Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I second Senator Ó Ríordáin's proposed amendment to the Order of Business. I join Senator Grace O'Sullivan in raising concern that the Minister, Deputy Naughten, has just given consent to a company called Providence Resources to drill for oil and gas off the south-west coast of Ireland where it expects to find 5 billion barrels of oil. I find it hard to believe that the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment would consider the granting of such a licence to be consistent with his aims to tackle climate change and meet the targets of the Paris Agreement, in particular because only a number of weeks ago, Ireland took the hugely positive step of banning onshore fracking. This decision is bad for our ecosystem, wildlife, carbon emissions and economy as all profits accrued will remain with the company with only a fractional benefit for Irish labourers. Will the Leader bring in the Minister to justify why he has made this decision? It flies in the face of everything Ireland says on a world stage about tackling climate change and moving to a green and energy-efficient Irish economy. Will the Leader ask the Minister whether he will consider revoking the licence given the significant opposition of environmental groups and NGOs?