Dr. Amanda Slevin:

There is an issue with the level of control and ownership the State maintains over its gas and oil. Through our licensing system we effectively transfer all ownership and control of State resources to private companies. The companies are not obliged to sell those resources back to us. If they do so, it is at full market prices. In my submission, I contested the actual concept of energy security arising from our gas and oil because the companies do not have to sell it back to us. It is an issue to think about. As Professor Shannon said, if oil is found it could be taken anywhere across the world because the companies are not obliged to sell it to us. If gas is found in these deep finds, the technology is evolving and it could also be shipped elsewhere. If the LNG plant at Shannon is given the go-ahead gas could also be shipped away. Therefore, we do not actually have security of supply at the moment. Through the consumption and production of hydrocarbons we are causing immense environmental damage. That needs to take precedence when we are discussing these issues. We also need to look at how to make transitions effectively.