Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)

According to the figures I have from the Numis Securities research department report, France had a take of just under 50%, not 35%. I do not know how to explain the divergence between my figures and those of the Minister. There is a very interesting graph of the tax takes of various countries that shows us at the absolute bottom, with by far the lowest amount of tax take for our citizens of any country in Europe. The table shows Ireland with its tiny 25% take; a percentage it does not even receive because private companies get capital write-offs. At the top are countries such as Iran and Venezuela which take about 90%, with most countries taking somewhere between 50% and 70%.

One might reasonably argue there has to be some incentivisation but, to use the Minister's phrase, we have gone to the funny farm end of the spectrum in that we are getting virtually nothing. The arrangements are such that we stand to get virtually nothing for the citizens of this country from the current regime. I do not see the point of that and clearly the all-party Oireachtas joint committee also recognises this. What is the point in having drilling and production if we get nothing from it? This report is an attempt to redress the balance in favour of ensuring the people of this country gain some benefit if there are significant oil finds. I welcome the Minister saying we must discuss this in more detail and it is urgent that we discuss it early. To take the experience of Corrib, we made a bags of it on every level, public consultation, environmental and in the terms given to the private oil companies. We made a bags of it and must ensure we get it right this time. That means shifting the balance towards the public interest and away from the interests of the big oil companies.

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