asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will state whether it is proposed to communicate to the Dáil the terms of the agreement made with the oil distributing companies for the establishment of a refinery.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Oil Refinery Agreement.
Mr. Lemass
The position is—as stated in my public announcement on the matter—that an agreement in principle has been reached by the Caltex, Esso and Shell interests to set up a company for the erection and operation of a jointly owned refinery in this country. The companies have indicated that they will submit detailed proposals for consideration, and I am now awaiting those proposals.
Mr. Lemass
Do I understand from the Minister's reply that he has committed the Government to an agreement for the establishment of a refinery by these three particular companies without having from these companies an agreement as to their charges and their methods of operation and of distribution?
All that will be considered when the scheme is received from the interests concerned.
Mr. Lemass
But surely it would have been wise to have withheld an announcement which commits the Government, until there is an agreement——
The announcement commits the Government to examine the proposals when received from the companies concerned.
Mr. Lemass
In what way has the position changed in the past year? I had assumed from the announcement of the Minister that the agreement had been concluded and that the terms of the agreement could be made known. I had assumed that under the agreement a refinery would be established by the companies concerned——
If the Deputy will read the announcement which I made on this matter in the first instance, he will see that I then indicated that the three interests concerned had agreed to come together and had accepted in principle responsibility for the erection of an oil refinery here. That refinery would be jointly owned and the three interests concerned would continue to operate as separate companies and sell their product separately. The companies indicated that they would submit proposals on this matter to the Government and I then indicated that I was awaiting the receipt of these proposals and that the whole matter would be considered when the proposals were received. What I announced was that the companies had agreed in principle to erect an oil refinery and that their proposals would be received in due course and that when they were received they would be examined and that then the Government's decision would be be made known to the interests concerned.
Mr. Lemass
The Minister is no doubt aware that other interests have also submitted proposals for the establishment of an oil refinery here. Am I to understand from his reply that no other proposals will be considered except those he is expecting to receive from the existing oil distributing companies?
I do not know what objective the Deputy seeks to serve by asking supplementary questions in that field. I would suggest to the Deputy that in the national interest he ought to allow the matter to be handled as it is being handled at the moment. To try to muddy the waters will not be to our advantage.
Mr. Lemass
I ought to suggest to the Minister that it is undesirable for him to commit the Government to any arrangement with any company until an agreement had been concluded.
The Government is committed to examining the proposals if they are received and when they are received. When the proposals are received, the Government's decision on the matter will be made known. Until the Government announces its decision on the proposals the Government is not committed.