Fracking ban motion good for Fermanagh


ECONOMY Minister Conor Murphy’s recent announcement at the Northern Ireland Assembly that he would bring forward a motion to stop fracking in the North was welcome news to residents of rural Fermanagh. The proposal to ban onshore oil and gas exploration and production in the North would cover all forms of onshore petroleum exploration and production – including […]


Fermanagh public urged to have its say on fracking


THE Fermanagh public is being urged to have its voice heard in the fight against fracking in the county, with a government consultation on the future of the environmentally damaging practice due to close this week. The Department for the Economy launched a consultation on a ‘Onshore Petroleum Licensing Policy for Northern Ireland’, which covers the […]


Council opposed to fracking but powerless to impose ban


THE Council has admitted that while it opposes fracking taking place in the county, it might be powerless to stop it. Following the UK Tory government’s lifting of the fracking ban in England, a number of adverts have been placed in newspapers in England and also the North of Ireland have appeared in classified sections […]


Fracking ban called for in the North


THE chairman of a Fermanagh environmental group has blasted fracking as “the fossil fuel industry’s pension plan”. Tom White of Belcoo Frack Free was commenting after British Prime Minister, Liz Truss, lifted the ban on fracking in England. Fracking is the practice of drilling for gas and oil from shale rock. However, fracking has proved to […]


Study confirms fracking would devastate county


FRACKING in Fermanagh would see an unprecedented “industrial revolution” that would transform large swathes of the county’s farmland for industrial use in just five years, cost the county hundreds of millions, and would “despoil” the local landscape. That’s the stark conclusion of a new study into the impact of fracking in Fermanagh, commissioned by the local […]


Fracking research to continue despite opposition


DESPITE the strong local opposition to fracking in Fermanagh being repeated time and time again, Economy Minister Diane Dodds appears intent on continuing with “research” on the practice here in the county. As reported in the Herald last week, the consultancy firm hired by the Department of the Economy to carry out the research into […]