Vol. 278 No. 6
asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he is satisfied that the hydrocarbon potential of Ireland's Continental Shelf is properly catalogued and that there are sufficient qualified and expert staff to assess the information; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
12.
asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce the action his Department have taken on the basis of the information accumulated from the seismic surveys which have been carried out.
With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 11 and 12 together.
The results of seismic surveys referred to by the Deputy, and of other exploration work, are required to be furnished to the Geological Survey by the holders of licences and leases. This information has been analysed in the selection of areas for which applications are to be invited in the forthcoming round of offshore exclusive licences. It will, of course, also be utilised in the more general assessment of the hydrocarbon potential of our Continental Shelf.
I consider that, with the limited staff and other resources available, the Geological Survey has satisfactorily performed the tasks in relation to offshore areas necessitated by developments to date. However, the Continental Shelf area under our jurisdiction is very large. I have been conscious of the fact that a comprehensive assessment of the potential of this extensive area would require a substantial strengthening of the staff and other resources of the survey and, as I foreshadowed in my Estimates speech in December, I am taking steps to have additional staff and other facilities provided as soon as practicable.
Is the Minister saying that he is satisfied with the progress being made with the limited staff he has?
To date.
He has told us he is taking steps to get more staff and that means he is not satisfied there is sufficient staff. Could he give us any idea of how many additional staff he has got sanction for from the Department of Finance in order to meet his requirements?
I interjected "To date" because I am not offering criticism of the work of the Geological Survey. I am saying the volume of work will expand dramatically in the future and new posts will be necessary. In view of the fact that I have not got sanction as of this moment I would prefer not to discuss the number of professional and technical posts I have sought to create.
Surely the House is entitled to know how many. The Minister was asked if he was satisfied there was sufficient qualified and expert staff to assess the information. He has told us he is satisfied there is not. What he was asked, and I think the House is entitled to an answer, is how many more he requires, whether or not he has got sanction, to bridge the gap. The House is entitled to that information.
I shall be happy to tell the Deputy that when I have got sanction.
Is the Minister aware that professional staff abroad may be reluctant to return home on the basis of the existing salary scales? Will he bear in mind, in seeking sanction, that such persons may have to be paid well above the existing professional rates available in the public service?
That is precisely one of the difficulties. The sort of expert we want is in very short supply in the world. There is no point in getting people on to our staff who are not the very best. We have a traditional system of tying the pay of people with technical qualifications in the public service to the general administrative grades. In many areas this provides us with extreme recruitment difficulties. This applies in the GSO and it applies elsewhere. As long as that system persists, if we get the right number of people at the right sort of pay, we will run the risk of disrupting the basic salary scales of the technical people in the public service. That separation is long overdue. I was once a person with a technical qualification working in the Civil Service tied to the pay of the administrative grades. This is a real difficulty which applies to the GSO and in many other areas. It is in this area of getting suitable pay and conditions to get good people that we have a hold-up, which I regret.
Would the Minister consider for a moment that his entire attitude and approach to the whole problem of mineral development makes it very unlikely that any worthwhile people will even consider coming to work for him or any agency under his jurisdiction?
That is a lot of nonsense.
Deputies are seeking to broaden the subject matter of the question.
My approach offers security which makes it more attractive.
The Minister said he has not got permission from the Department of Finance. Is he aware that he has advertised in the papers in the past months for two geologists? How does that correspond with his answer?
I am aware of the existing posts which we have had great difficulty in filling, and I am aware of the new posts which I hope to create and which I will announce when I am able to create them.
The Minister was asked——
We must make some progress. I have spent a long time on this question.
There are two questions. The Minister said he could only inform the House how many he requires when he gets sanction from the Department of Finance. I respectfully submit that this is not sufficient. If the Minister gets sanction to fill five posts, does that mean that only five posts are required to be filled despite the fact that he may have applied to the Department for sanction for ten? Why does this representative of open Government not come clean for once?
