IRELAND'S coastal environment will be protected during the development of an offshore oil industry, the Minister for State for Energy, Mr Emmet Stagg, has promised.
The environment "will be here long after the oil has gone" and the Government aims to "strike a balance" between protecting coastal resources and oil production, the Minister promised. He was speaking in Trinity College Dublin this week at the publication of an environmental appraisal of the west coast.
The State had formulated stricter licensing conditions than those applying in the North Sea, said the Minister. It was not in the oil companies interests to breach safety and environmental regulations. "We trust them because we watch them," said Mr Stagg.
The study, The West Coast of Ireland: An Environmental Appraisal, was commissioned and published by four companies which have exploration licences in the Slyne and Erris troughs - Texaco, Enterprise Oil, Statoil UK Ltd and Kerr McGee.
It carries no recommendations and does not directly assess the impact of offshore oil production.
Carrying data on existing resources, including commercial fishing, aquaculture and tourism, the study says the importance of the western coastline to both Ireland and Europe "cannot be overestimated" in environmental, ecological and recreational terms.
Paying tribute to the operators' initiative, Mr Stagg said it was one of three environmental studies undertaken.
