Our goal…
The goal of Own Our Oil is to get a better deal for Ireland from the licensing of our oil and gas resources. This has the potential to define Ireland's future and it's up to us as a nation to determine whether or not it's for the better.
Every generation has its defining moment - its own Everest to climb, its own Waterloo. Right now we are witnessing a situation unfold which will most certainly determine the financial landscape of Ireland - for better or for worse, and it is up to us here and now to influence that outcome.
We, the citizens of Ireland, are currently standing by and watching as our country is being ransacked and stripped of its petroleum wealth. Shockingly bad decision making by subsequently discredited politicians a quarter of a century ago are now returning to haunt Ireland. The onus is on us to act now to secure the country's future for the generations to come. If we fail to do this, history will prove us to be the generation that not only betrayed the sacrifices of our forefathers, but also stood idly by and did nothing to secure the future of our children and our children's children. We simply can't let that happen.
We won't even have the comfort of saying that we knew no better. We used to have an appropriate licensing system - one that served us, the people of Ireland. That is no longer the case. We need to change this and we need to change it now.
Any change would be an improvement. As it stands, Ireland is not guaranteed to get any benefit from private exploration and extraction of our own resources. Imagine what we could achieve by securing a proper deal: the schools, hospitals, rehab facilities, social housing, R&D, and infrastructure that we could build.
The potential value makes the bank bailouts seem like small change. In the 1960s, Norway was a poor agrarian society. Corporations offered to buy exclusive rights to oil that wasn't yet sure to be profitable, at a tempting but terrible deal for Norway. Their politicians saw through this and secured a much better deal for Norway's citizens. Today, Norway enjoys one of the highest living standards in the world and has a state pension fund worth over $650 billion.
Imagine it. Together, we have to make this happen for Ireland. Nobody else will.
1.To become a national, citizen-led and politician-free citizen advocacy group campaigning to overhaul Ireland’s oil and gas licensing terms, returning control of our natural resources to the people of Ireland so that all can benefit from these resources.
2. To maximise the benefit to the people of Ireland of their natural resource endowment by adopting best practices globally, across all the required competences from environment through to sovereign participation with private industry at the optimum level to bring about new industry infrastructure, onshore job creation and security of supply.
... that is the question that we have asked and we are delighted to say that in a short timeframe of a couple of weeks, thousands of people have stood up to the mark to be counted and the number is growing every day.
We have received great ideas, insights, encouragement and support from all over Ireland and from further afield. For that we thank you all, but we must keep growing rapidly and spreading the word - it is getting through to people quickly and soon it will be getting through to our politicians. Everyone can help in this first and most vital task of adding to the numbers of people who want a better deal for Ireland from our oil and gas licensing terms.
We are pooling the volunteered insights and expertise to put them to their best use. You can be part of this from square one. Please make sure to register your interest and any insights on our registration form so that we can be sure not to leave you out as developments arise. Thank you.
Ireland's history is littered with examples of poor natural resource management. Our oil licensing mismanagment stretches from the 1950s to today. We now stand at a crossroads, with the opportunity to make amends.
However if we don't act urgently, we will look back and wonder why...
"There will be jobs, loads of jobs….” This is a myth. Oil prospecting companies are under no obligation to create Irish jobs under the licensing terms. Jobs will likely be filled by skilled workers from overseas while refining of oil will probably be carried out in the UK or Holland.
Under the current licensing terms we have no ownership over any oil found nor do we have any guaranteed supply rights to any oil or gas discovered in Ireland. If oil is found, it will most likely be sent directly to overseas refineries.
Thank you for your interest in this vitally important issue for Ireland.
We are just in the process of getting set up, but a lot of work has been done in the background already. However, we need your help and input. We need local communities to get involved and get informed of the issues. Please contact us to let us know what your thoughts are and together we will make this happen.
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