Labour demands special Dail debate on Corrib Impasse

national | environment | press release Friday July 22, 2005 17:47 by caf

Broughan demands recall of Dail to deal with Corrib impasse and Dublin Port Lands.

Labour’s Spokesperson on Communications, Marine and Natural Resources Deputy Tommy Broughan has demanded that Taoiseach Bertie Ahern recall Dail Eireann for a one-day session next week to deal with the critical problems which have emerged in Ministers Noel Dempsey and Pat the Cope Gallagher’s portfolio.

Deputy Broughan commented, “The failure of Minister Dempsey and Gallagher to ensure that Dublin Port lands were included in the emergency legislation to amend the 1978 Landlord & Tenant Act is a grave error by the Ministers involved which may now cost the Port and National Exchequer in excess of €300 million on the former Irish Glass Bottle factory lands.

“It is clear that the Chief Executive and Board of Dublin Port warned the Minister last February of the general problem for the port of the consequences of the 1978 Act for Landlords.

“But there is also a second critical port issue which needs to be immediately addressed in Dail Eireann and that is the proposal to sell a tranche of lands (at least 27 acres) near the Point Depot to a group called the Anna Livia Consortium for a proposed National Conference Centre. This sale was sent to Ministers Dempsey and Gallagher for approval at the same time as the Board was apparently desperate to acquire more land by filling in 52 acres of Dublin Bay.

“The third critical issue which must be urgently discussed in a full session of Dail Eireann is the continuing incarceration of the rossport 5 in Cloverhill prison. I visited them this week and they remain determined to stay in prison until the serious health and safety issues of the proposed Corrib pipeline from rossport to Bellanaboy are resolved.

“Minister Dempsey must clearly widen the terms of the independent review to consider all options to resolve the current impasse including the feasibility of an offshore terminal. It is critical that Minister Dempsey should now address Dail Eireann next week in relation to Dublin Port and the urgent and crucial need to resolve the Corrib dispute and permit the 5 decent Mayo citizens to leave Cloverhill and return to their homes and families.”