Pat Gallagher (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

The safety review is now under way. It will be comprehensive and will be carried out independently by recognised experts. The public consultation will take place next week on 12 and 13 October, when there will be an opportunity for all interested parties to participate. Hopefully, it will not be long before the Minister will be in a position to appoint a mediator in this matter.

I have listened attentively to the debate. It was very positive. All speakers believe that we must take advantage of the natural resources offshore and bring them onshore. There are many direct and indirect benefits. The fear, however, and rightly so, is about safety. The safety issue will now be addressed and I hope that as a result of the involvement of the Minister progress can be made in the near future.

There are benefits to the State. This will give us security of supply for a number of years. Currently, 84% of our gas requirement is imported. Between 50 and 60 jobs can be created at the terminal and there could be up to 100 indirect jobs. There is much talk about the concessions this company received. There are approximately 120 bore holes in this country but only four of them have shown success. The cost to the State of doing this exploration would be €1.5 billion but the return on that investment would be almost minimal.

With regard to tax, this country has a generous tax regime which has been most helpful in attracting inward investment. The corporation tax rate of 12.5% is one of our great successes. In this case, however, the corporation tax rate of 25% will apply rather than the 12.5% that applies to other commercial and industrial sectors.

Time does not permit me to comment further. I thank the Senators for their contributions. They were sincere and positive except with regard to the safety issue. This will now be addressed by Advantica, the public consultation process and the appointment of a mediator in the near future.