Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein)

Cuirim céad fáilte roimh an Aire. Is deas an rud é a fheiceáil ar ais sa Teach. Tá go leor rudaí dearfach faoin rún seo a mbéadh muid ag tacú leo, ach tá sé cineál aisteach go bhfuil an Rialtas ag glaoch air féin le rud éigin a dhéanamh.

There are many positive elements to this motion but I note that, curiously, much of it relates to the Government calling on itself to act and that is the reason we brought forward our amendment. Our amendment concerns the establishment of a full review of licensing terms governing oil and gas exploration promised by the Minister during a debate on a Sinn Féin Private Members' motion in the Dáil last April. I raised it with the Minister in this House previously. He undertook, in response to the motion and a specific proposal from Fianna Fáil, to establish such a review through the committee. So far he has done nothing to bring that about and our amendment is by way of reminding him of his promise.

Not only is such a review important in terms of the Corrib gas field and other offshore deposits, but also yesterday we had a major announcement on the gas in the Lough Allen basin. While most of the attention regarding that has been focused on the use of the controversial method of extraction, there is also the major issue of who will benefit from the gas brought on stream. I remind Senator Byrne that it was Deputy Eamon Ó Cuív, on his last day in office as Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, who signed the license for that extraction process.

Our argument regarding who should benefit is that unless there is a proper national stake in natural mineral resources and the State takes a much higher revenue share than at present, the Irish people will not benefit as they ought to from the exploitation of our natural resources. We are also opposed to any method of extraction that poses a threat to the health and safety of the local population or threatens serious environmental damage.

I welcome the fact that a Sinn Féin motion blocking the use of fracking - hydraulic fracturing - pending an environmental impact assessment was recently passed by the Assembly in the North and that various county councils in Leitrim and Clare have voted to block fracking. I understand the EPA is conducting a study of the method in question. I would be anxious to see a comprehensive study being done that does not take in corporate spin and places the welfare, health and safety of the Irish people above corporate wealth.

I wish to address some of the environmental concerns regarding the siting of the refinery at Bellanaboy, County Mayo. An Taisce argued against the siting of the refinery at Bellanaboy because it locates a gas processing terminal within the catchment of a major water supply. In many countries oil and gas reserves are not used to the benefit of the people. Energy multinationals operate as if they are above the law. Shell operates on that basis in Rossport, and the State actively facilitates it in doing so. Ireland should take a different approach. We should take ownership of our own natural resources and they should be used for the benefit of the Irish people as a whole.

The great gas giveaway is an embarrassment to us and may well be spoken of in years to come, as is the loss of our fisheries now, as a huge missed opportunity. The Government should do as we have proposed and seek a complete review of licensing and revenue terms and the immediate revoking of the consents given to the Corrib consortium and the licence for Lough Allen pending such a review. The licensing regime should include elements regarding job creation in the Republic of Ireland, the recognition of unions on oil rigs and a clause which would ensure that the companies in question have to supply the Irish market. Currently, there is potential for oil and gas to come onshore but no guarantee that the Irish market would be supplied. Furthermore, the Government should seek the imposition of a 50% tax on oil and gas profits and a 7.5% royalty.

The motion also refers to the pressing need to reduce our dependency on imported fossil fuels. One of the means of doing that is to develop our own renewable sources. We need to push ahead with the means of otherwise reducing the economic burden of energy costs, which are a significant and growing component of household and business costs.

Many constituents have raised with me the SEAI programme of grants which have been discontinued. They had been able to get grants for attic insulation and cavity wall insulation but SEAI policy has changed and now a home owner can only apply for a grant for one or the other.

There are also issues regarding the capability of the grid to connect to wind farms. A major consideration in this respect, which I have mentioned previously, is that we should examine a co-operative model of developing any of these renewable sources. I was in Canada recently and there is a tidal wave project in Nova Scotia where the state provides a facility where one can test technology. The Canadians have also developed turbine energy, which is beneath the waves, in a co-operative style whereby a local co-operative in a local community can buy a turbine for a reasonable sum of money and the electricity is bought back at a preferential rate. The subsidy in that respect means that the money can be reinvested in the local community. We should also examine that model.

Fágfaidh mé ag mo chomhghleacaí, Senator Kathryn Reilly, é chun an t-am a líonadh.