Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent)
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1144. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his plans to publish new licensing terms derived from the Wood Mackenzie review; if so, when these terms will be made public; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22273/15]

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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During the course of the Dáil Éireann debate on 9 July 2013 on the May 2012 Report of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Natural Resources and Agriculture on Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration, my predecessor indicated his intention to seek independent expert advice on the “fitness-for-purpose” of Ireland’s oil and gas fiscal terms. Following a public procurement process, Wood Mackenzie, a UK based international advisory services company specialising in the energy, metals and mining sectors, were engaged to advise on the appropriateness of Ireland's oil and gas fiscal terms.

In undertaking their review Wood Mackenzie sought to take account of the need to strike the necessary balance between attracting the high-risk exploration investment needed to prove the potential of the Irish Offshore and maximising the return to the State from Ireland’s natural resources. Wood Mackenzie furnished their Final Report to my predecessor at end May 2014.

In June 2014 Government approval was received to revise Ireland’s oil and gas fiscal terms along the lines recommended by Wood Mackenzie.

A key recommendation of Wood Mackenzie was that the fiscal terms applying in respect of new petroleum authorisations should be revised to ensure a higher share for the State from the most profitable fields should commercial discoveries of oil or gas be made at some point in the future.

To achieve this higher share Wood Mackenzie recommended an increase in the marginal tax take from 40% to 55% (comprising corporation tax and a proposed petroleum production tax).

In addition Wood Mackenzie recommended that the revised fiscal terms should include a minimum payment (petroleum production tax) at a rate of 5% which would function like a royalty and would result in the State receiving a share of revenue in every year that a field is selling production.

It is intended to give operational effect to this approach in the Finance Bill 2015 with the revised fiscal terms applying to petroleum authorisations issued after June 2014.