Expertise of private oil, gas firms 'beneficial' - Dempsey

Minister for Communications Noel Dempsey advised the Opposition deputies last night to "stay out of the casinos and away from the ponies" in a strongly-worded response to a private member's motion on the regulation of oil and gas resources.

"We have encouraged private sector companies to invest in the search for and the production of oil and gas in Irish waters and we have benefited financially from that. We spread the risk across these agencies and as a result derive some benefits from our natural resources," he said.

"The Opposition would have the taxpayer take all the risk - where a find in one field would be negated by the 19 other failures. And they would have us start from square one, with no experience, no equipment, and no structures in place, in one of the most challenging marine environments on the planet."

Mr Dempsey said the private sector was recognised as having the resources, expertise, and practical experience essential for such a task. "These companies have decades of experience of this type of hazardous and financially risky operation," he added. "This State does not. It is not a difficult choice to make."

Earlier, Sinn Féin TD Martin Ferris spoke in favour of a private member's Bill on the regulation of oil and gas resources.

He called on the State to take a more proactive role in both the supervision of this sector and the implementation of a tax and royalties scheme that would ensure that the people of the country would benefit from the potentially massive reserves that lay in Irish waters.

"We would be talking of over €100 billion from Corrib alone, and that's not to mention the Kinsale field and the possibility that oil and gas will also be brought ashore at other locations. Think of how far that would go in solving some of the problems which this Government claims it does not have the money to do."

Mr Dempsey said that Ireland had proven in the past to be a very difficult territory in which to prospect successfully, because of geology and geography, with less than one in 20 exploratory wells resulting in commercial fields. "And remember these highly expensive wells are only drilled after extensive and expensive surveys," said Mr Dempsey.