Anti-fracking politicians are harnessing star power to fuel their campaign after actor Mark Ruffalo made himself the leading man on the issue.

Ruffalo tweeted to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar this week, urging him to reject proposals to import fracked gas from the United States to a purpose-built terminal in the Shannon estuary.

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The Oscar-nominated actor, climate activist and long-time anti-fracker helpfully attached to his tweet a link to an Irish Independent article from last weekend.

It highlighted the contradiction between the Government's ban on fracking here and its willingness to accept imported fracked gas, and the wider issue of supporting gas infrastructure when the country is meant to be moving away from fossil fuels.

Now 44 TDs have submitted a motion to the Dáil calling on the Government to withdraw its support from the Shannon project and to oppose similar facilities proposed in Poland, Greece and Sweden.

Among those who signed the motion are TDs from Labour, the Green Party, Sinn Féin, Solidarity-People Before Profit and Independents.

Instigator Bríd Smith of People Before Profit said the cross-party support demonstrated serious concern about the Government's policy.

"Continuing support for fracked gas imports into Ireland and Europe is criminally irresponsible and shows utter disregard for the climate movement and the school children's strikes," she said.

Ms Smith said she was delighted to have Ruffalo raise the issue with the Taoiseach and she would love him to come to Ireland for a press conference next week which will be attended by members of the Frack Action group from New York and Pennsylvania.

"It certainly helps to have someone with his high profile on board. When we had the Keep It In The Ground campaign [Ms Smith's blocked bill to end the issuing of oil and gas licences], Cher tweeted about it and that helped bring attention to the issue."

Ruffalo, currently starring as real-life lawyer Robert Bilott who took on the DuPont chemical company in a contamination case, has campaigned against fracking for the past 10 years after discovering proposals to extract fracked gas near his country home in upstate New York.

The majority of natural gas in the US and much of the country's oil comes from fracking - a process that fractures the rock below ground, releasing fuel into the wider ground before piping it up to the surface.

Opponents cite cases of ground water pollution, uncontrolled gas leakages and multiple health issues in areas where fracking takes place.

Shannon LNG, the company behind the terminal project, has planning permission for it but objectors have sought a High Court review.

Meanwhile, it is on a list of 'projects of common interest' compiled every two years by the EU to identify energy projects deemed of importance to the EU as a whole. That list is being confirmed next month and the Government is backing the Shannon project's retention on it.

Climate Action Minister Richard Bruton said it was supported because: "It would enhance our gas security by increasing import route diversity." He added that he intended carrying out a "security of supply review" to consider what fossil fuels are required by Ireland and how they are sourced.

Irish Independent