Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 15 December 2022
106. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications his views on whether the exploitation and exploration of new fields of oil or gas in Irish waters from existing petroleum exploration licence holders should be welcomed and supported by the Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62679/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Programme for Government was ratified by the members of the three parties involved in the formation of the current government in June 2020. This programme contained the commitment to end the issuing of new licences for the exploration and extraction of gas on the same basis as the decision taken in 2019 by the previous Government in relation to oil exploration and extraction.
As outlined in the Policy Statement on Petroleum Exploration and Production published in August this year, this commitment states that no new authorisations for petroleum exploration will be granted, while applications that are already connected to existing authorisations can continue to apply to progress through the standard licensing lifecycle stages towards a natural conclusion, which may include expiry, relinquishment, production or rejection.
All applications relating to existing authorisations will continue to be assessed against a number of criteria in accordance with Section 9A of the Petroleum and Other Minerals Development Act, 1960, as amended, and Section 3 of the Licensing Terms for Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration, Development and Production. This includes assessment of the technical competence of the applicant and the financial resources available to it in order to undertake the work programme and any other commitments pursuant to the relevant petroleum authorisation.
