Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy O'Rourke for the amendment. I have looked carefully at the proposal to see its implications. I can appreciate what the Deputy is trying to achieve here but I do not propose to accept the amendment.

The primary purpose of the amendments to section 3 of the Act of 1971, the Fuels (Control of Supplies) Act 1971, is to provide for a timely response by Government to an oil emergency or a gas emergency requiring fuel switching to oil to generate electricity. This is to protect the operation of critical services, including the stability of the electricity grid, and one needs a rapid response.

It should be noted that, currently, section 3 of the Act of 1971 already provides for the regulation or control of the acquisition, supply, distribution or marketing of fuel where there is a Government order in place under section 2 of the Act to provide for this power. That type of power is already on the Statute Book and could be used without the approval of the Oireachtas.

The purpose of these existing powers is to enable the Minister to provide for the maintenance and provision of fuels, in particular, to the emergency and critical services, in the event of a severe fuel emergency. Indeed, these powers have already been used by Ministers from time to time, from the 1970s up to 1999. That was done in response to oil shortages in the domestic markets and to support the continued operation of Whitegate refinery, which was deemed to be of strategic value to the State. In fact, the statutory instrument under section 3 of the 1971 Act which granted the Minister of the time the power to compel oil companies to purchase a proportion of their product requirements from Whitegate refinery was renewed annually for a number of years in the 1980s and the 1990s.

The amendments to section 3 of the Act of 1971 contained in this Bill allow the Minister, in addition to having the existing powers contained in the Act of 1971, to now also have the power to issue directions to oil companies or to relevant other persons to control the supply of fuel or to compel them to provide fuel on a priority basis to the emergency or critical services and for electricity generation and to protect the stability of the electricity grid. These powers of direction are now required as petroleum supply chains have evolved in recent years to be much more "just in time" in nature and Government intervention could potentially be required extremely quickly within two or three days. That would be to prioritise supply for the emergency or critical services with a need to potentially make multiple directions in response to what could be a dynamic supply situation.

This amendment that proposes that the Minister would require a vote of both Houses of the Oireachtas before he or she could issue directions to prioritise the supply of fuel to the emergency or critical services is contrary to the objectives of the amendments to the Act of 1971 contained in section 31 of the Bill. The Government must have the capacity, if it is necessary to intervene in the fuel markets during a severe or prolonged emergency, to do so quickly in order to protect the services that are critical for the well-being of citizens and the continuation of economic activity, including the generation of electricity.

For those reasons, I do not propose to accept the amendment.