The Great Gas Giveaway, the sale of Irelands natural resources

Working on a draft statement on the sovereignty Ireland's natural resources to present to the SU. It was decided at the last Exec meeting that the SU would be happy to make a public statement regarding the ownership of our resources. This is a very contraversial issue that is tied in with the shell2sea campaign. Though falling short or issuing a solidarity statement with shell2sea, this is a huge step for student politics in Galway to take a stance on a political issue such as this.
It is understandable that many of the exec are hesitant to be seen in solidarity with shel2sea, their actions and tactics ARE contraversial.
What is important to me is that this Student Unions is not afraid to stand up and fight for a cause that represents and is in the interest of all young people in the country.
Previous Fianna Fail governments have given this country a terrible deal in the selling off of our oil and gas reserves, Ireland has among the lowest rate of tax for gas extraction in the world and is estimated to have significant deposits.

"Dick Spring - 20th October 1987 – then leader of the Labour Party on the introduction of the giveaway terms introduced by Ray Burke which were subsequently improved (for the oil companies) 5 years later by Bertie Ahern.
“We will now, as a result of the changes this Government have made, get absolutely no return whatever from the development of any foreseeable oil find .....
What is most serious about this development is that there has been, up to now, a certain level of national consensus about how we should view our natural resources — even parties that did not really believe it were prepared to pay lip service to the notion that the natural resources of Ireland belonged to the people of Ireland. In the breaking of that consensus, and in their cold-blooded decision to give those resources away, Fianna Fáil have committed what I have already described as an act of economic treason, one for which I believe they should not be forgiven by the young people and by the people at large.”"

From S2S website.

Ray Burke was since charged with and convicted for corruption.

The changes made to legislation were further amended in favour of BIG OIL by the lovable Bertie Aherne, a picture of honesty and intergrity in Irish politics...

Known as the Great Gas Giveaway the changes in Irish Law on 1987 (Burke) and 1992 (Aherne) allow multinational oil companies to;

-Own 100% of the oil and gas they find under Irish waters
-Pay no royalties on it
-Be allowed to write off 100% of costs against tax, including costs incurred outside of Ireland
-Have profits taxed at only 25% (International average is 68%)
-Export oil and gas ouside of Ireland
-Sell to Bord Gais at full market price, the same as imported gas

To me it is quite evident that these conditions while hugely favourable to the oil companies granted exploration and extractin licences, is not very beneficial to the people of Ireland.
OUR natural resources are being exploited here, being taken out from under our feet and we are getting barely anything in return while the multinationals involved are open to making billions of euros in profits.

In a time is economic recession, where all public sectors are facing severe cuts, we are seeing welfare lines through the doors and students are being denied a quality educations, haveing grants cut and reg fees increased, I fiond it hard to believe that the deals made by politican known to be corrupt, with the worlds largest oil companies are not being re-examined.
It is high time that the Great Gas Giveaway was re-looked at and a better deal was negotiated for the people of Ireland for our natural resources.
This is why I am pushing the Union to issue a statement on the ownership of natural resources, because they belong to ALL of us, not some few corrupt politicos to sell off quickly to multinationals to make a bit of short term profit.