A meeting will be held today to discuss the controversial method of gas exploration otherwise known as 'fracking'.

It was reported at the beginning of September, by The Irish Times, that if the process would get the go ahead that it would split communities in the northwest of Ireland.

The Joint Oireachtas Committee will now discuss the hydraulic fracturing of rock for gas, or 'fracking' at a meeting on the Environment, Transport, Culture and the Gaeltacht.

The process is a method of extracting natural gas or shale gas from rock layers by pumping pressurised fluid into bore holes.

Firms, Tamboran Resources and Lough Allen Natural Gas Company (Langco), have been granted options licences permitting them to carry out preliminary testing in the Lough Allen basin, but anti-fracking groups have said instead of granting full exploration licences the Government should impose an outright ban on this method of extraction.

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It is understood Lough Allen Conservation Association were told the Shannon water system could be at risk of pollution if the Government grants exploration licences in the Lough Allen basin, stretching across Leitrim, Sligo, Cavan, Donegal, Monaghan, Roscommon and Fermanagh.

Representatives from environmental organisation An Taisce, exploration company Tamboran and the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources will attend the Committee meeting to provide members with information on the environmental impact of 'fracking'.

Committee Vice Chairman, Noel Coonan TD said: "There is no doubt that fracking is a controversial, emotive and divisive issue. So far, a number of onshore petroleum licensing options have been awarded to three companies for the Lough Allen and Clare basins which will allow those companies to carry shallow geological sampling but not fracking at this stage."

Tamboran, one of the companies awarded licensing, has said it is committed to community consultation and protection of groundwater from possible contamination.

Meanwhile An Taisce has argued that no licences for 'fracking' should be issued until the State adequately examines all the risks and ensures that appropriate enforceable safeguards are in place.

It has called on the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Pat Rabbitte, to organise a public consultation to explain the current situation and possible future scenarios.

The meeting will allow all sides of the debate to be addressed and enable members of the committee to examine the practice from all angles. It will also provide members of the Committee with an opportunity to raise any issues or concerns they may have on the practice of 'fracking'.

(LB/BMcC)