John Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)

This amendment, which is not accepted, was proposed and rejected in the course of the Bill's passage through the Dáil. Section 2 defines an oil consumer as a person who, in the proceeding calendar year, imported into the State, acquired by purchase or otherwise from an oil company in the State, or held in storage in the State 1,000 or more tonnes of petroleum products exclusively for that person's own consumption in the State and not for resale or disposal to a third party. The definition of oil consumer is linked to the provision in the Bill that provides for a levy on disposals of petroleum products by oil companies and oil consumers.

Under the 1995 regulations, a National Oil Reserves Agency levy on disposals of petroleum products applies to oil companies and those major consumers who in the preceding month purchased not less than 1,000 tonnes of petroleum products. The regulations provide that oil consumers may claim an exemption from the monthly levy if they held during the previous month volumes of oil equivalent to at least 55 days' consumption. The proposal in the National Oil Reserves Agency Bill 2006 envisages continuation of both the levy on petroleum products and the provision for exemption from the levy.

To accept the amendment proposed by the Senator would make smaller oil consumers liable for payment of the National Oil Reserves Agency levy. It is accepted that those operators could claim a levy exemption provided that they held stocks equal to or in excess of 55 days' consumption. However, smaller oil consumers often operate on the basis of just-in-time deliveries and so are unlikely to wish storage facilities capable of handling significant volumes of oil surplus to operational requirements. In such situations, they would not be able to avail themselves of the levy exemption.

I am satisfied that the figure of 1,000 tonnes should remain, and the amendment is therefore not accepted.