Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I agree wholeheartedly with Deputy Stanley.

To give the Deputy the figures, approximately 57% of Ireland's strategic oil reserve is held in Ireland, 20% is held in the UK, 9% in Northern Ireland and 11% in Scotland. The remaining 23% is held in the other EU countries, Denmark, Sweden and Spain. The reserve held in Northern Ireland is held in Derry and in Cloghan Point - those are the two storage facilities. We are refurbishing existing storage facilities in Great Island in County Wexford and in Poolbeg here in Dublin, and Irving Oil would have a substantial amount of it in Whitegate.

If we were to move away from the UK if we did not get a derogation to this particular EU directive, it would probably mean that we would have to store that in France, and more likely, in Spain because it is probably the only place where there is any bit of capacity at present. It makes far more sense to hold it on the island of Ireland than having that in France or in Spain. It makes far more sense to store that in Scotland than in France or Spain because of accessibility and it is my objective, as part of these negotiations, to ensure that we get a derogation that complies with what are the International Energy Agency rules anyway.

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