asked the Minister for Energy to whom the profits on petrol and other oils distributed during the strike by Army personnel under the aegis of his Department will accrue; and the estimated amount of profit involved.

: It is the intention of the Government that the total cost of involvement by the Defence Forces in distribution of petroleum products during the recent industrial dispute in the industry should be recovered from the oil companies concerned. The amount to be recovered, which will take some time to calculate, will be related to actual costs and not to profits.

I am not in a position to estimate the amount of profits made by the oil companies on the products concerned.

: Can the Minister say how he proposes to recover these costs if the oil companies refuse to cough up? Is he on record as saying that when the emergency distribution arrangements were inaugurated there was no financial agreement with the oil companies?

: I did not say that but the substance of what I said might amount to that. I said a lot of accounting would have to be done when the dispute was over but that that was not my priority at the time but something we would worry about later. If the Deputy is worried about what is to be done if the oil companies refuse to pay I suggest he waits until that happens.

: In order to calculate for ourselves the amount of profit involved could the Minister indicate the amount of petrol distributed during the period under the emergency regulations?

: During the period 1 to 14 October the Army moved 11.4 million gallons of petroleum products. The Deputy will appreciate these were not all petrol.

: The question refers to petrol and other oils. Am I to take it from the tenor of the Minister's reply that he regards it as perfectly acceptable for the oil companies to make profits above the net costs of the operation on the oil distributed during this period?

: I do not understand how the Deputy can arrive at that conclusion as I do not know the figures and I assume he does not.

: They did not make a loss surely?

: I do not know.

: Next question, please.

16.