Mark Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 6:

In page 22, line 32, to delete "not exceeding €3,000,000".

This is a simple amendment which deals with an issue we discussed previously.I do not know why we would limit a fine for non-compliance associated with oil and gas extraction to €3 million, which I am not saying is an insignificant sum. If the cost of any related issue, such as clean-up, is greater than that, it is a matter for the taxpayer, which is the ultimate issue here. I wonder where the figure of €3 million came from. Why not delete it and state that there is no limit to the potential fine? As I pointed out on Second Stage, 8,000 barrels of oil were lost in the first 24 hours after the Deepwater Horizonincident, and the loss was exponentially higher for the three years it took to stop the leaks and reduce the damage that was being done. I merely wanted to get the Minister's view on that.