Jerry Cowley (Mayo, Independent)

I agree with everything Deputy Broughan said and I strongly support his proposal. This matter was debated in the context of a private Members' Bill introduced by Independent Members some time ago. At that time, the Minister, Deputy Noel Dempsey, stated that he would conduct a review of the exploration and production terms. I welcomed that development and I understood the review was to be available by the end of October. The Minister may clarify the position but, to date, we have received nothing in respect of it.

I am concerned that the Minister continued to issue exploration licences. He referred earlier to people saying that our natural resources are being given away. As far as I am concerned, that is the case and such resources continue to be given away. It is difficult to understand how the Minister can defend giving opportunities of this nature to people who have already made massive money in this area. Tony O'Reilly, through his exploration company, Providence Resources, has already made a killing. Mr. O'Reilly obtained an option that covers the Dunquin prospect. Having secured the licence, he sold off 80% of it to Exxon Mobil, one of the biggest companies in the world, in return for a 16% stake, which he retains, and a commitment from it to carry out whatever exploration is necessary. That deal was worth millions of euro, before any exploratory work had been carried out.

The Minister, Deputy Dempsey, continues to give away our resources. Last week, while he was defending another of our natural resources, namely, salmon, he again granted Providence Resources an option in respect of more than 1,500 square miles of the Goban Graben and Goban Spur basin, which are supposed to include very promising geological structures of the type likely to contain oil or gas. The option is for three years and relates to an area the size of counties Dublin, Meath and Louth combined. The Minister has effectively given the oil company a lien over the area for that period. In return, the company has undertaken to carry out a relatively low-cost seismic survey. It would need to do so in any event because it needs to discover what is there before applying for a full exploration licence.

It is amazing that the Minister has continued to act in this way, even though the review of the exploration and production terms is imminent and overdue. I do not understand his behaviour. He stated earlier that nothing will change until 2007. I would like him to confirm that he will give nothing else away in the meantime. We cannot afford to give anything away because we get nothing from such transactions. We are giving our resources away for free. The Minister was anxious to encourage the industry earlier today and stated that he was not surprised that there is a keen interest for high-quality exploration opportunities. Why would there not be an interest when the price of oil has increased to such a degree and when such great opportunities exist?

The industry has stated that recent assessments relating to opportunities in the Irish sector of the north Atlantic are phenomenal. Documentation from the industry indicates that while only nine wells were drilled in the past ten years, there have been two major finds at Corrib and Dooish and that it is estimated that there are in excess of 10 billion barrels of oil equivalent in Atlantic Ireland waters. The Minister commented earlier on the quality of the digital surveys. Such surveys show that, at $50 or $60 per barrel, 10 billion barrels of oil equivalent would be worth $600 billion. That is the amount of our natural resources on offer for free. Where else would one come across such a situation? What I have just outlined is somewhat different to what the Minister said about the poor opportunities that exist for unfortunate multinational oil companies that are, out of the goodness of their hearts, spending millions drilling off the coast of Ireland. Such companies do not do anything for nothing. As one can see from the actions of Providence Resources, they are doing very well for themselves.

Shell is not prepared to spend a couple of million euro on an offshore platform for the Corrib gas field and it is getting all the gas contained therein for free. The amount required for such a platform would represent only a small proportion of the massive profits the company would make. That money would go a long way towards helping the people of Mayo and this country. Shell cannot really be blamed because it must make a profit and satisfy its shareholders. As Deputy Broughan indicated in clear terms, the blame lies fairly and squarely on the shoulders of Ray Burke, the Taoiseach, Deputy Bertie Ahern, and others.

The people of Rossport are upset that 400 acres of land in their area are being taken over to facilitate the future development of a petrochemical industry. Deputy Kenny stated that he hopes everything envisaged for that 400 acres happens. His view is regrettable because, for the sake of 50 permanent jobs, a pristine area will be completely and utterly destroyed. How can the Minister rationalise that situation, particularly when he considers the massive wealth involved? As he is aware, the company merely wants to siphon off the natural resources in the area and is establishing a structure to do so. As Deputy Broughan indicated, the gas and oil contained in the Corrib field could be brought ashore using modern technology.

