asked the Minister for Transport and Power if he will agree to hold a public inquiry into the objections of Cork County Council to the proposed by-laws for Bantry Bay.
46.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Bantry Bay Oil Terminal.
45.
asked the Minister for Transport and Power if he has received any further proposals for the setting up of a harbour authority for Bantry Bay, County Cork; and if there will be full consultations with all interested parties prior to the adoption of any of the proposed by-law regulations relating to the harbour.
47.
asked the Minister for Transport and Power if he will place in the Dáil Library the full text of the agreement between the Government and the Gulf Oil Company concerning the oil terminal at Bantry Bay, County Cork.
With your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 45, 46 and 47 together.
As I have explained in reply to previous Parliamentary Questions on this subject, I am satisfied that there is no need for a harbour authority under the Harbour Acts for Bantry Bay so long as commercial shipping activities there are in the main confined to the use of Whiddy Island by the sole company at present operating there. If, however, circumstances should change and conflicting interests arise the necessity for an authority would be urgently examined.
The Cork County Council recently renewed their request that a harbour authority be set up but nothing has transpired which calls for such action at the present time.
The Petroleum Act, 1871, requires that, in the case of every harbour where petroleum is landed, by-laws regulating such landing be submitted to me by the relevant authority. For the purpose of this Act a harbour includes, inter alia, any dock, pier, jetty or other works at which goods are shipped or unshipped. I have been legally advised that for the purposes of the 1871 Act, Gulf Oil Terminals (Ireland) Ltd. are the appropriate authority to prepare petroleum by-laws and to administer them under the direction of my Department. The company were, therefore, requested to prepare and submit draft by-laws to me.
Following publication of the by-laws, a number of objections were received. I have sought legal advice on some of the points raised by the objectors and the Deputy will appreciate that I cannot therefore give any undertaking at this stage as to subsequent action in regard to them. I can, however, assure the Deputy that the views of all interested parties will be borne in mind before any decision is made on the by-laws as drafted.
I should emphasise that the sole purpose of the by-laws is to ensure that the highest standards of safety in regard to the handling of petroleum are enforced at the Whiddy Oil Terminal. Their operation is confined to the area leased to Gulf Oil under the Foreshore Act, 1933. They do not confer on Gulf Oil any status as a harbour authority under the Harbour Acts and do not prejudice the establishment of a harbour authority under the Harbour Acts at Bantry Bay if this is later found necessary. The operation of the by-laws will be kept under strict review by the marine survey staff attached to my Department to ensure that they are reasonably and properly administered not only from the point of view of operations of Gulf Oil but also the safety of all other persons who may be in the area at any time.
With regard to the reference to an agreement signed between the Government and Gulf Oil, the only agreement entered into is a lease between me and the company in accordance with the terms of the Foreshore Act, 1933. The lease, which contains the usual provisions, is for a term of 99 years at a yearly rent of £7,000.
Will the Minister not accept that Bantry is one of the most important harbours in this country and consequently its entitlement to a harbour authority goes without saying? Will he not also agree that his dealings and the Government's dealings with Gulf Oil were, to put the matter mildly, rather shady? Will he not accept that, while the Government and the Minister for Transport and Power will not approve of a harbour authority in Bantry, they will approve of a foreign company setting themselves up as a harbour authority within this State under an Act which is 101 years old today? An old British Act of 1871 was used by the Minister to get Gulf Oil to submit an application to him to establish by-laws which will give them certain rights in this bay which may be detrimental to other users of the bay. I will let the Minister off with that much just now. I have a few more questions for him.
I want to emphasise that the purpose of the by-laws is to ensure safety in regard to the handling of petrol in the area of the Whiddy oil terminal. We are concerned with the need to avoid oil pollution and to ensure safety in regard to the handling, landing and disposal of petroleum at Whiddy Island. It is in the public interest that by-laws of this kind should be drawn up and implemented. This in no way confers harbour authority status on Gulf Oil.
It does and this was clearly set down in the by-laws.
If the Deputy would let me finish—at the moment I am receiving representations in regard to these by-laws. I will be in consultation with Cork County Council and everybody interested in the preparation of the by-laws. This consultation will take place and no by-laws will be drawn up without this consultation and without my final approval. I should like to emphasise further that I have an open mind in regard to the establishment of a harbour authority. In the event of a further proposal being adopted and put into effect in that area—an industrial proposal or a petroleum proposal or anything of that kind, where a conflict of interest might arise—there might be a need for a harbour authority. We will establish a harbour authority there if and when we find it necessary to do so.
I want to repudiate any suggestion that anything other than the best commercial and national considerations were adopted by the Government in their dealings with Gulf Oil and in the establishment of this terminal for the benefit not only of Bantry and the areas surrounding it but for the benefit of the country as a whole, in enabling us to have a basic supply of oil for security reasons. We have insisted on a 60 days supply of oil being maintained in the tanks there as security for this country in the event of any oil supply emergency.
While we welcomed Gulf Oil to Bantry Bay we should like to know why does the Minister not place before the House the terms of the agreement with Gulf Oil? Does he not agree that, while there may have been nothing out of place in the hobnobbing between members of the Government and the executive of Gulf Oil and while everything may have been above board, such activities—and I use the world deliberately—are open to suspicion? I used the word "hobnobbing"; I do not know where I got it; it just entered my head; it may be as good as any other word. Does the Minister accept that Gulf Oil are getting more than they are not entitled to and something that may be detrimental to the interests of the people in Bantry and the surrounding districts, to such people as fishermen——
This is turning into a debate. Every question submitted by the Deputy turns into a debate.
I will ask the Minister a direct question. Was he not entertained there a few days ago?
No.
I heard he was.
I was not. That is a complete lie. It is a fabrication, to use a more polite word. I was in west Cork but I was not near Whiddy Island.
These kind of activities give rise to assertions that something sinister happened. Will the Minister lay the agreement before the House under which Gulf Oil did not have to pay any harbour dues?
They pay a yearly rent of £7,000.
Does the Minister agree that the by-laws made by Gulf Oil will interfere with the interests of fishermen and boatmen using the harbour?
I should like to assure the Deputy that these are just draft by-laws which are before me for consideration. All the interested parties are being furnished with these by-laws and being asked to suggest amendments to them. There will be the fullest consultation before these by-laws or any variations of them are approved by me.
Will the Minister hold a public inquiry?
(Interruptions.)
With whom did Gulf Oil negotiate? Was it with Cork County Council or the interests of the fishermen and boatmen of Bantry Bay or was it with the Minister's friend when he went down there recently——
We cannot have a debate on this question which has already been debated in the House. Does Deputy Desmond wish to put a final supplementary?
I spent a holiday in West Cork recently and I was not near Whiddy Island.
It was not to the Gulf Stream the Minister went but to Gulf Oil.
Would the Minister not agree that in view of the major economic and strategic importance of Bantry Bay and its foreshores he should deposit in the Dáil Library a full copy of the lease agreement between the Government and Gulf Oil in the years past? Would he not accept that as he deposited in the Library a copy of the agreement entered into with Marathon Oil there is no legitimate reason why a copy should not also be deposited in the Dáil Library in respect of Gulf Oil? Would he not accept that it is in the public interest that this lease should be disclosed and that there is considerable public disquiet that a lease of this nature, one might say renting out Bantry Bay for £7,000 a year—I should like to know from the Minister if one could get any other bay in this country, for instance Galway Bay; I would settle for £10,000 if I could get it——
I shall have examined the feasibility of having all relevant information made available in the Library of the House.