Why do we give our Oil and Gas to multinationals?

[Toman13]

After listening to the Frontline recently, concerning the Fracking debate, something else occurred to me(well, in all fairness, it was a main talking point: Just forgot about it). Why are we giving our oil and gas to multinationals? We talk of the Gas giving billions to the economy and stopping our reliance on imported resources, but why would either of these things happen? We tax the companies very little, and not only do they sell any finds they get back to us at market price(meaning that we may as well have imported them in the first place), there is also nothing stopping them from selling it anywhere else. I mean, what's the point of risking the environment and destroying local scenery for what's going to amount to no more that a couple dozen of jobs and only a few million euro for resources worth billions? Some say it's because the state doesn't have the resources to extract gas and/or oil. Well, if that's the case, just leave it alone in the ground. It's not going to be a magical solution to our problems, and you just end up causing a lot of worries in local areas. I know that there has being a lot of threads concerning the Fracking issue in Leitrim, but this is about the actual deal we give to companies that make quite a buck from this.

[MacBeth]

If we didn't we'd have to set up a State Energy company and that would be socialist and evil. Better to give it away for free.

[drummed]

Err, pardon the interuption to the mutual love in. But can we have the location and value of the oil and gas please?
Just so we see how much we're losing. No random guessing now, facts and figures only.

[toxic avenger]

Whatever the reason, you can rest absolutely assured that there were never any kickbacks, brown envelopes, or any other kind of disreputable goings on involved in the decision to hand away our country's resources to others. None. Got that? Clear? OK...

[Toman13]

If we didn't we'd have to set up a State Energy company and that would be socialist and evil. Better to give it away for free.

Or leave it in the ground.

[Toman13]

Err, pardon the interuption to the mutual love in. But can we have the location and value of the oil and gas please?
Just so we see how much we're losing. No random guessing now, facts and figures only.

Do I look like an economist to you? Also, tell me why a company would feel inclined to sell everything they find to the people of they country they found it in?

[Toman13]

Whatever the reason, you can rest absolutely assured that there were never any kickbacks, brown envelopes, or any other kind of disreputable goings on involved in the decision to hand away our country's resources to others. None. Got that? Clear? OK...

Just as believable as the government saying that they aren't trying to avoid a referendum on the new treaty......

[drummed]

Do I look like an economist to you?

So you have no idea if there's any oil or gas or where it might be if it exists?
Right, so the point of this thread would be what exactly?

[Bill]

what oil and gas?

[BlackLion]

why do we need oil anyway. what about strapping solor panels to badgers and foxes and get horses to run on giant hamster wheels. you get energy without any flacking