"About 120 protesters outside Mullingar station Ming Flanagan, Maura Harrington, etc. Supporting McCabe. M" - Ex-Garda Commissioner Callinan
"You can judge a man by his friends" Brian Purcell - SG of Dept of Justice
"Some shower Brian" Callinan
Issued: 12 December 2006
Statement by Martin Hogan
The Green Party has called for the terms of the exploration rights of gas and oil off the Irish coast to be redrafted. The Party passed a policy calling for new terms at a recent meeting of its National Council.
Martin Hogan, Green Party endorsed NUI senate candidate said: ?While the Government and the main opposition parties continue to avoid discussion on the unbelievable decision, which began under the ministry of Ray Burke in the late eighties, to give away Ireland's offshore oil and gas reserves without any royalties to the Irish State, the Green Party has taken a decision to try and reverse this.
?Our policy calls for the 1992 terms governing oil and gas exploration in Ireland's waters to be redrafted to give the State more security of hydrocarbon supply and a revenue/royalty percentage from such finds.?
The Green party also called for the terms of those deals made since 1992 to be renegotiated for the benefit of the Irish people based on a cost/benefit analysis on the value to the economy. This would include the controversial Corrib basin deal with Shell, Statoil and Marathon oil.
[See the call of the Green Party urging members to support and join the Shell to Sea Campaign here: http://www.greenparty.ie/en/news/green_voice/green_voice_december_2005/support_shell_to_sea_campaign]