An Taisce settles Providence court case with Government

An Taisce has settled a High Court case with the Government over a survey licence granted to Tony O'Reilly jnr's Providence Resources for exploration works at its valuable Barryroe project off the Cork coast.

The heritage body had challenged the decision to award the licence late last year, claiming that the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment had failed to comply with European Union directives when it granted the permit to survey the Barryroe site.

At the time, it presented a significant challenge for Mr O’Reilly, raising the prospect of a delay to the project, which has been valued at an estimated €1.1 billion.

However, in a statement, An Taisce said the case had been resolved after the licence for the exploration work was quashed in the High Court settlement with the Government.

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Providence announced plans last in September to conduct well site survey operations in preparation for its future drilling programme at Barryroe, subject to regulatory consent.

Subsidiary

The permission for the survey was granted to Exola, a wholly-owned Providence subsidiary which operates the site, in October by the then minister with responsibility for energy, Denis Naughten .

On November 15th, Providence was notified that An Taisce had issued legal proceedings against the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment and the Attorney General, with Exola as a notice party regarding the issuance of the permission.

As a result, it decided not to act on the site survey permission. Exola postponed the planned survey and said it would apply for a new permission to carry out well site survey activities as early as practicable in 2019.

Under the terms of the agreement between An Taisce and the department, the State will pick up the tab for both sides’ costs.

In a statement, An Taisce said “the outcome of this case is an important vindication of the public interest role of An Taisce in protecting Ireland’s marine environment”.

According to a study by Davy Stockbrokers, Providence’s broker, the oilfield could ultimately be worth €2.5 billion in taxes for the State.