We can protect our water supplies and our climate, and get our energy elsewhere rather than developing this polluting technology.

Green Party Leader Eamon Ryan said today: "We welcome the publication of the EPA study into the environmental effects of hydraulic fracking of shale gas. While the report does not come to specific conclusions, it does acknowledge the fundamental risks that are attached with this technology."

"The fact that the emissions from shale gas may exceed those from coal means that the technology fails the very first climate test. In Ireland we have massive supplies of renewable energy which will be cleaner, cheaper and more secure. We need to say no to fracking and get on with the real task of building a clean energy economy that can enrich our country."

"The acknowledgement that the shale deposits in Ireland and Europe have far more complex geology than in America is significant. The evidence that the developers have been using to support their application is not relevant here. There already have real problems in the United States, but here the problems of ground water and other pollution would be far harder to manage."

"We are lucky in Ireland in having the availability of clean water supplies. Our food, tourism and high technology industries depend upon it. We also happen to need it for our very existence. If we go down the fracking route, we put our water at risk and that is something we should never do," concluded Eamon Ryan.