AN OIREACHTAS COMMITTEE is set to release its report into offshore oil and gas exploration later today.

The Joint Committee on Communications, Natural Resources and Agriculture has been hearing from representatives of different sectors concerning Ireland’s offshore exploration, as well as from some Norwegian perspectives.

Committee chair Andrew Doyle TD said that given reports of a viable oil discovery off the south coast of Ireland, this is an opportune time to publish a report “on an issue critical to Ireland’s future prosperity and sustainability”.

“Ireland’s offshore oil and gas exploration industry has operated with limited success over the last 40 years,” Doyle said ahead of the report’s publication. “In recent years the exploration developments off the west coast of Ireland have brought the workings of the industry to the forefront of the public mind.”

Minister for Energy and Natural Resources Pat Rabbitte recently said that he would be happy to discuss the report and its recommendations in the Dáil. He also said he would be happy to engage in a debate on the report, should that be facilitated by the whips.

“”The Committee’s key concern has been to strike the appropriate balance between maximising State revenue with incentivising offshore oil and gas exploration, unleashing the benefits for Irish people as a whole,” Doyle said.

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The TD added that the report’s recommendations largely focus on introducing a fair and equitable tax regime for the petroleum industry.