I heard the Tánaiste tell Deputy Michael Collins that he does not know much about Barryroe, but he is probably aware that the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, recently granted approval for survey works to continue or begin at Barryroe. I am not being smart, but I want to tell the Tánaiste and Deputy Michael Collins that since the Green Party entered Government, the science has not changed. The science around climate has not changed. We still need to leave 80% of gas reserves in the ground. That is the globally accepted science. Proceeding with this survey flies in the face of that fact. This could lead to the release of billions of barrels of oil and gas that we desperately need not to burn. Is the Tánaiste aware that the Government has ample powers under existing licensing laws not to renew or extend any applications to proceed with this survey at Barryroe?

As I stated earlier, I am not aware of the details in that regard but I will let the Minister, Deputy Ryan, know that the Deputy has raised the issue here today. We need to be frank with the public and each other on this issue. No matter how quickly we develop renewable energy and renewable sources, we will still need to burn gas for the foreseeable future. If we were to turn off the gas tomorrow, we would not be able to power our country, industry or homes. The question that arises is whether one uses the gas one may have or one imports it from Russia, the Middle East or other places. The latter option obviously has negative consequences too.