Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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Question 3: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs when he will lodge a claim with the United Nations for an extension in the State's share of the continental shelf; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15996/09]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Ireland claims continental shelf extending beyond the standard 200 mile entitlement to both the west and south of the country. Under international law these claims must be examined by the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. For the purposes of our claims, we have divided the extended shelf into three sectors.

The first sector is to the south west of the country near the Porcupine Abyssal Plain, an area which is approximately half the size of the State's land territory and which was the subject of Ireland's first submission to the Commission. The Commission issued recommendations in 2007. These confirmed Ireland's entitlement in this sector and set out details of where the new outer limit there should be established. The area involved is approximately 39,000 sq km, which is a very satisfactory outcome. The Government made an order under the Continental Shelf Act 1968 on 31 March last which formally establishes the area concerned as Irish continental shelf.

The second claim is in the Celtic Sea, where there are unresolved boundary issues with the UK, France and Spain. The four countries made a joint submission for this 80,000 sq km area in 2006. The Commission last month confirmed this claim and negotiations on its division between the four will begin in due course.

Ireland also claims part of the Hatton-Rockall area of the north-east Atlantic, which extends up to 500 nautical miles from the coast. There is an agreed Ireland-UK boundary here, but it is not accepted by Iceland or the Færoe Islands, which make their own claims. The four have met regularly since 2001 in an effort to resolve the overlapping claims issue, but to date have been unable to reach agreement. In view of the ten year deadline for the making of submissions to the Commission, which for Ireland expires in May, Ireland lodged its own claim for this area last month. It is not possible at this stage to say when the Commission will examine it, but the four countries concerned intend to keep the matter under regular review.

Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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The Rockall dispute in particular is of significant importance for the country because potential lucrative and valuable oil and gas reserves may well be available for exploration in the future. What is being done at Government level to fight for and make the case for Ireland at UN level in this regard? It is reasonably widely accepted that the Irish case is stronger than that of Iceland or Denmark. It is, therefore, essential that we put forward a strong challenge. The talks, which had been ongoing since 2001, have now broken down. This presents an opportunity to have the situation resolved once and for all within the United Nations. Will the Minister inform the House what he and the Government have been doing to ensure we see a successful outcome for Ireland?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I just did that in my reply and outlined the three areas in which the Department has been involved. With regard to the Porcupine Abyssal Plain, we have now achieved a successful outcome as a result of our submission to the Commission. The second claim relates to the Rockall area of the north-east Atlantic. We are not talking about Rockall itself, as the rock is of no relevance to this at all. Our concern is the area around it.

Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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I am aware of that.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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We have now made our submission to the Commission on that. There is a timeframe involved. We had been hoping to reach agreement, but that was impossible. The ten year timeframe for making a submission would have been up in May, so we have made our submission now.

Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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The Department got its submission in at the 11th hour.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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We endeavoured to get agreement first. We have an agreed Ireland-UK boundary, but the Færoe Islands and Iceland have not accepted that. There have been regular meetings in the intervening period between the four countries to try to resolve the issue, but that has not been possible. It is now a matter for the Commission. We are pursuing the issue and trying to get the correct outcome from Ireland's perspective.

Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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What is the timeframe for that? How long does the Minister anticipate it will take?

Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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The issue is around 25 years, since the time of Charles Haughey.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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We cannot give a timeframe with regard to when the Commission will examine the issue. We have a good record with regard to the manner in which we have pursued the issues and the successes we have had over the years.

Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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This is the key issue of the three.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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They are all important. All sorts of claims can be made about economic potential, but that all remains to be determined. All of the issues are important. There is a process to be followed and if a mutually satisfactory agreement cannot be reached the best way to pursue the issue is through the UN Commission. That is the route we have taken.