There is a 1 in 30 chance of a commercial find in Irish waters. There is a 1 in 4 chance in shallower Norwegian waters. Last time UK issued licences they issued 144 11 times as much. It is far from a no-brainer to get companies to explore in

@simon so what are you saying? We shouldn’t tax what they find?

@neil We do tax them on what they find. What we do is tax them less then what others do. Same as what we do with corporation tax to attached investment in an unattractive country.

We can only tax them on pure profit, which means that if they make 40 attempts before finding anything then they’ll write off the expense of that before we can tax it. We’ll be lucky to make â

Agreed, leaving them where they are would be a far better option than handing them over to private companies. Their value is only going to go up.

I don’t know your political views Mick, but I cant understand for the life of me why any left thinking person would vote for them in the first place.

It’s not empty though Denis. It’s estimated that Ireland is sitting on Trillions worth of oil and gas. Let the companies explore but at the same time we should earn royalties from their finds. Think of all the hospitals and schools we could fund from royalties, instead we gain nothing from these companies being here.. we don’t make a cent from our own natural resources. That’s so wrong considering how much debt we’re in and how much they could help us

They key word in your comment. Is estimated. Few European countries use royalities anymore. Norway got rid of them before we did

No your right Simon but instead Norway makes its money by taxing the producers’ profit as well as taking a substantial equity share in many projects, plus earning stock dividends from a government-controlled oil and gas company.

As setting up a government-controlled oil and gas company could be costly. Introducing royalties would be a better option.

Ireland is the only country out there giving away its resources completely free of charge. Any tax that the companies are charged they can completely write off..essentially we are handing the Irish peoples resources over for free. This has got to stop

No your right Simon but instead Norway makes its money by taxing the producers’ profit as well as taking a substantial equity share in many projects, plus earning stock dividends from a government-controlled oil and gas company.

As setting up a government-controlled oil and gas company could be costly. Introducing royalties would be a better option.

Ireland is the only country out there giving away its resources completely free of charge. Any tax that the companies are charged they can completely write off..essentially we are handing the Irish peoples resources over for free. This has got to stop

We are not the only country to allow right offs of expenses. Norway does as well

Again Simon..read the above. Norway have a great model in place and actually make money from their natural resources unlike Ireland

Norways and Ireland resource situation is far different then Norways. They have far more proven resources then Ireland. What works there will not work here.

If even 10% of what has been poured down the Anglo drain was switched to support off shore exploration, it would kick off a lot of potential partnerships with exploration companies and employment. Joe Higgins isn’t off the wall on this matter in principle. The current government is more than ready to impoverish citizens to pay off the debts of a few dozen Big People with Anglo, but when it comes to Big Ideas that might lift the country, it is useful as a string-vest in the rain. Seventy billion for the banks and not a cent for offshore exploration when the world is sailing into a global energy crisis? It is just plain shortsightedness, at it’s kindest. How much oil exploration could be supported out of legal costs for the tribunals? The assertion that the money isn’t there or can’t be accessed does not stand scrutiny. It is there for the gravy train passengers, what about the 99%?

Are you not aware, simon, that these kinds of resources are dwindling worldwide? Energy companies are so desperate that they’re actually exploiting the Alberta tar sands. We’re giving away our resources in the hopes that these companies will throw a few jobs our way, but if our government had any balls we could have the jobs and the profits and a measure of energy security.

Empty sea bed ? 540 Billions worth already being drilled by Shell, and thats an empty sea bed ? What’s a full one ?

If people waht the inside story. Its not about whose the talking head at the top. The show is run by the civil servants in the department, itself a some what revolving door of people who have links with or work directly for the extraction industry. It was bought off a long time ago.
Eamon O Cuiv could tell you all about it. Hes made statements to that effect. If i was a journo and asking the right questions, hes the man to start with