Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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Question 187: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources when he will publish a Handbook on Oil Supply Disruptions Contingency Measures as proposed in section 3.7 of the Energy White Paper; if he will provide further details on the authors, the purpose of the handbook and the regulations in place to enforce such contingency measures should they be needed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13348/07]

Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)
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The Handbook on Oil Supply Disruption Contingency Measures will be published and placed on the Department's website by the end of April. The Handbook was compiled by officials of my Department in consultation with the National Oil Reserves Agency (NORA), the Irish Petroleum Industry Association (IPIA) and other Departments.

As a member of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Ireland is obliged to maintain contingency arrangements for dealing with oil supply disruptions. The purpose of the Handbook is to clearly set out the legislation and national and international procedures, which underpin and inform decisions in the event of an oil supply disruption. The Handbook will be regularly reviewed and updated.

There are legislative measures in place to deal with an oil supply disruption. Ireland would respond to an oil supply disruption by either the drawdown of NORA stocks or by the use of demand restraint measures or a combination of both. Under the Fuels (Control of Supplies) Acts 1971 and 1982, the Government may make an order empowering the Minister to provide for the regulation or control of the acquisition, supply, distribution or marketing of specified types of fuels, for the maintenance of certain types of fuels and to provide for the control, regulation, restriction or prohibition of the import or the export of specified types of fuels. The National Oil Reserves Agency Act 2007 provides for Ministerial powers to authorise the draw down of NORA stocks in the event of an oil supply crisis.