There has been some debate in this House recently on the proposed liquefied natural gas, LNG, terminal at Shannon, which would use fracked gas imported from the US. I want to talk about the proposed LNG facility which would store imported fracked gas from the US at Cork Harbour. The US-based company Next Decade wants to import the fracked gas, and signed a memorandum of understanding on this with the Port of Cork in 2017. Next Decade plans to frack gas at the Rio Grande in south Texas near the Mexican border from 2023 onward, liquefy it and export it to Cork through the Texas port of Brownsville. Earlier this month, a Sunday newspaper reported that Next Decade intends to submit a planning application before the end of this year.

Millions of people have marched to demand action on climate change, and this Friday, school students will strike again. Only yesterday, the UN's annual report on climate change found no sign that carbon emissions will peak soon. The Government, under pressure, agreed to ban fracking in Ireland. Will it now allow fracked gas in through the back door? Fracking is more harmful for the climate than the burning of coal. The methane emitted from fracking is second only to carbon in the damage it does to our environment. Yet, the Government has not closed the door on using fracked gas at Shannon or Cork. The Taoiseach even held that door open when he said that fracked gas could be part of the answer to Ireland's energy security needs. The Taoiseach knows that if these projects go ahead, the State will be locked into the use of fossil fuels for another 40 years. He also knows that substantial use of fossil fuels in the EU's energy system for even another 15 years is incompatible with the commitments given under the Paris Agreement. The Government faces one way on peat but seems to face another way on fracked gas. Why is that? Why does the Government not state clearly that fracked gas will not be allowed to be part of the Irish State's energy mix?

Have the Taoiseach, the Government, any Ministers or Departments been lobbied on this issue by Next Decade, the Port of Cork, or any of the corporate entities involved in the Shannon project? Have any conversations or correspondence taken place between the Taoiseach, the Government, any Ministers or Government Departments and either the US Chamber of Commerce or the US Embassy on this issue?

I have not personally been lobbied on this matter but I cannot answer for every Minister in the entire Civil Service. I do not think the Deputy expects me to do so; his question is more of a rhetorical one. I wish to state very clearly that lobbying is not a crime. It is part of what happens in a democracy. Politicians, Ministers, and those in opposition are constantly lobbied by all sorts of interest groups, including commercial interest groups, trade unions and NGOs. We listen to what they have to say and then we come to a decision as to what we believe is in the best interest of the public. That is how democracy works and how it should work. The lobbying legislation which we and the Labour Party introduced as part of the previous Government ensures transparency and that such bodies must declare any lobbying they carry out. It would be entirely normal for lobbying to have taken place on this matter. In a democracy, one would expect commercial interests to lobby the Government just as unions, NGOs, and individual members of the public do. Governments can then come to a decision as to what they believe is in the best interest of the public.

They are not unions.

I am aware of the project in Cork, though I do not know much about it. While it is not a Government project, as Deputy Barry rightly pointed out, the Port of Cork is a State-owned enterprise. We will continue to use gas for the next few decades. It is part of the transition to net-zero emissions in 2050 and the vast majority of climate scientists accept that we will need to continue to use gas as a transition fuel during that period, as it is a much cleaner fuel than coal or oil. I would prefer to use our own natural gas from the Corrib gas field, if we can find more, as well as biogas. Gas Networks Ireland has very interesting plans to develop its network for biogas as an alternative.

The Government banned fracking in Ireland, through a Private Members' Bill introduced by my colleague, Deputy McLoughlin. I am not sure whether we are in a position to ban the import of fracked gas from other jurisdictions. I will have to check that out, but it may not be possible under international trade law and European law. Fracked gas may already be coming into Ireland through the UK pipeline, but I am not 100% sure whether or not that is the case. I do not think the quote on fracked gas the Deputy attributed to me is a direct quote, but may be a paraphrase.