We all hope that the oil find is commercial. If the Minister of State receives a submission for piping this oil to Wales, will he give a categorical assurance to the House now that he will reject it?

I have no submission before me. I do not wish to go into speculation or answer questions that are superfluous in many regards. Obviously, the question of piping to Wales does not arise as far as I can see at the present time.

As the Minister put such emphasis on the commercial viability of the find and as previous finds have been declared non-commercial, could he indicate that the decision in relation to whether it is commercial will be related to Ireland's needs rather than to the needs of the multi-national companies who control the wells and who carried out the exploration, and the question of whether they are commercial in terms of world markets will not come into the consideration of whether they are commercial? Will the Minister only take into consideration the question of whether it is commercial and worth while for Ireland to have this oil off our shores?

I appreciate the import of the Deputy's question. It is up to the consortium who have this licence and who have drilled the wells to decide if it is commercial or otherwise. I should add, however, that there is as much an incentive for the consortium to declare it commercial as there is on the Government to have a commercial oil find. It is costing millions of pounds to explore and, quite obviously, they would be more than anxious to recoup their investment as quickly as possible. I do not see any major conflict in this area. Of course, my Department have their own Petroleum Affairs Division and have their own experts. We will be as well informed as the consortium regarding the field and its commerciality or otherwise.