Speaking as elections to the new local councils on May 22nd have been officially declared, anti-fracking activist Donal O’Cofaigh has challenged other candidates contesting for seats in Enniskillen to a public debate on the issue.
Donal said:
“The introduction of fracking could potentially have a massive impact on the lives of everyone in Fermanagh in the coming years. This industry threatens to pollute our water and environment, spoil our countryside and destroy thousands of jobs. Disgracefully, some local politicians have backed it and some have sat on the fence. Even the parties who claim to oppose fracking have failed to translate this into action.”
“A parliamentary petition has been launched to refer the extension of Tamboran’s exploratory fracking licence to the Assembly Executive; not a single local MLA has yet signed this. The main parties in the Executive could end the threat of fracking today by declaring they will use their veto to block planning permission for frack wells. And yet they have failed to do so.”
“The dangers of fracking have resulted in it being legally stopped in Scotland, Germany and France, to name but a few. This is too big an issue to allow the Stormont parties to speak out of both sides of their mouth on. That is why I am challenging candidates standing for election in Enniskillen to a public debate on fracking during the election campaign. People need to be able to make an informed decision when they go to the polls on 22nd May.”
World leaders are to meet in Copenhagen this December to hammer out a successor to the Kyoto Protocol in an attempt to control greenhouse gas emissions. But after their failure to reach the modest target set at Kyoto of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 5.2% from 1990 levels we should not expect that whatever agreement they reach will seriously tackle the threat of climate change.
Trying to fit in with the angry mood of ordinary people against bankers' bonuses, bailouts and other windfalls of the rich, Tory chancellor George Osborne in his budget speech called tax evasion and avoidance by the wealthy "morally repugnant". 