Beggar Sitting in a Bank of Gold

national | consumer issues | opinion/analysis

Thursday May 28, 2009 05:15

by Is Linn an Tír Seo

That's Our Gas!

Could Ireland, in its own way, become a beggar sitting in a bank of gold?

From coastal deserts to snowcapped Andean peaks to the Amazon jungle, this is a spectacular country. This is a land of incredible biodiversity, source of the River Amazon and home to Machu Picchu, one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. This country is one of the world’s leading producers of gold, silver and copper. This is Peru, land of the Incas.

This is also a country of incredible poverty. The Peruvians say “El Perú es un mendigo sentado en un banco de oro” or, Perú is a beggar sitting in a bank of gold.

How is it, that in spite of their wealth of natural resources, 44% of the population live in poverty and 19% live on less than $2 a day? In the 16th century they were colonised by Spain who sent ships laden with gold back to Europe. Today, the majority of gains go to multinationals who are extracting these resources. Little benefit trickles down to the man in the street.

Our own Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources has estimated that we could have €540 billion of natural resources in our offshore territory. The current fiscal terms in place are corporation tax of 25%, and a profit resource rent tax of up to 15% for the more profitable fields, with substantial write-offs against profits for tax purposes: in other words the tax take could be quite small. The Corrib gas field has been given to the oil companies at even more generous terms: only corporation tax will be charged, and, at the 25% rate. Additionally, there will be little or no benefit in terms of the provision of onshore services, employment opportunities and security of supply and gas will not be cheaper.

As you know the Irish economy is in recession now and it is estimated that it could suffer the biggest contraction of all industrialized economies since the 1930’s.

Could Ireland, in its own way, become a beggar sitting in a bank of gold?

Clearly, we as a country are not going to benefit to the extent that we should from our own natural resources. The government continues to grant exploration rights at these extremely generous terms. In general, the fiscal and exploration terms need to be amended and more specifically, the Corrib terms need to be renegotiated so that we benefit as we should.

If you are not happy with the current situation there are a number of things which you can do, as follows:

1. Get informed. Visit:
• www.mayogasinfo.com
• www.corribsos.com
• Read “The Great Corrib Gas Controversy” at http://www.publicinquiry.ie/reports.php

2. Inform others. There are surely many people who do not realize that our natural resources are being given away so generously. This issue affects the whole country - not just Mayo, the landfall site for Corrib gas - and will continue to have a detrimental effect on the country far into the future. Better health services, better educational facilities and better infrastructure all require better public finances. The objective must be to inform those who may not be fully aware of the issue: please help by informing one such person today.
• Take the “That’s Our Gas!” quiz in the YouTube video and pass on the link.
• The attached file “That’s Our Gas!” contains two flyers. Distribute these in person, by e-mail or post in some public area.

3. Contact your public representative. They are there to represent us. There are many ways to contact them and the following ways are listed in order of increasing effectiveness:
• Write to your TD
• Call your TD
• Visit your TD
The attached file “That’s Our Gas!” gives contact details for TD’s. www.contact.ie is another way to communicate with your TD’s via e-mail. The file also contains a suggestion for a letter that could be used.
Note that Éamon Ryan is the Minister with responsibility for this area while Conor Lenihan is Minister of State. Simon Coveney is Fine Gael’s speaker on these matters as is Liz McManus for the Labour Party. Also note that Royal Dutch Shell was included in the Register of Interests for 2008 of Seán Haughey and Edward O’Keeffe.

4. Write to, or contact, your local newspaper. The file also lists 60 newspapers from around the country with circulation and contact details. The basis for this list is an Audit Bureau of Circulations Report.

Bear in mind that any newspaper published by Independent Newspapers Ireland is owned by Independent News and Media PLC (INM). Tony O’Reilly, who is the largest shareholder of INM (and a former Chief Executive) with a shareholding of about 28%, also happens to be the Chief Executive of Providence Resources which is an oil and gas company active in Ireland and in other locations around the world. In his biography, he is quoted as saying that it is a “simplistic public notion that Irish oil and minerals belonged to the Irish people at large.” INM also owns part of the Sunday Tribune.

5. Write to, or contact, your local radio station. The file also lists 41 radio stations from around the country. This is by no means all stations but could be used as a starting point to attempt to increase awareness of the issue.

The exploitation of Ireland’s resources is a very important issue facing the country. It is, unfortunately, an issue which many people are unaware of and one which doesn’t receive the attention it deserves. Our leadership has not represented our interests as they should have and as things stand now we are not going to benefit as we should. Ask yourself, if you found gold in your back garden would you give it away so easily?

We owe it to ourselves and to future generations to do all that we can to alter the terms at which our exploration rights are granted. All Irish people need to lend a hand as this affects all of us.