Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)

There is merit in that formulation in terms of the national emergency contingency plan. It is not really clear from the legislation why there is no link between the release of oil stocks in an emergency and, for example, the wider emergency plan which the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and other Departments would have in place if there was a national emergency. Why is there no reference to the possibility of a national emergency given the vital role of fuel? If oil stocks were released for whatever reason, would that necessitate a wider review of our oil strategy at that particular time?

It is not clear from section 35 whether the Minister must consult our EU partners before any emergency stocks are released. For example, could a situation emerge as in the United States where the President and the Government decided to release some strategic reserves to combat escalating prices and to try to bring stability to the market? Should those issues have been teased out? Could the Minister go ahead unilaterally if there was an emergency? Would he adhere to the overall national emergency plan?

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