Peter Kelly (Longford-Roscommon, Fianna Fail)

The agency is doing a good job and will do a better job when the Bill is passed.

Prior to 1995, oil companies in Ireland were obliged to meet a substantial portion of Ireland's stockholding obligations. Under the European Communities (Minimum Stocks of Petroleum Oils) Regulations 1995, this responsibility was vested in a new State body, NORA, which acts as an agent of the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources. NORA's function is to arrange for the holding of national strategic oil stocks at a level determined annually by the Minister. Such stocks may be held directly by the agency or on its behalf by third parties at home or abroad. Ireland meets its EU and IEA obligations through a combination of stocks owned and held by the agency in Ireland or abroad; stocks covered by the agency under short-term commercial contracts at home or abroad with an option to purchase in emergency circumstances during the period of the contract stock tickets; and operational stocks held in Ireland by industry and large consumers but not including stocks within the distribution network, that is, at secondary depots or filling stations, which are deemed to be consumed.

Ireland's emergency stock levels are sufficient to ensure it would be in a position to participate effectively in an internationally co-ordinated response in the event of international oil supply disruption or to manage any short-term disruption impacting on the domestic market. However, we should be mindful of the desirability of incrementally increasing the volume of NORA's stocks held in Ireland having regard to storage availability and value for money.

As the agency bears the cost of purchasing, financing and holding strategic oil stocks other than those held by oil companies, it receives no funding from the Exchequer. It is funded by a levy of 0.476 cent per litre imposed on oil consumers and by oil marketing companies. The levy has been unchanged since the agency's establishment in 1995. It is paid by oil companies and oil consumers. For the purpose of the levy, an oil company means with respect to any month a company that in any of the preceding 12 months imported or purchased from Ireland's only refinery at Whitegate total quantities of not less than 2 tonnes of petroleum oil or own consumption or resale in the State. An oil consumer is defined as any person other than an oil company who in any of the preceding 12 months purchased not less than 1,000 tonnes of petroleum oil for own consumption in the State. To ensure accuracy, the Department validates data supplied by oil companies and oil consumers and cross-checks it against returns of oil imports provided by the customers' authorities to ensure all companies and consumers that may be liable to pay the NORA levy are included.

Information regarding oil products sought on a monthly basis by the oil supply division from oil companies and oil consumers under the levy returns provides the basis for the levy calculation by the Department. Returns are provided by the companies and the consumers detailing stocks held at the beginning and end of each month. The oil products involved are petrol, kerosene, gas oil and fuel oils. Details are also provided of the quantities imported and exported, wholesale sales and purchases, retail sales and own consumption together with details of any quantities used for marine or aviation purposes. The monthly levy due to NORA from each company or consumer is calculated by the Department on the basis of a company's retail sales plus own consumption less sales to other oil companies and disposals of fuel for marine or aviation purposes.

I support the Bill and I wish it a speedy passage through the House. I welcome the fact that the Green Paper on Energy will propose a more ambitious target for electricity consumed to come from renewable sources by 2020.

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