Another Giveaway Of Irish Natural Resources
British oil and gas explorer, Serica Energy is planning to undertake drilling explorations in the west of Ireland later this year.
If there is a significant find discovered during these explorations, resources may be refined at the controversial Bellanaboy site in County Mayo.
Shell Oil is currently constructing the Bellanaboy refinery, despite the well-publicised opposition of the local community and the large protests that have taken place at the site.
These explorations by private companies are being facilitated by tax concessions for the oil industry, which have been put in place by the Twenty-Six County government.
Under Twenty-Six County tax law the company keeps 100 per cent of the profits from oil and gas finds. This effectively means that, rather than being owned by the people of Ireland as advocated in the Democratic Programme of the First Dáil, Ireland’s natural resources are seen as the preserve of private multinationals.
The CEO of Serica Energy, Paul Allen, has confirmed the latest development:
“We raised $50 million (34 million euro/£25 million) for exploration, we have attractive licenses off the west coast of Ireland and we want to get those drilled as soon as we can,” he said.
Allen continued that, “prospects are attractive, partly due to the tax rate in Ireland”.
While the Twenty-Six County government’s subservience to big business is hardly a revelation, the news means that the people of Mayo may now face a struggle on two fronts, with the added prospect of Serica energy using the Bellanaboy refinery.
Éirígí spokesperson Daithí Mac An Mháistir said,
“It is high time that the robbery of Ireland’s natural resources by big business, was put to a halt. The natural resources of Ireland should, as of right, be the property of the people of Ireland.
“One need only look to what is happening in oil-rich Venezuela for examples of how a society can benefit from such reserves, where oil profits are put to use in valuable social projects to benefit the ordinary people of the country.
“While Ireland’s natural resources are not on the same scale as Venezuela’s, the establishment of a state owned company to take charge of oil and gas exploration would potentially lead to large amounts of money being made available for the benefit of the Irish people.
“Unfortunately, under the status quo, it is obvious that the needs of the Irish people are secondary to the needs of big business and we in Éirígí will continue to oppose any giveaway of the collective resources of the Irish nation. We encourage other progressive groups and individuals to do the same.”