Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I too am delighted to contribute to the debate and compliment and thank the Chairman of the joint committee, Deputy Andrew Doyle, the secretariat and all committee members, of whom I was one, for a hard year's work and investigations in putting together the report.

Article 10 of Bunreacht na hÉireann states: "All natural resources, including the air and all forms of potential energy, within the jurisdiction of the Parliament and Government established by the Constitution, and all royalties and franchises within that jurisdiction belong to the State subject to all estates and interests therein for the time being lawfully vested in any person or body". That is a very important article and the report was produced in looking to that element of the Constitution. In Ireland, while companies are awarded licences for petroleum exploration and production, the State owns the natural resources. As such, these should be protected and developed for the benefit of all citizens. Having deliberated on various aspects of petroleum exploration and production, the joint committee proposed many recommendations, to which I hope the Minister will be amenable. He got a history lesson a few minutes ago from Deputy Martin Ferris about where he was, about wearing different clothes and about what happened at different times in his past. He slagged me one night on a programme about jumping ship, but the Minister has been on many ships. He is now in charge of the ship of State in this very important area. It is very important that our natural resources be protected and it is up to the Minister, his advisers and people in the Department to ensure meaningful laws are laid down in regard to taxation policies. We should certainly not hunt away any potential investor but should be reasonable, ensure fair play, full transparency and have a fully exposed policy that people can follow.

It was only in 2007, after the Indecon report, that the Government made any effort to seek redress on profit ratios. That report stated a more forensic investigation should be carried out between each find and a licence being issued. The report the committee produced went down the same road. The committee looked at many aspects, brought in and engaged with as wide a group as possible from the industry. Developing petroleum resources for the benefit of the people as a whole should form the basis of petroleum exploration policy in Ireland. That was one basic and obvious point - "To achieve this we must balance the need and maximise State revenue by incentivising offshore oil and gas exploration". It must be rewarding and there must be an incentive for companies to come. It is a very high risk job, given the elements, although perhaps less so now because of the technology available.

We refer to what has been ongoing in County Mayo in recent years. Although I hold no brief for any oil company, I certainly hold no brief for some of the headbangers who have gone there to protest. They are serial objectors. Some of my colleagues in my constituency have been there. These serial objectors have never created one job in their lives and would not know how to because they would not know the first thing about it. They merely object for the sake of objecting. I was speaking recently to some members of An Garda Síochána who had been there. They spoke about the tactics these protesters use and the efforts they make to get into places from where gardaí have to remove them. I certainly do not say gardaí should work for any company from outside the State, but they must keep the peace at all times. There are devious and sinister efforts made to inflict damage and be a nuisance to An Garda Síochána. Politicians from this House and my constituency who have aided and abetted these efforts have a serious issue to examine with their consciences. When did they ever create one job, or do anything of the kind? We must have balance and responsibility in what we do.

For that reason, the committee was very open-minded and recognised the changes in the field of offshore exploration and the huge advances in technology. These advances facilitate exploration, greatly improve the drilling success rate and result in better geological data. There is a need to ensure transparency. Simplicity in must be kept to the forefront in legislation, licensing and forward planning. It is not easy to draft legislation and keep abreast of modern changes and challenges. As I remarked in another debate, there is something seriously wrong when we bring forward a Bill in 2012 and have to introduce several amendments to it by mid-2013. That must leave questions for those who draft legislation concerning their practical and legal knowledge and experience. Are we getting value for money in the legal advice we receive? This goes as far as the Attorney General in that people are finding out that advice from the Attorney General can be questioned. It is only right that it can be questioned - the people concerned are not infallible and we do not expect them to be. However, we do expect them to be able to proof-read documents and make them fit for purpose.

There are a number of recommendations, but the main one is that the State explore and consider ways of controlling production volumes as part of its resource management. That is a fundamental issue - managing our own resources for the people. That is why I was glad recently when we did not decide to sell off our valuable resource that is Coillte, a decision in which the Minister played a part. Norway, for example, uses production permits to have a flat production rate in order to ensure as much as possible is produced from a field. The joint committee recommends that consideration be given to prohibiting the flaring of gas. It also recommends that there be a clear and comprehensive approach taken to public consultation, beginning with the first substantive stage in offshore oil and gas exploration, when the plan of development is drawn up, setting out the basis for the project, the reasons behind the selection of the appropriate development option and a comprehensive and technical outline of the project and how it will operate. Even now we see this happening in the case of wind farms and wind energy production. Big companies come here without having much of an interest in the community. They do not bring the community with them because they do not invite people to make submissions and are not prepared to support the community in order that it has something to gain from the development.

The joint committee also recommended that the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources draw up a strategic policy document for petroleum exploration. This could dovetail with or feed into, where appropriate, other strategic policy documents and consultations such as a public consultation process on our ocean wealth.

As I said, I believe very strongly that Ireland's potential for petroleum must be explored and we must have a fair bang for our buck. We must have incentives to entice people in but when we get them in we must not throw the kitchen sink and everything else at them and have every kind of silly objector in the place arriving to stop them exploring the field for the benefit of their own companies but above all for the benefit of our nation and people. We must never lose sight of the community interests. While it is a key question for policy-makers at the national level to consider whether the State is maximising its take without unduly deterring industry, there are also many important issues to consider at community level. These include the vital issues of how best to ensure community consultation and consent which can be considered to be independent by all those concerned. When a resource is found there should be a system in place to ensure agreement on how it is developed in such a way that it maximises the take for the State and its citizens at the same time as being sensitive to the local needs of its host community. It is very important to state that point and that the Department would have it as part of its policy and never lose sight of it. We saw what happened with the banks and how a small number of people in the banks, some politicians, regulators and others brought this country to ruin yet nobody has been called to account. That is why people are so angry.

We must have sensible policies, ones that are sensitive to community needs. I believe also that there must be a community gain from resources. People do not know what kind of resources are underneath places where they live or work or out at sea but if some are found and the people have to put up with some disruption there should be some gain for the community, the taxpayer, the public and the economy. I appeal to the Minister, now that he is in the driving seat, to consider this and remember the different parties he has come from in his political career and the outlook, views and beliefs they held, to ensure that there is balance and careful consideration of a strategy to develop our natural resources, many of which I hope are not yet discovered. He needs also to ensure that the Government treats the taxpayer and the community fairly and gives them their just reward.

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