Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

As I told the Oireachtas committee concerned last evening, I am more than willing to engage with it for as long as is necessary to review this issue but I am not prepared to delay the current licensing round that has its origins in the changes made in the Finance Act 2008 which Deputy Ó Cuív had the opportunity, when in Cabinet, to approve. I do not wish to delay that as it would introduce a note of uncertainty in a situation which has been disappointing in recent years. On average, fewer than two holes per annum have been drilled over the past decade. At that level of exploration and drilling, it is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. The purpose and motivation of the Government is to increase exploration activity offshore and to explore whether some of the resources we hope are there exist. The strike rate over the past 40 years has been disappointing. In terms of energy security and so on, it is very important we have success and I hope we will.

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