Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)

This amendment fundamentally amends section 62 to clarify the position relating to the possibility of a person incurring a levy. It puts in place a wide-ranging mechanism for ministerial approval of contracts where one of the parties arranges to hold certain supplies. The new section refers to identified oil but is that simply oil for which there have been returns? Should "identified oil" have been included in the definitions at the top of the Bill? The Minister of State also referred to a specific amount of non-identified oil. Does that mean there might be oil in the market for which the Department did not have returns? Is the reference to 75 days of indigenous oil stocks held in the country all-embracing? Could there be stocks of which we are not aware? How does the Minister define identified and non-identified oil?

As I said at the start of the debate, one of the weaknesses of the Bill is the fact that we are establishing NORA on a statutory basis but have very little power over the oil market. We are price takers and victims of the big companies, as in the famous case of the petrol station on the Dublin quays where it costs €1.36 or €1.38 per litre. A mile away on the north side it costs €1 per litre. CER has no control over such matters, although the Competition Authority has recently sought to bring people to justice for arranging cartels, among other things. Given that we do not appear to have much control over this area, does this amendment begin to give us the resources to get a full picture of the oil market?

Deputy Durkan and I were present at a meeting of the Joint Committee on Communications, Marine and Natural Resources when the head of the Competition Authority complained about the lack of competition in broadcasting. This was the head of an organisation which had failed to invigilate the Topaz takeover of Statoil in Ireland by missing a deadline, an incredible error for a State agency.

This is an area in which we need much more State invigilation but in which the Minister has been fearful of treading, or at any rate treads gingerly. Oil is just another energy source. We all believe it is a depleting source and that it will run out at some stage, whether it be in five or 25 years' time. Accordingly, it must be managed very carefully.

The Minister of State introduced this amendment at the 11th hour. I feel, and I am sure the other Opposition parties — the Labour Party, Fine Gael, the Green Party and Sinn Féin — will agree that it is very difficult to respond to an amendment we only received a day or two ago. Most of us thought we had completed Report Stage and we had forgotten that a few amendments remained, including one very important amendment which has not yet been dealt with. Can the Minister of State say whether the distinction between identified and non-identified will stand the test of time?

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