Professor Pat Shannon:

In all instances of a licence being granted, certain conditions set by the Department must be satisfied. They are staged. Various of the licences require that a well be drilled at a particular time. If that does not happen, the licence reverts. It is not correct to say that licences are sitting there and there is no activity. There will be exploration drilling next year, including almost certainly in the west and south of Ireland. All of those exploration options and licences are active and exploration is taking place.

I will answer the technical question on break-even costs. It is a little difficult to be certain of break-even costs, but it is probably realistic to assume that they will be in the order of $50 per barrel even in Ireland's deep offshore waters. While these are figures that have been produced by various companies, that is probably the order of magnitude. It is not as high as $100 per barrel.

We should oppose the Bill because it will increase emissions. The facts are that, if Ireland produces oil and gas, we will substitute those for oil and gas that would be imported, leading to a net saving of 30% in emissions, which is significant.

The entire debate on fossil fuels versus renewables is probably not the appropriate way to go. We are all in this together and should work together. There is a role for the oil and gas industry and the renewables industry to work together in the same way as there is a role for the Government and Opposition to work collectively. It is really about team Ireland tackling this issue.

I have probably dealt with a number of the points raised. I might revert to others.