Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)

I beg to differ with the Deputy. If Deputy Stagg was not capable of opening a file in two and a half years, I can only take one interpretation from that.

In recent years, there has been very little drilling off the west coast. The number of wells over that period has averaged two. What has changed over the past 12 to 18 months is that the price of oil and gas has increased substantially. Over a longer period the technical skills and technical equipment used to detect, and perhaps indicate, seismic data, etc., have improved, so we are more optimistic.

For approximately two and a half years, my Department has been preparing a report on the potential off the west coast. There is a difference between potential and gas actually coming in. Some people must spend a great deal of money before potential income becomes actual income. Yesterday I read in a newspaper that somebody believes the Corrib gas field is now worth €30 billion. I hope that person is right. Like Deputy Broughan, the person who fed the story to the newspaper has his facts wrong. If that was the case and the gas find in Corrib was worth €30 billion, the people would get a return of approximately €7 billion on that gas field.

The report has not been finalised, although there is a draft. As soon as I receive it and it has been considered, I will bring it to Government. Then it will be made public.

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