We, the undersigned, call upon our Government, as an urgent priority at this desperate time of recession, to renegotiate the deal done in 1992 with the companies prospecting for oil and gas on the Irish Continental Shelf. This deal effectively gave away the potential profits of the Corrib Gas Field, the Porcupine Basin and Rockall to the shareholders of Shell, Statoil and other energy and exploration companies rather than to the people of Ireland. We demand that the following principles (laid down by Minister Justin Keating, 1975) be revived as the basis of re-negotiation:


*The State, acting for the people as owners of the resources, should be paid for the resources.

*Companies engaging in offshore development on the Irish Continental Shelf should be subject to Irish taxation.

*Since the resources are public property, the State must have the right to participate in their exploitation.

We reject the "patriotic duty" to accept cutbacks on fundamentals of our society (e.g. health, education, social welfare & indigenous industries): we assert it is your patriotic duty to use our oil and gas for the benefit of the people of Ireland, so that the common good may be promoted and the dignity and freedom of the individual assured.