Giving away family silver or reaping a bonanza?

Irish onshore and offshore oil and gas reserves could be worth more than €2tn, writes John Hearne

LAST year saw a renewed focus on the possibility of Irish economic salvation lying beneath the rocks in our territorial waters.

About 1.8bn barrels of oil were discovered at Barryroe off the coast of Cork in October. A month later, Petrel Resources said it found a further 1bn barrels in the South Porcupine Basin off the Kerry coast.