John Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)

I move amendment No. 73b:

In page 22, line 30, before "were" to insert the following:

"(within the meaning assigned by section 62)".

The House will be aware that, on Committee Stage, I moved an amendment to provide for the Minister's prior approval for certain stockholding contracts. Subsequent consultations with the Office of the Attorney General established that the provisions of the sanction, as agreed on Committee Stage, if enacted, would result in unintended commercial restrictions on commercial activities of oil companies and oil consumers beyond the stockholding contracts. Accordingly, amendment No. 77a proposes that section 62 be amended.

The amendment will provide that the Minister's approval will be required in the case of contracts between an oil company, an oil consumer and a third party, other than NORA, to hold bilateral oil stocks in Ireland on behalf of another EU member state. Prior to an oil company entering into such a contract, the company will be statutorily obliged to submit details of the contract proposals to the Minister for approval. Information to be provided to the Minister on the contract proposals is set out in subsection (5).

The opportunity has also been taken to include a new provision in subsection (4). This subsection provides that in regard to stockholding contracts between NORA and an oil company, where the oil company contracts to store oil in the State on NORA's behalf, such stocks may be drawn upon or replenished only by NORA or with the prior consent of NORA. Amendment No. 75a proposes that an offence provision be created under section 50 in the event of the failure of a party to a NORA stockholding contract to comply with the provisions of section 62.

As a consequence of the proposed amendments to section 62, amendments to section 38 are proposed as follows. Amendment No. 73b defines contract proposals required under section 38 as having the meaning assigned by section 62. Amendment No. 73 proposes to remove the obligation imposed on the Minister in section 38(2)(b), as agreed on Committee Stage, to approve oil storage contract proposals between companies. It is not appropriate that the Minister should be involved in the approval of commercial contracts between private companies. I am satisfied these amendments will strengthen and improve the Bill and will provide Ireland with a better structure in the future in terms of ensuring robust security of national strategic stocks.

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