Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)

It is always a great pleasure to surprise the Deputy. Although the change is not necessary, as he will recall from our discussion of grammatically and legally correct commas, I am pleased to inform him that I will accept amendments Nos. 8 and 9.

I cannot accept amendment No. 10. Section 32 of the Bill provides that a direction may be issued by the Minister to NORA requiring it to hold oil reserves at a level higher than international obligations dictate. NORA does not have the authority to determine the level of stocks that it should hold. It is the duty of the Minister to determine the level of stocks held by NORA and advise the agency in that regard. Therefore, inclusion of the amendment proposed by the Deputy is unnecessary.

In light of that explanation, the Deputy will see that this is the one area for which the Minister is directly responsible and on which he may be queried in the House. I recall the long discussion we had regarding being answerable to the House and suggest that, on further consideration, the Deputy might like to withdraw that amendment. It remains a ministerial obligation.

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