead, on the River Shannon, our pristine waters and the impact on the environment. Again, he acknowledged the work of the organisation called Love Leitrim. The concerns that he recognised are raised in the EPA's research programme and by Deputy McLoughlin's Bill.

Tamboran's licensing option is no longer in place. No drilling activity was allowed under this option. With the enactment of this Bill, no licence to allow fracking can be granted. Indeed, there was a moratorium for a number of years when the former Minister, Pat Rabbitte, and Deputy Fergus O'Dowd were in office so, effectively, there was a ban. Subject to the passing of the legislation in the Seanad and signing into a law, there will be a legislative ban.

Senator Conway-Walsh raised the issue in terms of the entire island of Ireland. The matter has also been raised in the Dáil. I did undertake that if I was reappointed to my position, which I have been, and when the Northern Ireland Executive is up and running, and I hope that happens soon, I will raise the matter at cross-departmental meetings. I shall do so because I think it is important to put the views and wishes of Senators on the record in such fora.

Offshore fracking is not an economically viable technology in terms of Irish offshore, which is a very expensive activity. Drilling offshore involves very deep drilling. Using fracking as a primary methodology would make drilling offshore in Ireland prohibitively expensive. That said, I do not disagree with anyone's call for a debate. As Senator Conway-Walsh has said here and other Deputies have said in the Dáil, it is important that we maintain this Bill as it is in terms of prohibiting onshore fracking. We should debate offshore drilling again on another day. I believe we should go through the process of holding hearings in order to hear from all sides. We should have independent research carried out and go through the process at committee. I wish to acknowledge that the Senator's party, and that of Deputy Stanley, withdrew its amendment on offshore fracking to allow this Bill to progress.

Senator Lombard commended Deputy McLoughlin for bringing forward this important legislation. Senator Lombard said that it was important that the legislation goes through. I thank the Fine Gael Party for its work and support. I also thank Deputy McLoughlin for his work.

Senator O'Sullivan mentioned the importance of all-party support, the Green Party's support and the support provided by local communities, and the fact that Ireland has signed up to the Paris Agreement. She pointed out that we are in transition to a low carbon economy. For the time being, natural gas and fossil fuels will play a part of the transition. We must speed up the change to renewables. We are anxious to see that happen but decisions must be made. At present Moneypoint runs on fossil fuels and is powered by coal. Moneypoint is reaching the end of its lifespan. Therefore, we must decide what will happen to such an important generator of power and electricity.

Issues relating to the research programme have been mentioned. They were scrutinised by the Oireachtas joint committee and, therefore, they were taken into account in terms of Deputy McLoughlin's Bill and welcomed by all parties in the Oireachtas. Deputy McLoughlin has produced a stand-alone Bill. We felt, as a Government, and on the advice of the Department, that the best thing to do was to amend the existing legislation but ensure that the Bill formed part of that amendment. That is why the name of the legislation has been changed. We have ensured that the original words in the Bill's Title, concerning the prohibition of the exploration and extraction of gas, were retained. It was important to ensure that the word "prohibition" was retained. Existing legislation was amended to prohibit fracking onshore.

There will be a transition period for the use of renewables. That aspect has been clearly set out in the Energy White Paper.

The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, CETA, cannot prevent a sovereign state legislating in the national interest. It should be noted that France has already declared a statutory ban on fracking and CETA has made no move against France.

On 31 January, Mr. Matthew Collins, assistant secretary, Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment, attended a meeting of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment. He stated:

The moratorium declared by Ministers on any fracking activities in Ireland has been in place since 2011 and continues. No applications have been approved.

It would appear that the State has not encouraged any investment in this regard. His opinion of the prohibition was that Ireland is entitled to regulate the area or activity in question without contravening CETA. That is the advice that we received about fracking but I have noted the concerns expressed by Senators.

Senator Norris has expressed his support for the Bill, which is welcome. He also touched on the whole area of CETA. The text of the Bill and the changes to the Bill have been agreed with Deputy McLoughlin, to ensure the prohibition is retained, albeit now as an amendment to existing petroleum legislation. The wording reflects his views and the recommendations made by the Oireachtas joint committee. I also know that he consulted with various local groups who were in agreement on the proposed changes.

The Oireachtas joint committee made four recommendations. First, the terminology of the Bill should be revised, which it was. Second, an enforcement mechanism should be included in the Bill, which it was. Third, any potential drafting deficiencies in the Bill may be best addressed during the Committee Stage debate in the Dáil, which they were. Fourth, the scope of the Bill should be expanded to take account of other activities.We provided clarification to people who had concerns about geothermal technology. The Bill takes into account the concerns that were expressed by the committee following the comprehensive research it undertook. That covers the points raised.

I thank the Senators for expressing their support for the Bill. I hope it will go through Committee and Remaining Stages in the Seanad next week and that we can deliver it to the President for signature. Again, let me thank Senators for their support for this very important Bill.