Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)

The first option we have is to do nothing and leave the resources where they are because to touch them means there would be some impact on the environment or whatever. Some people, admittedly a small minority — I am not sure if there are any on the opposite side of the House — advocate that course of action. Given that it is clear that the commercial production of oil and gas can make a major contribution to Ireland's economic development, that is not a sensible or logical course of action and it is not one the Government would pursue. The positive contribution made by natural gas from the Kinsale Head and Ballycotton fields alone demonstrates that.

To refer to a point I made earlier, in an era of substantial energy price volatility and in the face of pressing security of supply concerns, access to our own resources is now more critical than ever.

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