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Patricia McKenna attacks government's 'corrupt' gas exploration deals
 national |
miscellaneous |
news report
 Tuesday March 11, 2008 15:29 by Dublin Shell to Sea 085 8185888
Former MEP to speak at Shell to Sea public meeting in Dublin this Thursday
The giveaway of Ireland's natural gas is a far greater corruption than anything the Mahon Tribunal is likely to uncover, according to Patricia McKenna of the Green Party. The former MEP was also critical of her Green Party colleague, Minister Eamon Ryan. She is speaking at a public meeting in Dublin this Thursday, March 13th at 7pm at the ATGWU Hall in Middle Abbey St, organised by the Dublin Shell to Sea campaign. Other speakers include journalist Frank Connolly and Micheál Ó Seighin, one of the Rossport Five. Event notice: http://www.indymedia.ie/article/86541
 Patricia McKenna: critical of Eamon Ryan over gas giveaway
"The media is currently obsessed with Bertie Ahern's personal finances, but they continue to ignore a corruption much bigger than anything the Mahon Tribunal could ever uncover, namely the fact that the Irish Government has conspired with the oil and gas multinationals to rob the Irish people of the proceeds of their own resources," McKenna said.
"Deals done by Ray Burke and other Fianna Fail ministers over the past 20 years have resulted in the giveaway of our natural gas and the attempted streamrolling through a small Mayo community of a highly destructive and dangerous refinery and pipeline," she said. "The gas in the Corrib field alone is estimated to be worth more than €50 billion, and more valuable offshore finds have been made since then."
"Any kind of resources that come from this island should benefit the citizens of the island rather than foreign multinationals. The government is failing to protect the interests of the Irish people and is instead protecting the interests of multinationals."
Cormac McMahon of Dublin Shell to Sea said: "Although Shell has begun building the gas refinery at Bellanaboy in Co Mayo, the company still has no route for the dangerous, high-pressure pipeline which would carry untreated, unodorised gas from the shore to the refinery. When they name their route, they will have to seek permission from local landowners. It's a recipe for disaster. The notion of community consent simply does not figure in Shell's equations."
In April 2007 Justice Mary Laffoy ruled in the High Court that the original pipeline route - through the farms of some of the Rossport Five - could not be used without landowners' consent, effectively making that route defunct.
Patricia McKenna was also critical of her Green Party colleague, Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Eamon Ryan. "The changes in exploration terms announced by Minister Eamon Ryan last October gave the impression that the situation was improving. However, the much-heralded change from 25 per cent to 40 per cent does not refer to the State's share in the gas: that is still zero per cent. It only refers to the tax on whatever profits the multinational declares after writing off all its costs. Secondly, the 40 per cent will only apply to very profitable fields. And thirdly, it does not apply retrospectively to Corrib or any of the other exploration licences already awarded."
"The very real threat of climate change means we should be moving away from fossil fuels, so rather than encouraging more and more gas and oil exploration which contributes to CO2 emissions, the government should be encouraging more use of renewable energy. While there has been a move in that direction, they are still clinging to the dependency on fossil fuels. The controversy over Corrib is an illustration of that contradiction."
The public meeting comes on the eve of the departure of several busloads of campaigners from around Ireland to London for a series of actions at Shell's global HQ on St Patrick's Day. These activists will hold a rally outside Leinster House at 5pm on Friday before departing for the UK.
Trip to London: http://www.indymedia.ie/article/86068
Last month (February 1st), Shell announced record annual global profits of €20 billion, which works out at €385 million per week. The cost of processing Corrib Gas at sea rather than inland has been estimated at €360 million.
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Comments (11 of 11)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11The oil and gas exploration business is so hit and miss and so prohibitively expensive that the Irish governments had to beg established multinational companies to take an interest in Irish fields.
It is only the energy crisis due to dwindling supplies and political instability in energy producing regions that multinational have begun to consider unexploited fields rather than the ones they could depend on which are drying up or are unviable due to political instability.
