asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce (a) what conditions are attached to licences for the erection of artificial islands for oil exploration or production on the continental shelf off the coast of Ireland governing their marking for the guidance of mariners; (b) what steps are taken to ensure the conditions are fulfilled; and (c) up to what distance from the shore does the State claim jurisdiction over such structures.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Oil Exploration Artificial Islands.
85.
No structures, such as artificial islands, have yet been erected for petroleum exploration or production in our continental shelf area. The grant of permission for the erection of any such structures and the conditions attaching thereto, in relation to markings to ensure safety of navigation, would be matters for the Minister for Transport and Power in accordance with the provisions of the Continental Shelf Act, 1968.
As regards part (c) of the Deputy's question, I might say for his information that the outward boundary of the continental shelf is not determined by distance from shore. The 1958 Geneva Convention of the Continental Shelf defines the continental shelf as the submarine area adjacent to the coast but outside territorial waters to a depth of 200 metres or beyond that limit where the depth of water permits exploitation. Our area of continental shelf as designated by order under section 2 of the Continental Shelf Act, 1968, is determined on this basis.