John Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)

The Minister's function is to approve stockholding contracts. The object of the amendment agreed on Committee Stage was to strengthen the Department's position with regard to the approval of stockholding contracts. Subsequent consultations with the Office of the Attorney General established that the provisions of the section, as agreed on Committee Stage, would result in unintended restrictions on the commercial activities of oil companies and oil consumers, resulting in oil companies and consumers being obliged to submit to the Minister for approval details of commercial contract proposals that fell outside the stockholding contracts. Accordingly, on the advice of the Attorney General, the section has been amended to restrict the Minister's powers to approve stockholding contracts relating to the holding of bilateral oil stocks in Ireland on behalf of another EU member state.

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