At any rate very few multinationals exist with the resources and expertise to exploit the Corrib gas field.
The Irish government does not have a clue how to run the health service so the idea that they would know how to drill for oil and gas is preposterous - naturally a multinational exploration company can drive a hard bargain since they hold all the cards - if the back out of the deal the Irish government is left twisting in wind, with oil and gas they cannot get at.
If Ireland nationalised the oil and gas fields, shareholders would pull their money and run while specialists who could make more money in the private sector would cut and run to. Ireland would be left with oil and gas operations they would have no idea how to operate and the multinationals would come back offering to help, on their terms, for a generous contract and a cut of the profits.
The government can't win.
Either the multinationals drill for the oil and gas and make the lions share of the profits or the government has a useless oil and gas field that will forever remain unexploited.
When oil and gas run out in other parts of the world and unexploited field becomes more important and the Irish government will have stronger hand - they will be the gatekeepers.
Will that solve the problem?
Not a bit of it.
Politicians of all stripes whether left or right generally do not go into government out of idealistic concern for the greater good - they do so to line their own pockets.
A multinational faced with inflexible nationalisation ideology will simple grease the palms of the powerful - name their price they will say.
Expecting any other alternatives is expecting the lion to lay down with the lamb.
The exploration company aren't getting the 'lion's share' of the profits, they're getting 100%. That's right, we've given a valuable natural resource away for absolutely nothing other than the promise that they will sell us back some of the gas found at market rates (roughly the equivalent of giving your house away to somebody in return for the promis that they will rent it back to you at market rates).
Have you ever seen a the old cowboy movies?
A remote trapping community living in the rugged mountains discover they are sitting on a mountain of gold ore.
Prospectors come and by agreement they can panhandle in the mountain streams and share some of the profits with the locals.
Then the big mining operator arrive with the monopoly on expertise and they seek to get to work exploiting the biggest desposits deep underground. The local hillbillies cannot hope to match the operational capacities of the big boys but they to ensure they get the their rightful share of the profits. The big boys decide to use some friendly persuasion and cash offers for the properties so they can begin strip mining the entire area. Most of the locals take the money and get out, a few others hold out for a better price and then move on and then one or two people simply refuse point blank to leave confessing no interest in the gold and their love of the mountains and the trapping lifestyle.The big boys decide they have had enough and they bring in some muscle.
The few heroic trappers might hold out, fight off the hired guns but eventually they have had enough and move on but with their pride intact.
You can't hold up "progress."
It's just the world we live in.
Ah, that's the problem. We haven't been watching enough old movies.
But wait, just for a second imagine we're better off watching John Wayne than reading Energy Business Review, can Jim name even one old film of which this is the plot? I think he's just making things up, but I'l be interested to be corrected.
So title, date and director please.
Here's a movie to watch while Jim is trying to come up with one
Some quotes from a new western
Plainview : "I WILL BURY YOU IN THE GROUND"
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Plainview: Are you an angry man, Henry?
Henry Brands: About what?
Plainview: Are you envious? Do you get envious?
Henry Brands: I don't think so. No.
Plainview: I have a competition in me. I want no one else to succeed. I hate most people.
Henry Brands: That part of me is gone... working and not succeeding- all my failures has left me... I just don't... care.
Plainview: Well, if it's in me, it's in you. There are times when I look at people and I see nothing worth liking. I want to earn enough money that I can get away from everyone.
Plainview: I don't want to talk about those things. I see the worst in people. I don't need to look past seeing them to get all I need. I've built my hatreds up over the years, little by little, Henry... to have you here gives me a second breath. I can't keep doing this on my own with these... people.
[laughs]
The big boys have used neither friendly persuasion or cash offers. I'll say it again, 'We get nothing' or, if you find cowboy movies easier to understand, 'We don' git nuffin, dagnabbit!'
Simon Mann is just another anti-hero mercenary, The Man With No Name, The Englishman in The Day of the Jackal, Captain Willard from Apocalypse Now, Kat Shannon from The Dogs Of War, Mad Max and Snake Pliskin from Escape From New York rolled into one.
