Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)
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Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. The Minister of State is welcome back to the House. It is the first opportunity I have had to engage with him on an issue since he was promoted. I wish him every success in his role. As a Donegal man and a neighbour, the Minister of State will be very familiar with the fracking issue which, initially, is of particular concern in the north west, with particular reference to the Lough Allen basin which covers Fermanagh, Leitrim and part of south Donegal.

Last week there was a briefing in this House by the very well-organised lobby which has grown out of the concerns of people in Leitrim particularly and has expanded into the surrounding countries about the environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing on the terrain. Particular concerns have been raised.

If a licence were granted for exploration there would be a proliferation of wells across the exploration area which would result in severe and long-lasting damage to tourism. Of more immediate concern would be the effect it would have on groundwater. As the Minister of State is aware, the area we are discussing has a significant quantity of water through its rivers and lakes.

At the briefing there was a statement which I have incorporated into this question. The main group involved in the protest against fracking is called Love Leitrim. When visiting the Houses of the Oireachtas last week members of that group stated that the original licence granted by Mr. Conor Lenihan, who was then the relevant Minister of State, to carry out exploratory work, which effectively is desktop work by the two companies then but now one, Tamboran Limited, could or would oblige this Government or a future Government to grant them drilling licences. I am concerned over this.

The original licences were specific and were of an exploratory nature. I put my hands up and admit that initially I had no objection to an exploratory investigation being carried out because where I live in Drumshanbo in County Leitrim explorations have been going on since I was a child by the Canadian organisation Marathon. It was given a licence to explore the Leitrim and west Cavan for commercially viable gas deposits. So it is nothing new in the area where I lived. It may have been very new to the people in Manorhamilton, Glenfarne and Kiltyclogher where Tamboran was to do its drilling. When the exploratory licence was granted I did not express much concern. However, when it became more apparent it was planning to carry out hydraulic fracturing, like many other people I naturally educated myself as much as I could and particularly investigated what happened in America where this had been carried out.

As a result we are where we are today and the wording of the motion is self-explanatory. I am seeking clarity on the matter.

Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for the welcome back to my alma mater; we had many a good debate over a five-year period. It brings back nice memories indeed. I also thank the Senator for raising this matter. While I have outlined the Government's position on the issue of hydraulic fracturing on a number of occasions in Dáil Éireann, this is my first opportunity to discuss the matter in the Upper House.
Three onshore licensing options were granted in the term of the previous Government for the two-year period from 1 March 2011 to 28 February 2013, over parts of the north west carboniferous Lough Allen Basin and the Clare Basin. The licensing options were granted to Tamboran Resources, covering parts of Counties Cavan, Leitrim, Roscommon and Sligo; Lough Allen Natural Gas Company Limited, covering parts of Counties Cavan, Leitrim, north Roscommon and east Sligo; and Energi Oil plc, covering part of County Clare.
The licensing options awarded were preliminary authorisations designed to allow the companies assess the shale gas potential of the acreage largely based on desktop studies of existing data. Exploration drilling, including drilling that would involve hydraulic fracturing was not permitted under these licensing options. 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.
Successive Ministers and Ministers of State at the Department of Communications Energy and Natural Resources, including me, have confirmed that no decision will be made on these applications pending the outcome of the Environmental Protection Agency's research programme into the use of hydraulic fracturing. The key questions that the EPA research programme, which is to be carried out over a minimum of two years, needs to answer are as follows. Can unconventional gas exploration and extraction projects, and operations be carried out in the island of Ireland while also protecting the environment and human health? What is the best environmental practice for such projects and operations?
The research will consider baseline characterisation with regard to water, seismic and air quality, potential impacts and mitigations and best practice regulatory frameworks. Detailed information on the regulatory approaches of other countries that have extensive experience with this activity will also be considered. The research programme is also expected to consider a minimum of five countries including at least one country where a moratorium on unconventional gas exploration has been introduced.
Any application proposing the use of this technology would be subject to the existing statutory framework which includes environmental impact assessment. Such an assessment entails consideration of the potential impacts of a project on population, fauna, flora, soil, water, air, climatic factors, material assets, including the architectural and archaeological heritage, landscape and the inter-relationship between these factors. It is not considered feasible to conduct such an assessment in Ireland until the EPA research programme has concluded and there has been time to consider its findings.

Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)
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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.

Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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Yes.

Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)
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I am not totally convinced that the Government or any future Government might find itself obliged to grant the licence and then operate a regulatory framework.

Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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Prior to the start of the EPA research project, I had a number of meetings even during the summer. I met representatives of groups from Sligo. The Minister, Deputy White, and I had a meeting in Dublin with a group from Cavan County Council and Leitrim County Council. There are obvious concerns and I take them very seriously.

While they exercised their right to make an application, the fundamental factor is that an EPA study has been initiated. I will list a few of the stakeholders to show that this is not just a tokenistic exercise. It is not simply a case of a group compiling a report and setting out a series of recommendations, but not being listened to. I will give the Senator an idea of the composition of this group, which operates on a North-South basis. It includes representatives of Queen's University Belfast, the British Geological Survey, the University College Dublin geophysics group, the University of Ulster geophysics research group and the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies seismology and geodynamics group.

My confidence in the research is borne out of the time that has gone into the preparation of the survey initiated by the Environmental Protection Agency. I have asked my officials to examine the possibility of providing for something, perhaps next summer, that would give the Members of both Houses an update on the research findings in areas like health and the environment. I do not want to call it a mid-term review. I have asked my officials to consider that. They will set about a process in that regard. The important thing is that I have asked the people who are leading this survey, which will last for a minimum of two years and possibly for longer, to take the time to look at it properly. We are talking about what could hypothetically happen down the line. I am not going to presuppose what will come out of this survey. The important thing is for us to continue the debate and the dialogue. We need to feed into this process. I know it is happening at a community level. I will continue to engage in dialogue with people at local council and community levels who may have fears and concerns.

We have to look at the cross-Border institutional mechanism that is in place. I refer to the North-South Ministerial Council. This is as much a North-South issue as it is an issue for Leitrim, south Donegal, Cavan or Sligo. Inbuilt political mechanisms have been available since 1998. It would be important to get this issue on the agenda of the North-South Ministerial Council as soon as possible. Given that we have a mechanism involving the universities in Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland equivalent of the Environmental Protection Agency, there is no point in having different narratives coming out from political parties in Northern Ireland and from political parties in Southern Ireland. A natural North-South dialogue is going on here. I encourage Senator Mooney, who has experience in the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly and has built relationships with his colleagues in Northern Ireland, to continue this conversation on a North-South level. The Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, which I have experience of as a former Chairman, is another mechanism that would enable this conversation to continue.

I reiterate that the two companies that have been mentioned had the right to submit applications for exploration licences. Those applications will not be looked at by me or by my colleague, the Minister, Deputy White, while the Environmental Protection Agency study is ongoing. No decision will be made and no licences will be looked at.

Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)
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Can the Government legally stop it?

Catherine Noone (Fine Gael)
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No further debate, please. I ask the Minister of State to conclude.

Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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Nothing will happen for the next two years, at least.