Opponents of fracking last night reacted with dismay to comments by Fergus O’Dowd, Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, in the Dáil. He said if there was a chance that billions of euro in untapped gas could provide a massive economic boost, the Government must take account of that.
Róisín Ní Ghairbhith, spokeswoman for Clare Fracking Concerned, said: “We are dismayed by what the Minister has had to say. We have little faith that Government will address the concerns of communities where fracking is proposed.”