Sligo councillor claims Chief Executive seeking to remove fracking ban from county plan
A member of Sligo County Council claims the council chief executive wants to remove a ban on fracking that was unanimously supported by councillors. Independent Councillor Declan Bree says Ciaran Hayes is recommending removal of the ban from the draft county development plan, which will be discussed by councillors on…
Anti-fracking campaigners say it’s time to ‘move on’ with Deputy McLoughlin’s bill
An anti-fracking group says it’s now time to move ahead with a Sligo/Leitrim TD’s Bill that would ban the controversial gas extraction method. That’s one of the messages that will be delivered this afternoon during a press conference in Dublin. It’s being organised by Love Leitrim, Friends of the Earth…
People can make submissions on fracking before February
A Sligo/Leitrim TD is appealing to people to make submissions on fracking to an Oireachtas committee before the deadline of February 2nd. Fine Gael Deputy Tony McLoughlin is calling on the public to make their opinions known to the Joint Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment. A Bill from…
Naughten: Tourism a better investment than fracking
The Minister for Communications says that developing a walking route along the western corridor is a far better investment than doing further studies on fracking. Minister Denis Naughten today has defended his comments to effectively close the door on further investigation into the merit of the controversial practice in light…
Love Leitrim spokesman says ‘nothing new’ in EPA report
A spokesman for the anti-fracking group Love Leitrim says the EPA report on fracking in Ireland is really about how to frack rather than having a focus on public health, which his group, and people in Leitrim, wanted. Eddie Mitchell says the report acknowledges some of the risks with fracking…
Anti-fracking campaigners say they are vindicated by report
A group campaigning against fracking say they feel vindicated by a new report on the controversial process. The Environmental Protection Agency yesterday published the first phase of a study commissioned in 2011 into the impacts of hydraulic fracturing on the island of Ireland. The Independent consortium of experts found there…
Report finds fracking can go ahead but subject to strict guidelines
A new report on the impact of fracking in Ireland has concluded that the controversial practice CAN go ahead on the island of Ireland. However, best practice guidelines should firstly be carefully drawn up by governments north and south of the border to address concerns around pollution. Today’s long-awaited report…