The Minister may contradict what I am saying. However, the documentation from the industry's conference relating to this matter, which is being run in association with the petroleum affairs division of the Department, states:

Recent assessments of yet-to-find resource potential based on petroleum systems analysis indicate in excess of 10 billion barrels of oil equivalent for these basins, on a risked reserve basis. With play-opening discoveries such as Corrib (gas) and Dooish (gas/condensate), these basins show promising potential which can be effectively and efficiently explored using modern technology and evaluation methods. As such, Atlantic Ireland is one of the few remaining regions in the North Atlantic offering opportunities to explore and develop major hydrocarbon resources.

Words such as "frontier", which we associate with the wild west and cowboys, are used in the documentation to which I refer. There are many cowboys around and the Minister is doing everything in his power to help them. He is certainly not rounding up the cowboys who are responsible for cashing in on so much of a giveaway. We owe a great debt to people such as Colm Rapple, who is never slow to comment on these matters. One rarely reads about such matters in the newspapers because the Department does not make announcements in respect of them.

I do not understand why the system relating to this matter cannot be open and transparent. If Deputy Broughan's amendment was accepted, there would be openness and transparency and we would be in a position to know what is happening.

Deputy Durkan referred to the security of supply and stated that we need the Corrib gas. I am glad that an announcement was made regarding the supply of gas to Mayo towns because, for the first time, the idea that the pipeline was built to take the Corrib gas away from Mayo — which was the intention — has been decoupled. The pipeline can now be used to distribute gas throughout the county. Thank God for that. However, we do not need the Corrib pipeline to bring gas to Mayo because, thanks to the Langeled pipeline — the longest pipeline of its type in the world — which runs from Norway, there is an abundance of supply.

These matters have come to pass as a result of the stance taken by the people of Mayo and me in respect of the Corrib gas pipeline. We are being presented with trinkets but we want some real benefit from the gas brought ashore from the Corrib field. In that context, the Minister must bite the bullet and retain as many of our natural resources as possible until such time as we are in a position to exploit them for our benefit.

The Minister referred earlier to Irish companies. As Deputy Broughan stated, Grianán Energy, even though it submitted a large number of applications, was not granted a licence. The multinationals obtained licences but Grianán Energy, even thought it was prepared to give 10% of its reserves to the State, did not.

I greatly welcome the fact that my fellow parliamentarians came down to Mayo, which is more than the Minister ever did although I hoped he would. Deputy Broughan, who is Labour's spokesperson, came to Mayo, as did Deputies Michael D. Higgins and Costello, Deputy Sargent, the Green Party leader and Deputies Joe Higgins, Catherine Murphy and Healy. This was greatly appreciated by the people. Since people have come to Mayo and seen for themselves there is a new understanding of the situation and I hope that gets through to the Minister.

As Deputy Broughan stated, the Minister was quick to reject the initiative that was announced. It was disrespectful of the Minister to reject an independent public commission of inquiry. What is wrong with adopting a reasonable and sensible way by which the Corrib gas conflict can be resolved? As everybody states that they have community support, let us test it now. Why should anyone have anything to fear about this open, transparent and democratic method for determining how the Corrib gas project can be developed?

The Minister might state again that this has been through the planning process but that was a flawed process. The pipeline, which determines where the refinery will be, was not put through that process. This is a 9 km inshore pipeline carrying unrefined gas, which is unique. If it were coming in from Clew Bay, it would be like locating it in Islandeady, where Deputy Kenny comes from, which would go right past Westport and that would not be acceptable to anybody. When one thinks about it, it is ludicrous.

There are issues such as cold-venting which have not been addressed at all. There has been no consent for this development. When I went to Norway last year the Norwegians told me this could not possibly happen there because at least there would be community consent. I do not see why the Minister would not revisit the Shell to Sea proposal and reconsider his stance on it.

The Minister should state now that he will not give out any more exploration options to multinationals until such time as he has got back the report from Indecon.

See this speech in context