An Open Letter to Minister Ryan

national | consumer issues | opinion/analysis Saturday April 04, 2009 04:19 by Concerned Irish Citizen

This is a copy of a letter that I sent a few days ago to the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Mr. Eamon Ryan. This letter was copied to all TD's, Senators and MEP's. The response I received from Mr. Ryan's office was that "the Minister of State, Mr Seán Power, T.D., has responsibility for this area."

Dear Minister Ryan,

I see that you recently visited New York over St. Patrick’s Day. I hope that you enjoyed the trip and that it was a success from a business point of view. I’m sure you’ll agree that New York is a fantastic and vibrant city with so many interesting things to do. Clearly, it is also a very wealthy city.

Unfortunately, Ireland does not display such wealth and after spending a number of years living in New York I have to admit that, in so many ways, Ireland is such a long way behind. However, it does not have to be that way.

Seeing Ireland from afar offers a perspective that those living in Ireland do not have. My visits home generate a whole range of emotions; joy at seeing my family; happiness while wandering around the beautiful countryside but anger and disbelief when I see our poor infrastructure, temporary school facilities and ailing health system. I cringe when I see what is, knowing what could be. I could never understand and reconcile these shortcomings with the much vaunted success(!) of the “Celtic Tiger”.

You may be wondering what this has to do with you; well, let me get to the point! You are the Minister charged with overseeing the exploration and exploitation of our natural resources. We have found some in the last few years and may find more as time goes on. However, we as a nation will gain little if anything from these finds; I am referring specifically to the Corrib gas field. Why do we have to hurt so much while companies that are bigger than our own country take the spoils? Why do we make life difficult for ourselves? It angers me very much to imagine the Boards of Shell, Statoil and Marathon laughing at the stupid Irish people while we fall over ourselves and bend over backwards to facilitate them.

Our original offshore exploration terms were set out in 1975 by Minister for Industry and Commerce Justin Keating. These were subsequently altered in 1985 by Minister for Energy Dick Spring, in 1987 by Minister for Energy Ray Burke and in 1992 by Minister for Finance Bertie Ahern. Mr. Burke has since been convicted of receiving corrupt payments and was sentenced to six months in jail.

You were not responsible for these decisions and should not feel compelled to stand by them nor reluctant to alter them. Clearly, past Ministers have had no problems diluting terms and short-selling Ireland. There is no reason that the opposite cannot also be the case. I would like to draw your attention to Article 10.1 of the Constitution and more specifically to the two following passages from the briefing document prepared for you when you became Minister in 2007.

“To maximize the benefits to the national economy from exploration for, and production of indigenous oil and gas resources…”

“Strategic objectives are to maximize the level of petroleum exploration and production activities in Ireland and optimize the returns to the State from such activity.”

Clearly, I am focusing on maximizing the benefits to the State. You might retort that you have a competing goal of promoting exploration and making Ireland investor friendly. Agreed, but can I draw your attention to the following passage from the report “The Great Corrib Gas Controversy” - an excellent report - prepared by the Center for Public Inquiry in 2005.

‘Although the 1992 terms were supposed to improve conditions for exploration, oil companies only drilled 26 exploration wells between 1993 and 2004, compared to 100 exploration wells between 1975 and 1992.”

And as for making Ireland investor-friendly: I would question the point in creating a friendly environment for investors if our own interests become secondary to theirs and if the benefits accruing to the nation are so insignificant?

Minister, I urge you to stand back and look dispassionately and objectively at this. You said it yourself in 2002, “We need to change the current policy of letting the exploration companies have their own way in Irish waters and start setting the same standards which other sovereign governments seem able to enforce.” You have the authority to renegotiate this deal and to right this extreme folly, and now would be an apt time to do so. Should you do so, in this time of leadership-deficit, you will be lauded and can be assured of the support of four million people. Yes, the oil companies will not be happy – but you represent the people of Ireland, not them! They’ll get over it, just like the energy companies did in Bolivia, Ecuador, Russia and Venezuela. Additionally, let me remind you that we already have a renegotiation-precedent in an Irish context: In 1985 Marathon sued Bord Gáis to allow them to renegotiate terms.

Wouldn’t you like to live in an Ireland which was more affluent? Wouldn’t you like to live in an Ireland where public services and infrastructure were not sub-par? Wouldn’t you like your children to grow up in an Ireland with more hope?

Mr. Ryan, allow me to use an Americanism. It’s time to “step up to the plate” and to maximize the benefits to the national economy, just as your Ministerial brief directed.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours Sincerely
A Concerned Irish Citizen