Our natural resources - Independent oversight is essential

It is almost inevitable that multibillion euro deals between governments and international investors trying to exploit a country’s natural resources give rise to a scepticism or suspicion.

We have had plenty of examples of that, most infamously the deal on the Corrib gas field. The return to our exchequer, rightly or wrongly, seems less than it might be so dissatisfaction or something stronger is provoked. So very much is at stake, especially for a bankrupt country like ours, that it is not always easy to balance the expectations and rights of citizens with the ambitions and rights of those prepared to risk capital to develop resources.

Ideally governments make deals that benefit everyone involved but usually we are left with little more than the inadequate “trust us” assurances from politicians that whatever deal is reached is a good one. Even if the terms are made public many of us are not equipped to decide if the deal is a good one or not. At the very best of times that arrangement was not ideal but now, when so much of the family silver may come under the hammer, it seems a very poor and anti-democratic way to do business, especially as the criteria used to judge projects are predominately commercial.