Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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The union SIPTU has brought to our attention a notice of strike action at Zenith Energy Bantry Bay Terminal Limited. That strike is to take place on Tuesday, 13 December. The Whiddy Island terminal has 17 oil storage tanks with a capacity of almost 9 million barrels and stores a significant portion of the State's oil reserves. It is a key reference site nationally. The National Oil Reserve Agency, NORA, is the State body with responsibility for maintaining our strategic supplies of oil and is one of the Whiddy terminal's largest customers. Whiddy Island was originally built in the late 1960s by Gulf Oil to accommodate ultra large crude oil-carrying vessels. We all remember the tragic accident where 51 people died in January 1979 when the oil tanker Betelgeuseexploded.

In July 2001, the business and commercial assets of the Irish National Petroleum Corporation, INPC, were sold to Tosco corporation, now Conoco Phillips, and NORA did not form part of that transaction. Tosco was later acquired by Phillips 66. NORA was established as an independent statutory body in 2007 upon the introduction of the National Oil Reserves Agency Act. The Whiddy terminal was then sold to Zenith in 2015. In 2020, there were reports that Zenith intended to sell the strategic facility. At the time up to 50 staff were employed at the facility in January 2020, but no sale occurred.

I will quote directly from the statement issued by SIPTU. Willie Noone, the sector organiser, stated:

A ballot for strike action was supported unanimously by our members and is scheduled to commence at 8.00 a.m. on Tuesday, 13th December. This action results from the decision of the company [Zenith] to dismiss workers with long service on Wednesday, 30th November, while planning to employ contractors on an ongoing basis to do their work.

The union, and the workers to their credit, see this as a last resort. The company is seeking compulsory redundancies. Efforts by the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, to resolve the dispute were unsuccessful as the company remains insistent that contractors be used to cover the work previously done by the workers being made redundant.

I am asking for the Government to intervene on the basis that Zenith is housed within a key reference site that ensures the security of energy supply of the State. I call on the Government to intervene now with Zenith to at least bring the company to a hearing of the Labour Court so that the matter might be resolved. No company on this island should seek to drive a coach and four through the industrial relations architecture that has been built up successfully over years, particularly at a time security of energy supply is so vital and particularly given that these people have a combined service of more than 100 years. We want to get them back to the table. I call on the Minister of State to use her good offices and those of the Government to intervene on this matter to encourage people back to the table.

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy has stated, SIPTU members have served notice of strike action at Zenith Energy Bantry Bay Terminal Limited, located on Whiddy Island in County Cork. The strike action is due to commence on Tuesday, 13 December, in a dispute over redundancies at Zenith Energy.

While the Deputy's question refers to the strike at the Zenith storage facility in Bantry, he also makes reference to NORA and the need to ensure the terms and conditions of employment of all employees at the agency are protected and the need to ensure the employer engages with the architecture of industrial relations. In this regard, it is important to clearly state that while NORA holds stocks of petroleum products on the site, NORA employees are not employed on the site nor are they in any way involved in the aforementioned industrial dispute. The employees of Zenith Energy are not NORA employees, NORA merely holds stocks on the site as part of its obligations under legislation.

Under the National Oil Reserves Act 2007, NORA was established as a non-commercial State body with responsibility for the management of Ireland's strategic oil reserve. NORA is Ireland's stockholding agency and currently holds approximately 85 days of oil stocks, with approximately 85% of these stocks stored on the island of Ireland.

NORA stocks are balanced to match the end-use domestic consumption of the various oil products, petrol, diesel, and kerosene. NORA, having released stock to meet Ireland's obligations under the recent International Energy Agency, IEA, collective actions, is scheduled to increase its stockholding to 90 days in early 2023 as required by Ireland's membership of the European Union and the IEA. NORA holds 85 to 90 days of oil reserves to cover any emergency for resupply through the commercial system. Ireland's policy of holding a strategic oil reserve equivalent to 90 days of net imports is required by both its membership of the EU and the IEA, and is provided for by the National Oil Reserves Agency Act.

NORA has operational responsibility for the day-to-day management of the State's strategic oil reserve. This includes the purchase of refined products and entering into agreements with third parties to lease storage capacity, as required.

In line with Government policy, the 90-day obligation is met almost entirely by the holding of refined product in Ireland, ready to be placed on the domestic market in the event of a shortage of petroleum products arising in the commercial supply chains or released to the international markets as part of an IEA collective action.

The industry has worked hard to boost stock levels since the onset of the war in Ukraine and industry is confident of maintaining supply levels with inventory levels strengthened.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I am disappointed with the answer. The Whiddy Island terminal is fixed firmly in the consciousness of every citizen's mind as key in the security of energy supply.

There would have been a time when somebody like me would have gotten up as a member of the Opposition to call on the Government to use its influence specifically in relation to a site like this. Zenith has a contract and owns the site. If they were driving a coach and four through the industrial relations architecture, an Opposition Deputy would have at least received a response that expressed sympathy with the workers down there. We do not want workers who have had long careers, have excellent skill sets, are highly competent and are highly trained to be replaced while they go out on strike by contractors who are coming in and ultimately are designed to take their place. There was a time in this House when a Minister would have stood opposite me and not given me the answer I have received tonight.

I know what NORA does. The dogs in the street know what NORA does. The dogs in the street can make the distinction between NORA and Zenith in this regard. I want to protect the rights of pre-existing workers who are being shovelled out the door by stealth. They are key workers for this island, given what they do at the terminal. I worry that if we lose their skill set, it will be gone and lost forever. I am merely calling for some sympathy and empathy on the part of the Government for the workers. There should be an acknowledgement by the Government of the need to call on all sides, particularly the owners of the company, to come back to the table - at least - as a starting point.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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I call on the Minister of State to conclude.

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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Of course the Government expresses its sympathies. We want to ensure that a resolution is found and that employers engage with the industrial relations architecture. That is clear. As I indicated in my initial response, the industrial dispute which was reported in the media today is a dispute over redundancies at Zenith Energy. NORA is not in any way involved in the aforementioned dispute. While NORA holds stocks of petroleum on the site, NORA employees are not employed on the site. The employees of Zenith Energy are not NORA employees.

In relation to Ireland’s security of supply, Ireland is reasonably well insulated from direct supply shocks because few imports of crude oil and a comparatively small proportion of Ireland’s refined product imports come from Russia. Given that the supply of some products on the international oil markets is currently tight, particularly in the case of diesel, the oil supply position on the Irish markets is kept under review by the oil security subgroup, consisting of the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications, the Department of Transport, NORA and the importing oil companies. The group meets frequently to assess the security of oil supplies into Irish terminals which are purchased on a commercial basis one month in advance. As things stand, the supply outlook in January looks positive. Given the just-in-time nature of oil supply, issues can manifest at short notice, perhaps within four or five days. As a contingency, NORA holds approximately 85 days of reserve stock and can place stock onto the domestic market to meet shortfalls. Currently, no substantial difficulties in maintaining supplies to the domestic market are forecast, including subsequent to the full implementation of the EU sanctions on Russian crude and refined product on 5 December 2022 and 5 January 2023, respectively.