Bernard Allen (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 99: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if Australian use of oil fields off the coast of East Timor, over which ownership is disputed, was discussed by him or any member of his Department with the Australian Prime Minister or member of his delegation during his recent visit to Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19534/06]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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Timor Leste, or East Timor as it was formerly known, and Australia make overlapping claims to parts of the continental shelf in the Timor Sea, an area understood to contain large reserves of oil and gas. I understand that there has not been any adjudication under international law with regard to the disputed oil fields.

Under the terms of a bilateral Treaty on Certain Maritime Arrangements in the Timor Sea, signed by the Foreign Ministers of Australia and Timor Leste in January of this year, the two sides agreed to set aside their maritime boundary negotiations for fifty years and to share the resources of what is referred to as the Greater Sunrise field (formerly known as the Sunrise and Troubadour fields which had also been previously claimed by both countries) on a 50:50 basis. The agreement, which has yet to be ratified by the Parliaments in both countries, would also allow Australia to continue to conduct activities in relation to petroleum or other resources of the seabed and subsoil in respect of a number of contested oil fields. Prior to this agreement, Australia and Timor Leste concluded the Timor Sea Treaty in May 2002, which accords to Timor Leste 90% of the revenue from a Joint Petroleum Development Area in the Timor Sea. This Treaty came into force on 2 April 2003.

It would not have been appropriate for this issue to have been raised with the Australian Prime Minister, the Honorable John Howard MP, or by officials of my Department with his delegation, during my official talks held on Monday with the Prime Minister. However, Timor Leste was on the agenda for our meeting and we had an exchange of views on the situation in Timor Leste during which I referred to Ireland's long-standing commitment to the country's political and socio-economic development.