Irland burde være mer som Norge( Ireland should be more like Norway)!

Norwegian Day 2007 with Shell to Sea

Syttende mai (May 17th) is celebrated by Norwegians in Dublin to mark the anniversary of the signing of the country’s first constitution, and independence from Sweden.

Of all the countries in the in the world, Norway has one of the highest standards of living. To a great extent, this is because of the country’s natural resources, which are carefully managed through the state company Statoil.

Statoil owns a chunk of the Corrib gas field and is working on getting more gas from under the sea off the west coast, so Ireland's natural resources are also playing their part in raising the living standards of the Norwegian people.

Once again this year, activists from Shell to Sea joined in the festivities, distributing flags and leaflets to the Norwegian people and raising awareness of the fact that the Irish establishment are not doing such a good job of looking after our natural resources.

Here is the text from the leaflets given out:

[Norwegian Flag]
IRELAND SHOULD BE MORE LIKE NORWAY! IRLAND BURDE VÆRE MER SOM NORGE!

Norway owns 25% of the natural gas in the Corrib field off the west coast of Ireland, because the Norwegian government holds shares in Statoil. The profits from the sale of the gas will pay for schools, hospitals, roads, and other projects including pensions, all in Norway.

The people of Ireland will gain nothing, because they own 0% of the gas.

Norge eier 25% av gassreservene på Corrib-feltet på Irlands vestkyst fordi den norske regjeringen
eier aksjer i Statoil. Profitten fra salget av gassen vil bli brukt til å finansiere skoler,
sykehuser, veier, og pensjoner – i Norg!

Folk i Irland vil ikke nyte godt av prosjektet, for de eier 0% av gassreservene.

If you would like to apply for Norwegian citizenship, write to:
Om du ønsker å søke om norsk statsborgerskap, skriv til :

H.E. Mr. Truls Hanevold, Royal Norwegian Embassy,
34 Molesworth St Dublin 2.

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[17th May Leaflet ]

Irland burde være mer som Norge!

Nordmenn feirer syttende mai verden rundt for å markere grunnloven av 1814. Norge har en av verdens høyeste levestandarder, blant annet på grunn av landets rike naturressurser som har blitt kløktig utnyttet gjennom selskapet Statoil.

Det norske folket eier 71 prosent av Statoil, som igjen eier 36,5% av gassreservene på Corrib-feltet på vestkysten av Irland. Dette betyr at norske borgere eier 25 prosent av Irlands gassreserver. På grunn av den irske regjeringens ”generøse” lisenssystem eier irske borgene ingenting, og må kjøpe tilbake sine egne naturressurser til markedspris. Fortjenesten fra gassreservene på kysten utenfor Mayo kommer til å bli investert i Fredrikstad og Oslo, mens prisene for irske forbrukere nettopp har økt med 40 prosent.

Fortjenesten fra irske gassressurser burde bli brukt til å finansiere det irske helsevesenet, skoler, pensjoner, transport og annen infrastruktur. Men som en følge av nåværende ordninger kommer ikke Irland til å oppleve varige bedringer som følge av at landet naturressurser utnyttes.

Folk som har protestert mot Corrib-prosjektet har blitt slått av politiet og sendt i fengsel. Vi ber om at du klager på denne situasjonen til den norske regjeringen, og - om du kan – bruker stemmeretten din til å gi Irland regjeringsskifte den 24. mai.

Syttende mai (May 17th) is celebrated by Norwegians around the world to mark the anniversary of the signing of the country’s constitution. Norway has one of the highest standards of living in the world, partly because of the country’s natural resources, which are carefully managed through the state company Statoil.

The people of Norway own 71 per cent of Statoil. The company has a 36.5 per cent stake in the Corrib natural gas field off the west coast of Ireland. This means that the citizens of Norway will own 25 per cent of the Irish gas. Meanwhile, because of the lrish government's giveaway licensing system, the people of Ireland will own nothing, and will have to buy back their own natural resource at market rates. The profits from gas that lies off the Mayo coast will be invested in infrastructure projects in places like Fredrikstad and Oslo, while gas prices for consumers in Ireland have recently risen by 40 per cent.

Profits from Irish natural resources should be used to fund the Irish health system, schools, pensions, transport and other infrastructure. The current system means that Ireland will see no lasting benefit from the exploitation of its natural resources.

People who have protested against this have been beaten by police and even sent to prison. Please complain to the Norwegian government about this situation, and if you can, use your vote to change the Irish government on May 24th.

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Useful links :
Norwegian Day 2006 http://www.indymedia.ie/article/76116, Press Release with discussion of Corrib deal http://www.indymedia.ie/article/82577,
Norwegian Embassy guide to May 17th in Dublin http://www.norway.ie/culture/events/17may.htm, Applying for Norwegian Settlement Permit http://www.udi.no/templates/Tema.aspx?id=7427, Facts about Norway http://www.norway.ie/facts/facts.htm, Info on Corrib sceme http://www.mayogasinfo.com/, Info on Statoil http://www.statoil.ie/