Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)

I am reading a very important article, which I want to complete. It is a report from The Sunday Times that refers to another Minister. It refers to our national oil reserves which are very important to the country. In the event of an emergency or a war we would need to have a minimum of 90 days' supply. The only place for holding that supply is Whiddy which emphasises the importance of Bantry Harbour. The article states:

Ireland holds one of the lowest proportions of oil stocks of all International Energy Agency member states. Only about 50 to 60 days of the 90-days net import obligation are held in the country. [That is a worrying aspect.]

Ireland also refines less imported oil than most other members of the agency, an intergovernmental energy policy organisation that includes America, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, as well as most EU member states. Ireland imports 75% of refined oil products and refines the remainder at Whitegate.

Whiddy Island was the scene of a disaster 30 years ago when an ageing and leaky 120,000-tonne oil tanker, the French-registered Betelgeuse, exploded during the offloading of crude oil at an offshore jetty. Fifty people were killed, including 41 crew, eight terminal workers [most of whom I knew] and a ship's officer's wife. The jetty was destroyed and the facility, now run by ConocoPhilips, has never operated on the same scale since.

The study commissioned by [the Minister, Deputy] Ryan describes the 40-year-old facility as "a simple refinery", and the consultants say that there is a risk that it might cease to operate after 2016. [That is not Whiddy, it is Whitegate.]

"The availability of Whitegate enables Ireland's exposure to oil supplies to be spread between crude oil and refined products," the report said. "Long-term security of operations may require government intervention, and would need to be assessed with other priorities regarding social policy in the region, such as the impact on the local economy." [Here is another report stating how important local economies like Bantry and Whiddy Island are to the State.]

Whitegate's remote location in the far southwest had hindered its potential to expand, the study found. Improving its access to Dublin, in the form of a pipeline, would raise its competitiveness and expand its potential market.

This is not the first time that was mooted. It should have been done in the late 1960s. The oil stored in Whiddy of international strategic importance should have been piped to Whitegate and to Dublin. It is a long way to get crude oil by tanker into Dublin or wherever it needs to go.

The risk-assessors weighed threats, ranging from strife in the Middle East to a crippling industrial action or even a terrorist incident affecting Dublin Port.

"In terms of minimising the risk to the Irish economy from disruption in oil supplies it would be prudent to develop at least one of their proposed strategic stores from where, in an emergency scenario involving the closure of Dublin Port, oil could readily be distributed to the region which relies on this port," they said.

This facility would have a capacity of at least 200,000 tonnes and be located in the Naas area with a pipeline connection to Dublin "using the Grand Canal as a possible pipeline route".

The consultants estimated that the pipeline from Whiddy Island to Naas might cost €165 million. It could not be justified on commercial grounds, but could be defended if strategic fuel security factors were taken into consideration.

Oil is Ireland's dominant energy source and has risen from meeting 46% of the country's energy needs in 1990 to 53% in 2006.

A White Paper in 2007 committed Ireland to producing one third of its energy requirements from renewable sources by 2020, but oil is still expected to make up 52% of the energy mix at this time.

The report will be published by Ryan in the coming weeks.

The Minister of State may ask the reason I read this report from The Sunday Times into the record of the House. I have a dream that the potential of Bantry Bay and the possibilities on Whiddy Island can benefit the local economy.

I ask the House to consider the strategic benefit to the country. If the greater Dublin area and the east coast were to be without fuel for 100 days, people would be without fuel for their central heating. Fuel security is very important. It is sometimes good to dream and to think positively in these bad times. If there were to be a huge gas or oil find off Mizen Head or out towards the famous Rockall Island, the obvious place to bring such ashore, whether it be gas or oil, would be Bantry Bay as it has the structures and the capacity for storage. It should also be recognised that ConocoPhillips and its predecessors in the past 12 years or thereabouts have spent well over €150 million on upgrading the storage at Whiddy Island. With all due respect to my colleague, Senator Buttimer, Whitegate is obsolete. I believe it would cost €1.2 billion to replace Whitegate whereas constructing an oil pipeline from Whiddy Island to Dublin would have huge potential. I may have a suspicious mind but I wonder if this is already in train at Cabinet and departmental level. There may be consideration to get rid of Bantry and the harbour authority because they would have less hassle.

I have an obligation as a Member of this House to put on the record all these proposals and suggestions on future viability. I may have gone off on a tangent but it is important because it is all to do with Bantry Bay and the harbour authority and the future and potential of the harbour.