asked the Minister for Transport and Power the steps, if any, that have been taken to provide increased storage for oil since the oil crisis.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Oil Storage.
42.
The provision of increased oil storage capacity and stocks is at present the subject of discussion with the oil companies. I expect to be in a position fairly soon to make an order under the European Communities Act, 1972, requiring the oil companies and certain major importers to maintain storage and stocks to meet EEC requirements.
Could the Minister give the House some idea of the cost of these installations and the cost of the product which will go to fill them or have any discussions taken place with regard to that?
The estimated cost of increasing the storage capacity from the current 60 days to the EEC requirement of 90 days is about £35 million.
Could the Minister give the House some idea as to how this £35 million will be collected or from whom? Who will foot the bill?
I could not give the Deputy any information on that. It is the subject of discussion at the moment with the oil companies and naturally they feel they should be in first because of the State directive but we are arguing at the moment this should not be so. This is the subject of discussion between the oil companies and my Department and therefore I cannot say now what the outcome will be.
In view of the excess profits the multi-nationals made in the last oil crisis on storage, as well as their own admitted profits on their overall operations, would the Minister give the House an undertaking that the cost of these installations and of the product in the installations will not be levied on the public?
I could not give any undertaking one way or the other because, as I said, this is at present the subject of discussion and there has been no decision yet.
May I ask the Minister——
The Deputy will, I think, agree that I have allowed a great many supplementaries on this.
This is the last. May I ask the Minister if officials of the Department of Industry and Commerce and, in particular, of the Prices Commission have been involved in any of these discussions with regard to the price and cost of these things and how the cost is to be levied and from whom?
No. At the moment the discussion is taking the form of deciding who will keep storage of oil and who will be responsible for seeing that we meet the requirement of 90 days under the EEC directive. Obviously at a later stage the discussions will include the question of price and cost, but that has not been arrived at yet. The first priority is to get the storage up and the storage filled.
Will the Minister not agree that there should be no question of having £35 million levied on the consumer in view of the colossal profits which are freely admitted by all the oil companies? Surely it is necessary to emphasise to these multi-nationals that they have a national duty since they have such successful operations within our shores and since they are liable to have more successes in view of the publicity about the oil finds? Surely the public must be exempted from this charge in view of our previous experience with these oil companies?
The oil companies' answer to the point made by the Deputy would be that if from the storage of petrol they made a once-off profit they need that profit in order to purchase in stocks at a very much inflated price and there would be no question of a continuing on-going profit at the same level.
Will the Minister not agree that these stocks he mentioned will be resold at the increased price?
That is exactly the point. Exactly the same position arose in agriculture last year when the price of cattle went up but the cost of replacing stocks also went up.
Deputy Barrett is seeking to debate this matter at Question Time. It may not be debated at Question Time.
It is a matter of £35 million.
The Deputy will have to find another opportunity of debating this matter.
It is a very important matter. I am seeking an undertaking that the consumers will get the greatest consideration before any action is taken.
The Deputy has had a very good opportunity to tease out this matter.
I have absolutely no hesitation in giving that undertaking.