Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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622. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his views on a matter (details supplied) regarding a ban on hydraulic fracturing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45383/15]

Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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The multi-agency trans-boundary programme of research on the potential impacts on the environment and human health from Unconventional Gas Exploration and Extraction projects is administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and co-funded by the EPA, my Department and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, with oversight from a broad based Steering Committee that includes my Department. This All-Island Joint Research Programme is a collaborative approach between Northern Ireland and this jurisdiction and is working very well. I regard the sharing of expertise between the various State Agencies in both jurisdictions as a positive initiative.

The research programme is broad in its scope, covering several environmental parameters, as well as operational practice and regulatory approaches around the world. The Terms of Reference for this research programme were agreed by a broadly based Steering Committee. The draft Terms of Reference had earlier been published for consultation and more than 1,300 submissions were received. The EPA and the Steering Committee reviewed the submissions and the draft Terms of Reference were amended and strengthened after this public consultation.

I understand that the contract for this programme of research was awarded following a robust evaluation process in compliance with public procurement guidelines, where the tender submitted by the winning consortium was evaluated as being the strongest bid. The constitution of the evaluation panel was approved by the project Steering Committee, which included personnel with the capacity to make informed decisions on the tenders received. The evaluation panel consisted of 27 existing and retired personnel from various State agencies spanning four jurisdictions.

The programme of research will assist regulators, both North and South, in making informed decisions about hydraulic fracturing and I believe that we should await the outcome of this research. Any policy decision on hydraulic fracturing will be taken in the context of the objective of achieving a low carbon energy system by 2050.

Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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623. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his views on a matter (details supplied) regarding research on hydraulic fracturing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45384/15]

Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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The multi-agency trans-boundary programme of research on the potential impacts on the environment and human health from Unconventional Gas Exploration and Extraction (UGEE) projects is administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and co-funded by the EPA, my Department and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, with oversight from a broad based Steering Committee that includes my Department. This All-Island Joint Research Programme (JRP) is a collaborative approach between Northern Ireland and this jurisdiction and is working very well. I regard the sharing of expertise between the various State Agencies in both jurisdictions as a positive initiative.

As is usual in major projects such as this, the project team involves a wide range of expert institutions and companies. CDM Smith is the lead consultant in the consortium engaged to carry out the programme of research, with the consortium also including the British Geological Survey, University College Dublin, Ulster University, AMEC Foster Wheeler and Philip Lee Solicitors. Each offers a particular specialism required by the project scope.

I am aware that there has been some comment on the fact that internationally, CDM Smith has provided expert advice to oil companies involved in the development of unconventional gas resources. I should point out that CDM Smith has also provided advice to State bodies and regulatory agencies across its area of expertise. As I am sure the Deputy will appreciate, it is common that a broad range of parties will seek to draw on the specialist expertise available from a firm such as CDM Smith. The fact that disparate entities seek to draw on such expertise, is generally seen as an indicator of a company's recognised experience.

I can also confirm that Queens University Belfast (QUB) was initially participating as part of the Research Consortium. Due to a change in resources available in QUB, the tasks allocated to QUB were transferred to CDM Smith, supported by GSNI. QUB is still involved as part of the internal review process carried out by the consortium. While this internal review is carried out by the consortium as a quality control before submission of any interim and/or final deliverables of the UGEE JRP, all outputs are reviewed by a Technical Review Group which includes Steering Committee members and other external experts. This process is fully independent from the internal quality control process put in place by the consortium.

The programme of research will assist regulators, both North and South, in making informed decisions about hydraulic fracturing and I believe we should await the outcome of the research. Any policy decision on hydraulic fracturing will be taken in the context of the objective of achieving a low carbon energy system by 2050.