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

I was told by a person who worked on the rig in question that we do not have anybody on these rigs to see what they are doing. He explained that we are relying on the information given to us by the oil companies. That is in contrast with what was done in Norway. In the initial period, the Norwegian authorities had to make deals with the oil companies because they did not have sufficient expertise. However, they shadowed every employee of the multinationals so they could oversee what those workers were doing and, in the process, develop the knowledge and expertise to enable them to develop their own state company. In the case of our exploration rigs, this State does not have a clue about what is going on. The reality is that we are listening to what the oil companies are telling us about what is or is not down there and whether it is commercially viable. I put it to Deputy Rabbitte that we do not really know what is down there. However, it is estimated that it is very substantial. If there is even a tenth of what is estimated, it would be a hell of a resource and would be worth a great deal of money. It is absolutely right, therefore, to insist that this royalty tax, at least, should have to be paid in respect of any drop of oil or bit of gas that comes up or is produced from now on. I think that is what Deputy Pearse Doherty is saying. It is not about retrospection; it is about saying anything that comes up from now should be subject to this payment. That is an entirely reasonable thing to say, given that there is such a generous regime for these guys anyway. Even if this small measure is accepted, we will still have one of the lowest tax takes from oil and gas production of any country in the world. In that context, could we not say this payment will have to be made in respect of anything which comes up from here on?

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