FERMANAGH’S biggest land-owner has waged a war against fracking by pledging to block any plans to use fracking on her grounds.
In a letter sent to Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLA Phil Flanagan, the Agriculture Minister Michelle O’Neill outlines her intention to block any plans for fracking on land owned by her department.
The department owns a large proportion of land that has been earmarked for the controversial process which has split political and public opinion.
The vast majority of land is run by the Forestry Service which is overseen by Ms O’Neill’s department.
Correspondence between the Sinn Fein MLAs show that Mr Flanagan wrote to the minister regarding the ‘potential effects of shale gas exploration on the agri-food sector in the North’.
The minister said that there have been concerns that ‘gas extraction by the process of hydraulic fracturing [fracking] may cause water pollution, seismic problems and visual issues and may impact on the agricultural and tourism industries’.
She goes on to state that she is both ‘personally and politically’ concerned about fracking claiming that its potential impact on the environment would force her to stop any planning applications for the process to be carried out on her department’s land.
Mr Flanagan has previously spoken out against any fracking taking place in Fermanagh saying that it poses a threat to our farming industry.
He said: “The risks associated with fracking have long been debated and it is widely accepted across Ireland that fracking is not in the best interests of our people, of our environment or of our economy.
“Fracking poses a very real risk to the success of our farming industry, which is vital in counties like Fermanagh and Leitrim.
“It is therefore very welcome that the Minister with responsibility for protecting the agriculture sector, forestry and rural development has vowed to block any proposals to allow fracking to take place on any of her department’s lands.
“This is a very positive move and demonstrates Sinn Fein’s commitment to opposing fracking anywhere in Ireland.”
Fracking is a controversial method of extracting gas from shale rock and Australian mining company Tambornan has been granted a licence to explore for gas in the border counties including Fermanagh and Leitrim.
The licence area covers thousands of acres of forestry land owned by the Department of Agriculture (DARD).
Ms O’Neill said that she will not agree to fracking taking place on any DARD owned land, including Forest Service, which accounts for 30,690 acres or 16.5 per cent of Tamboran’s total licence area of 185,082 acres.
In her response, the Sinn Fein minister said: “During my time as Minister of this Department I would not agree to fracking taking place on land owned by my department.”
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