Leitrim Observer
By Fiona Heavey
30 Mar 2017
Fine Gael TD for Sligo-Leitrim Tony McLoughlin’s
Private Members Bill to ban fracking has been unanimously supported by the
Oireachtas Joint Committee on Climate Action and Environment in a report
released this week.
Deputy McLoughlin told the Leitrim Observer, “We are
now one step closer to having an outright ban on fracking- the extraction and
exploration of onshore shale gas and petroleum- in this country.
“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.
“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."
Deputy McLoughlin continued, “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.
“Since I was first elected in 2011, it has been made
very clear to me that local people in my constituency do not want the process
of fracking to be permitted to occur in their localities, due to fears about
the environment, farming and potential effects to their public health and
drinking water.”…
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