asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce the present extent of the State's ownership of and jurisdiction over maritime mineral and oil resources.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Maritime Mineral and Oil Resources.
26.
The Continental Shelf Act, 1968, provides a statutory framework for the exploration and exploitation of the natural resources of this country's area of the Continental Shelf in accordance with the principles of the 1958 Geneva Convention.
The Continental Shelf is defined in the Geneva Convention as the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas adjacent to the coast but outside the territorial waters to a depth of 200 metres or, beyond that limit, to where the depth of the waters permits exploitation. The convention provides that a coastal state may exercise over the Continental Shelf sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring it and exploiting its natural resources.
The 1968 Act does not lay down the boundaries of our area of the Continental Shelf but provides that the Government may, by order, designate the area over which the rights of the State with regard to exploration and exploitation of our natural resources may be exercised. Under the Act, a large section of our Continental Shelf area has to date been so designated. Further areas may be so designated as information becomes available as to their potential, and in the light of technological developments.