Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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943. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the total raised in each year from 2008 to 2014 from the 2 cent NORA levy on petrol and diesel; the manner in which the money is deployed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1739/15]

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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The National Oil Reserves Agency’s (NORA) financial statements (2008-2013) are publicly available at NORA is audited annually by the C&AG.

The NORA levy is payable on all disposals of oil, not just on petrol and diesel, with the exception of the specified exemptions. The NORA levy was increased from 1 cent to 2 cent per litre on 1 October 2009. In respect of the period 2008-2014, as per the Financial Statements, the NORA levy income was as follows: 2008 - €81.4m, 2009 - €93.3m, 2010 - €137.7m, 2011- €126.7m, 2012 - €120.2m, 2013 - €120.4m, 2014 (estimated) - €118.4m.

The Agency is responsible for ensuring that Ireland meets its obligations under EU legislation (Directive 2009/119/EC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) Treaty to maintain a minimum of 90 days stocks of strategic emergency oil stocks for use in the event of an oil supply disruption. This is the main purpose of the NORA levy. As of 31 December 2014, NORA’s oil stocks amounted to 1.5 million tonnes, covering its obligations of 90 days oil stocks. Ireland’s strategic oil stocks are held either in Ireland or in another EU Member State with whom Ireland has a bilateral stockholding agreement. Up to 2008, a large portion of stocks were held abroad and a large proportion of stocks were held as stock tickets (contracts to deliver oil in an emergency) rather than as physical oil stocks. At end 2008, 42% of Ireland’s obligation was covered by stock tickets and 53% of stocks were held abroad.

In order to improve resilience and oil security in response to a potential oil supply disruption, the Government set an objective in 2007 that the strategic oil stocks should be rebalanced to maximise Ireland’s wholly owned stocks of oil and the level of stocks on the island subject to increased storage availability and value for money considerations. This is in line with the EU Directive which obliges Member States to ensure stocks are physically available and accessible in an emergency.

Significant progress has been made in recent years by NORA in procuring additional storage specifically in Ireland, building physical stocks (rather than relying on stock tickets), rebalancing stocks in light of changing consumption trends and upgrading stocks in line with EU fuel specifications. NORA has been maximising its storage on the island of Ireland and has refurbished tanks in Dublin, Kerry and Antrim increasing by 350,000 tonnes the amount of strategic oil storage on the island. NORA has also been rebalancing the composition of stocks stored to reflect national consumption trends of petrol, diesel, gasoil, kerosene (heating), aviation fuel and fuel oil. NORA also has to fund the ongoing storage costs of holding these significant volumes of oil.

Of the stocks held by NORA at the end of 2014, approximately 68% were held as stocks on the island of Ireland, 30% as stocks abroad and 2% in Stock Tickets. In managing Ireland’s obligations, NORA is subject to euro dollar exchange rate changes, fluctuations in oil prices and variances in funding costs and interest rates. NORA has succeeded in reducing the Agency’s debt from €444m at the end of 2008 to €111m at the end of 2014. NORA’s work in the period 2008-2014 has substantially improved Ireland’s oil resilience and security of supply improving the availability and accessibility of oil stocks in an emergency.