Claims that licence to drill is an attempt to undermine proposed future exploration ban
TD Brid Smith has said the latest licences issued to CNOCC granting permission for exploratory drilling was a graphic illustration of the Government and Minister Bruton’s “utter hypocrisy on climate action”.
“Despite the rhetoric, despite the PR and spin it shows this Government does not get climate change and doesn’t understand what is happening, this latest licence round is a slap in the face of both the movement in Ireland and the global movement on climate”.
The TD also said the decision to grant permission was yet another attempt to undermine the effectiveness of any future ban on oil and gas exploration. “Both the department and the industry know the game is up, the Climate Emergency Measures bill is coming through the Oireachtas and will ban future licences like this, this move is a blatant attempt to undermine the impact of this bill”.
The TD called for protest to highlight the continued support by the Government for oil and gas exploration despite all the evidence that claimed change was accelerating.
