The public needs to be engaged from the start on the issues of oil exploration in Dublin Bay, overhead power lines in the North East, and 'Fracking' in Counties Leitrim, Roscommon and Clare, according to the Green Party in Ireland.

Green Party leader Eamon Ryan said: "The Government should establish a new participative democratic format which allows the local public be informed about major energy projects and for them to inform the planning and development process."

"The 'We the Citizens' project showed how it is possible to bring together a representative sample of the public to address complex policy issues. We need to take that model and apply it to the energy projects that threaten to divide communities right across the country. Improving the public understanding of the technological risks and economic costs and benefits will make sense for everyone.

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"Fine Gael and Labour have abandoned any immediate public consultation on oil drilling in Dublin Bay. We believe the public have a right to get answers to the questions that have been raised about the potential environmental effects from the drilling process. The developer will gain nothing from keeping the public in the dark. We need to know what they are doing and what might happen next. If they are not going to hold a public enquiry, the Government and local authority should at least organise a 'We the citizens' type forum on this one issue. The outcome of such a forum need not circumvent the planning process but it can complement it.

"The debate on 'Fracking' has the potential to descend into a slagging match between economic and environmental interests which would divide local communities. We should set up a forum where engineers and scientists from both sides of the argument can present their analysis. The advantage of having randomly selected people as well as councillors or public officials considering such issues is that you get to hear the voice of the ordinary person in the whole process."

(CD)