asked the Minister for Energy if the memorandum and articles of association of the Irish National Petroleum Corporation have been amended to allow direct participation in the exploration and development of our oil and gas resources; if any steps have been taken to ensure participation in exploration and development programmes by the INPC; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

The principle that the memorandum and articles of association of the Irish National Petroleum Corporation should be amended to permit them to participate in hydrocarbon exploration and/or development, has been approved by the Government. The actual changes in the memorandum and articles will be implemented at an early date.

As I indicated to the House on a previous occasion, the requirement for the amendments arises because certain companies involved in exploration offshore Ireland wanted INPC participation on a carried basis in licences or options held by them. The Government have decided that the INPC should be permitted to accept these invitations, on condition that the interest is small, that it is carried, and that the corporation are not liable for costs if no development takes place. In the case of a development arising from a licence or option in which INPC have a participating interest any such interest would be subsumed into the overall State participation. Details of the INPC interests will be announced in due course when the necessary formalities have been completed.

The amendment of the INPC's memorandum and articles of association as proposed will provide a mechanism whereby the State may accept these and other offers to participate in the exploration phase of the search for hydrocarbons. Once a commercial discovery has been established, the State already has the right, provided under the 1975 licensing terms, to participate up to a maximum level of 50 per cent in the development.

The Government consider that it is appropriate, at this stage in the exploration of our offshore, that a State entity should acquire firsthand experience of Irish offshore exploration activities without cost to the Exchequer.

Could the Minister say whether the INPC are negotiating or are interested in participation?

Discussions are taking place and it is with that in view that I intend to bring amending legislation before the House.

In view of the fact that the Minister is changing the memorandum and articles, could he say when he intends to bring in legislation to give statutory backing to the INPC? Has he any plans to recruit and train people in the area of oil exploration and development so that we will have native expertise to keep tabs on the various information that flows from multinationals?

There are no plans at present for putting the INPC on a statutory footing. There is ample expertise available in my Department at present in relation to offshore exploration and development.

I should like to believe the Minister but it must have changed drastically since I was in office because it was the view of the Department that we should be taking on experts——

A question, please.

It was the view of the Department that we should recruit experts and send them out to the oil rigs. Perhaps they have been recruited since but I doubt if we have people to match those in the multinationals in reading and testing.