A call for advice on the environmental impact of 'fracking' for gas has been made.

The Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Pat Rabbitte told the Irish parliament that he is formally requesting the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to conduct research and to advise on the environmental dimension of hydraulic fracturing or 'fracking' as a means of extracting natural gas from underground reserves.

Minister Rabbitte said:"Several Senators and TDs have raised concerns about the potential environmental and health considerations related to this activity."

"We need to have debate on this subject and about the many dimensions of the project including the scale of valuable resource reserves that may lie under Irish soil as well as the various impacts of extraction."

At present there is currently very little European experience of the process.

For this reason the Minister has asked the EPA to examine the area and advise the Government on the environmental implications of 'fracking'.

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Minister Rabbitte said there was no immediate cause for concern.

"It is worth noting that the Department has not received applications for, nor licensed the use hydraulic fracturing in the Irish onshore at this time," he added.

While licensing options were awarded by the previous government earlier this year, these were preliminary authorisations and were designed only to allow the companies assess the natural gas potential of the land largely based on desktop studies of existing data.

The Background

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 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), were 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.

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.

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.

(LB/CD)