The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Climate Action and Environment has backed a Private Members Bill to ban fracking in Ireland.

Fine Gael TD Tony McLoughlin said Ireland is now "one step closer to having an outright ban on fracking".

He said: "I am glad to see that my Bill has now received the full support of the Environment Committee in this report and that they have fully supported my reasoning and aims with this Bill. I fully expect now that it will be brought to the Committee stage of the legislative process within the next four weeks, after the Government has received its advice on proposed amendments from the Attorney Generals Office.

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"I have no doubt that when enacted, my Bill will ensure that the people of this country are not subjected to the potentially harmful effects that are associated with hydraulic fracturing. Be it in Co. Sligo, Leitrim, Donegal, or Clare, this legislation will ensure that no onshore exploration or extraction can ever occur.

"My Bill does not seek to simply ban the technology associated with fracking, rather it seeks to ban the act of taking oil and gas out of the ground, where usually fracking would be needed.

"It also provides for a clear and unequivocal position in relation to the exploration and extraction of petroleum from shale rock, tight sands and coal seams on the Irish onshore and also in our internal waters."

(CD/LM)