asked the Minister for Industry, Commerce and Energy if he is satisfied that petrol companies are being even-handed in the distribution of petrol as between company-owned and dealer-owned stations.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Oil Supplies.
4.
I have already stated in the House that all reasonable steps are being taken to ensure that oil supplies are distributed as equitably as possible. While I do not have details for each petrol station in the country, investigations carried out by my Department on a number of occasions have shown that allegations of unfair treatment of dealer-owned stations were not well-founded. On the basis of such investigations and other information currently available to me I have no grounds for believing that the oil companies discriminate between company-owned and dealer-owned stations.
Has the Minister any system of spot checks or has he access to the necessary information to ascertain whether fair play is being given to dealer-owned stations?
We get regular returns from the companies of their deliveries.
To each station.
Yes.
Will the Minister intervene if we can bring examples of uneven distribution to his notice?
This allegation is fairly frequently made and has been looked into on several occasions by my Department. No evidence has been found to sustain it. It may be that somebody could produce evidence that an individual filling station for some reason got more or less in a particular month, but taking one month with another there does not seem to be any evidence to support it. I have looked at the figures for several years past and there is no evidence of undue growth in the through-put of company-owned stations as against independently-owned stations. There is some growth on both sides. The number of company-owned stations has been decreasing in recent years and this is something I welcome.
If we can produce evidence will the Minister take action?
Yes, I will examine and investigate it.
5.
asked the Minister for Industry, Commerce and Energy the arrangements being made to ensure adequate supplies of cental heating oil for consumers for the winter and if it is proposed to introduce rationing or any other emergency measure.
Appropriate arrangements in regard to the supply of central heating oil for domestic and other consumers for the coming winter are being considered but I am not yet in a position to indicate precisely what these arrangements will be.
An announcement in the matter will be made as soon as possible. At this stage I can say that, since a short-fall in the overall supply is anticipated, the adoption of some allocation procedures appears to be inevitable and it is for that reason that I have been urging consumers to adopt alternative heating arrangements.
Can the Minister confirm that the printing of ration books has been going on for a number of weeks?
It has not.
Is the Minister aware that unless he makes up his mind quickly, because of the personnel available, the companies will be unable to deliver domestic oil in time for the winter?
The position is being examined very thoroughly at the moment in consultation with the companies. There has to be very full consultation with the oil companies because we are dependent to a great extent on their projection over the winter months. My present intention is to make the announcement about 28 or 29 July and to allow deliveries to commence on 1 August. In the normal way I would not have wished deliveries to commence as quickly as I August, but, because of the logistics of the situation, it is necessary that they begin that early. If they did not begin until October there would be definite cases of hardship if people did not get their deliveries until December when the weather would be very cold.
In view of the apparently inevitable shortage which we are about to experience, could the Minister elaborate on the present position with regard to the storage of this oil in the ports, because there is a belief that an inordinate amount of oil is stored?
That seems to be a separate question, but the Deputy's speculation is not right. There is not an inordinate amount. Stocks of gas-diesel oil a week or two ago were about two-thirds of the corresponding figure for last year. I do not have this week's figure yet but I believe it is a little higher. The whole situation could be changed drastically in a matter of days by virtue of the fact that in the past 48 hours no oil products of any kind have come into Dublin port, the main port of entry.
6.
asked the Minister for Industry, Commerce and Energy if he is aware of the extreme shortage of diesel oil in County Donegal, where the livelihoods of farmers and commercial vehicle owners are threatened; and if he will arrange to have supplies directed there.
I am not so aware. The information available to me indicates that supplies are being distributed in Donegal in the same manner as in other parts of the country. All necessary steps are being taken, in close consultation with the oil companies, to ensure that oil supplies are distributed as equitably as possible and that priority in supplies of gas-diesel oil is given to the categories listed in the order which I made on 12 April last. The priority categories include farmers and commercial vehicle owners.