Billions of euros worth of gas and oil lie off the west coast and around the Lough Allen basin, but Ireland is not exploiting these natural resources to its own advantage.
This is the theme of a public meeting, entitled Reclaim Irish Resources, which takes place on Tuesday July 28 at 8pm in the upstairs meeting room of Richardson’s Bar, Eyre Square.
The Government has issued, and continues to issue licences under which the Irish State does not retain a State shareholding nor does it demand royalty payments for these resources.
The Government will collect 25 per cent tax on profits but only after costs going back 25 years have been recovered by the companies concerned. Ireland is only guaranteed 35 per cent of any gas extracted, and Irish citizens will have to pay full market price to buy their own gas back for consumption.
The five Galway West TDs - Minister Éamon Ó Cuív, Frank Fahey, Noel Grealish, Padraic McCormack, and Michael D Higgins - have been invited to attend, or a political party spokesperson.
The meeting will commence with a short presentation on the granting of gas and oil exploration licences by the State, and the terms and conditions currently being applied. The audience will have the opportunity to hear the politicians’ stance of this issue, and to question the speakers
