"There are more than five people in this whole process"

by JFH Thu Feb 23, 2006 14:26

Minister Dempsey is on record as saying that it costs around Euro21m to drill an exploration hole. It is also quoted in the last few days that Exxon/O'Reilly consortium will spend c. Euro40m to drill a hole. These amounts are small when compared to many wastages/rip off of public money e.g. a posible Euro1,000,000,000 buy out for the West Link. With a little bit more insight and tax incentives (a lá construction schemes i.e. hotels, car parks, rural/city renewal etc), billions of Irish Citizens' money would flow into developing an indiginous Irish Petroleum Industry. As it is billions of Irish Citizens euros are being invested overseas with not a fraction of the return that could be generated off our Western Coastline. The people along our coastline could be involved in an industry that substantially contributes to the National Exchequer. But when it comes to anything to do with water, Dublin dominated institutions get a bout of apoplexy, it just can't handle it! Remember "Floozie in the Jacuzzi", Irish Shipping, Fishing Industry. The only thing that Leinster House can do properly with water is "washing of the hands", resulting in turmoil and the jailing of exasperated citizens from Mayo.

Does anything ever change. Michael Ring TD and Padraic Campbell had articles about hydrocarbons in the Mayo Assocaition Yearbook 2001. Maura Harrington and Mike Cunningham had articles in the Mayo Association Yearbook 2002 on the same subject. Mayo based groups are along time trying to solve this impasse peacefully and for the benefit of the exchequer finances, protection of the environment, supply of oil/gas for the people of Ireland. Great Britain kicked off their oil/gas exploration via nationalised Britoil and British Gas. Every country in the world form their own National Petroleum and Finance Company, and bring in the Multinationals as equal partners, see article "The British and Irish citizens get the worse deal in the world from the exploitation of hydrocarbons around their coastline " in the Mayo Association 2003. The British take from oil/gas exploration fell after Thacher sold off the public interest in the nationalised companies; interestingly, Enterprise Oil (discovered the Corrib Field) with Denis Thacher as a director was set up at this time.The rest of this comment is taken from the Editorial, Mayo Association Year Book 2002, launched in November 2001. With Dubai Ports after buying controlling interests in the major shipping ports in England and the United States, the following piece is not as far fetched as seemed at the time of writing!

"Iraq gave the nomads(culties) from Kuwait the boot!
When the Arab Fundamentalist win control of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, etc. what is to stop them from investing their oil billions in the multi national companies that now have control of our national resources of the rich oil/gas reserves off the West of Ireland? The Nomadic tribes in southern Iraq were once so poor and troublesome that they were kicked out of Iraq. They formed their own self-government, discovered oil, the rest is history! Woe that the same fate did not fall on County Mayo and the West of Ireland! We were kept hanging in there; was it because of the remittances, charitable donations and the international investment that our emigrants could swing Ireland’s (Dublin’s) way?

Local Concerns in Erris and Mayo:
A small group of three recently went on a car tour of Erris on a very wet day. Two of the crew were from the area, but living in Dublin. The third member was astonished at the subsequent conversation. Among the topics covered were the following facts:
• One of the crew was refused planning permission to build a house next to his ancestral home. Seemingly large tracts of land without human habitation was preferable to an increase in the local population.
• The whole place is covered in bog. Saving turf is restricted on much of it.
• Now they probably will not be allowed to hook up to the gas running under their land. The same gas that is mined off their shores by companies whose exploration rigs employ only foreign nationals and are serviced from another country.
• Most families have members who are either working in Great Britain or the U.S.A.
• The locals are not allowed to fish in the majority of lakes and rivers running through Erris. Some fishing rights were still owned by a former Landlord’s descendants. Other owners lived in Dublin (once the second city of the British Empire).
• Lough Conn and Lough Cullin are virtually lost from pollution. These remember were prime trout areas.
• Petrol seems to be dearer than in any place else in Ireland.

Is this for real! Is this not bullying at its most extreme? Why the vendetta against these people? Where are their leaders? It seems that many of the caring environmental laws restrict the ability of the local community to survive in the area, while at the same time allowing certain practices that harm the environment. Ironically, the policy of restricting building development and uprooting of the Bog seems to be turned on its head with the advancement of the proposals for building a gas terminal. See article “Many young men of twenty, if only you were here to do battle for us” by Maura Harrington.

This is a local lady who is not against the exploitation of gas/oil. She is campaigning for a well planned and positively managed strategic environmental monitoring plan, with meaningful negotiations with the locals. She is calling for the same concern for the environment that the Government/Mayo Co. Co. followed and implemented before the Gas question arose. She needs local politicians, to stand firm against the steamrollers from Dublin’s Leinster House, to give her and her supporters some backing."

by JM Thu Feb 23, 2006 20:45 Rossport, Ballina, County Mayo

The Minister's comments this week in the Dail seem to be a symptom of self delusion or even brainwashing.

Three weeks after the mess that is the "mediation" process became an embarrassment to the Government, Dempsey finally comes out of his shell ... and launches a few missiles at those in the west questioning the project. Talk about attack being the best form of defence!

The bullying, intimidating tactics are solely coming from this Government, who are hand-in-glove with the creators of the proposed Corrib gas project.

Could someone please tell Noel Dempsey that peaceful protest and reasoned debate can only intimidate those who fail to understand those same concepts.

by Elaine Fri Feb 24, 2006 02:19

"Gardaí have been called to investigate an incident in Co Mayo after a leading Shell to Sea campaigner was subjected to an intimidating tailgating incident as she returned from a meeting.
Prominent campaigner Maura Harrington reported the incident to gardaí last weekend after the car in which she was travelling was tailgated for several kilometres as she returned from a weekly anti-Shell campaign meeting at Glenamoy."

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