Results 43,161-43,180 of 74,100 for speaker:Bernard Durkan

Finance Bill 2015: Report Stage (24 Nov 2015)

Bernard Durkan: I am sorry for coming in, but I was moved almost to tears when I listened to and watched what was on the screen over the past half an hour.

Finance Bill 2015: Report Stage (24 Nov 2015)

Bernard Durkan: We cannot all go to Westminster.

Finance Bill 2015: Report Stage (24 Nov 2015)

Bernard Durkan: You know how it feels now.

Finance Bill 2015: Report Stage (24 Nov 2015)

Bernard Durkan: We might say the same about Deputy Boyd Barrett.

Finance Bill 2015: Report Stage (24 Nov 2015)

Bernard Durkan: How much oil?

Finance Bill 2015: Report Stage (24 Nov 2015)

Bernard Durkan: I could not resist the temptation to contribute to the debate on this amendment. The Leas-Cheann Comhairle knows how it is. We have had this debate on many occasions during my time in this House. It has certainly been a regular debate during the past ten years. I remember a very tortuous debate that took place in 2005 or 2006 when I was a member of a committee that dealt extensively with...

Finance Bill 2015: Report Stage (24 Nov 2015)

Bernard Durkan: In Norway, one in seven explorations is a commercially viable strike. That is the difference. In this country, the strike rate is somewhere between one in 40 and one in 47. I cannot be sure. I cannot remember exactly but there is a distinct difference. Given that reductions in the use of oil and other fossil fuels will be debated at the climate change talks in Paris next week, I cannot...

Finance Bill 2015: Report Stage (24 Nov 2015)

Bernard Durkan: As Deputy Rabbitte said, this is for the fairies. When we were kids, we used to hear stories from the older generation about the little people. They talked about the fairies who lived in forts up on the sides of hills. We were told that if we went out at night, we were liable to be accosted by them.

Finance Bill 2015: Report Stage (24 Nov 2015)

Bernard Durkan: We were told that we would be dragged away down to the bowels of the earth never to be seen again.

Finance Bill 2015: Report Stage (24 Nov 2015)

Bernard Durkan: I do not object to Opposition Deputies talking wildly, throwing figures around with gay abandon and saying there are billions to be made. A figure of €600 billion has been mentioned. Why hit on a small sum? Why not come up with something big?

Finance Bill 2015: Report Stage (24 Nov 2015)

Bernard Durkan: I think those opposite have got their papers mixed up. Their papers are definitely mixed up when they are talking about Norway. The oil, gas and coal resources that are directly offshore in Norway are up to 12 times greater than the known resources. That is a fact that has long since been established. The problem is that we have to move inexorably towards a programme of dealing with...

Finance Bill 2015: Report Stage (24 Nov 2015)

Bernard Durkan: Are we going to have billions and billions of gallons and barrels of oil coming out of the ground and spewing up black smoke?

Finance Bill 2015: Report Stage (24 Nov 2015)

Bernard Durkan: I want to mention another matter for the benefit of the Deputies opposite who pointed out that the late Justin Keating correctly criticised the regime that was applied in a certain period. Deputy Rabbitte has already cleared that up by referring to the expectation in the 1970s that having struck gas on a number of occasions, we would have a plentiful supply in the future. It did not happen...

Finance Bill 2015: Report Stage (24 Nov 2015)

Bernard Durkan: We could talk about silver linings on every cloud and about billions of barrels of oil pumping up out of the ground until we are all black in the face. However, the fact is that we would not be dealing with reality. The only way to deal with reality is to look at the number of commercial finds that were determined during the period in the 1970s that I mentioned and measure it carefully by...

Finance Bill 2015: Report Stage (24 Nov 2015)

Bernard Durkan: How long would they like to spend exploring on a not-for-profit basis?

Finance Bill 2015: Report Stage (24 Nov 2015)

Bernard Durkan: Can I ask a further question? How would Deputy Paul Murphy, who lives on the eastern shore of this island, like to delve into the depths of the Atlantic on a not-for-profit basis? He could then pray that we found the 600 barrels of oil and the billions of which he speaks.

Finance Bill 2015: Report Stage (24 Nov 2015)

Bernard Durkan: We could then go to a lending institution and borrow the money to carry out the exploration on the basis of hope. It does not work that way. It never did and it never will.

Finance Bill 2015: Report Stage (24 Nov 2015)

Bernard Durkan: That is reassuring.

Finance Bill 2015: Report Stage (24 Nov 2015)

Bernard Durkan: It is very difficult to deal with this subject in two minutes. Deputy Boyd Barrett made some positive comments, with particular reference to climate change and the responsibility on all of us to make alternative arrangements. However, he is not entirely correct in citing the various geological surveys, as the cost of drilling off the coast of Ireland is different from the equivalent cost in...

Finance Bill 2015: Report Stage (24 Nov 2015)

Bernard Durkan: He spoke in anticipation.