The world has always and always will be ruled by contesting empires who carve up the world between them.
The slaves get suckered with religion or the latest right wing or left wing fad join the regular armies and die like flies on the battlefield.
The Fools.
The mercenaries are free-lance fighters who are above the fray - who wants to work a 9 to 5 job and die in old folks home when there is action, adventure, suspense, sex and big bucks?
Eventually you get fucked but its your fault not somebody elses.
THE WILD GEESE!
YEAAHH!
There is if one sends them into a Neutral Nation,who you are not at War with ! Simon Mann was employed by Sandline who is registered in the Channel Islands,next door to
"Highland Gold who was thrown out of Manchuria,and Sakalin,after the death of General Alexander Lebdev (Successor to Yeltsin had he lived, and before the Mull Of Kyntyre Helicopter Crash in which the top brass of British Intelligence was wiped out)
Sandline Mercenary Group was used in Northern Eire, Mark Thatcher son of Mrs T
was an instigator of the Equatorial Guinea Military Coup,also aware was Eli Calil,friend of Peter Mandelson,Peter Hain,Jack Straw,these Authors of War and Mayhem are just some of the people who you will be shortly hearing about.( Personally I hope they are all Shot) What is of Interest is the Connections to Northern Eire,not forgetting that Mr Thatcher was the Political Fixer for Oil Companies,this Corrib Gas find it was,nt found last week it was discovered years ago. Peter Hains connection with South Africa and Zimbabwe goes back a long way. If they were Cubans they,d be screaming at the Hague by now,they were already used in the Yugoslavia but were caught,and since they have no Status under THe Geneva Convention,The Articles of War "Duns Scotus"
International Law,or indeed The Vienna Convention or any Convention they were Dispatched in an unmentionable manner. So wherever Natural Resources can be stolen one finds these sort of people they are no different than "The Black and Tans"
G.D.Flynn
The Hague Koninngsrijk der Nederlaands
I wrote this years ago,and they did,nt believe me !
Jim attempts to make the point that the big boys according to old hollywood westerns always win and theres nothing to be done but let them,, and that is that.
I agree in one respect that hollywood and almost all other media seeks to cover up the truth and continnue the exploitation of the richest multinational companies, regardlesss of the human cost.
You would think that weve moved on from those barbaric times but weve gone backwards if the truth be known. Laws have been made, conventions and charters on human-rights have been inducted into law in various 'democratic ' countries, but they have all but been ignored by those supposed to protect them for us- the govt, the church, the EU the UN, local politicians. They have all failed us.
If there had even been the minimilist of support from those who think the same as Jim the situation would be completely different. The outcome would be far more favourable for all-excluding those who seek to profit most regardless of the suffering of others.
People like the Rossport five, Mary Kelly, The Catholic Workers(5), Rosa Parks, people who put others before themselves and put their head over the parapet for us all are a treasure to us and should be an example of what can be achieved by a single person or small group.
We are but a nation of talkers and complainers, anything but doers.
If you are not even willing to write a note of support Jim, why write at all here unless you have an interest in dis-encouraging this struggle.
As by definition will endorse this THEFT by the following Amendments which Supercedes the Bureacht by Quantive Majority Voting and at 26 to 1 it looks like Game Set and Match ! or Check Mate ! and you dont have to be Korshnoi,Carpov,Casparov,or Spasky to work that one out !
Support Sarah and her Team on this one, not for yourselves but for your Childrens,Childrens, Children !
Am I dreaming.?Last night I saw a list of Erris groups who sought and acepted what can best described as digouts from Royal Dutch Shell. The list seems to have disappeared this morning. Could soneone guide me?
Anyway the hawking of digouts by private devlopers is the key to our famous tribunal. Except it was hidden. Imagine giving digouts BEFORE Royal Dutch Shell has made profit and before it has paid taxes to thre Irish State. Srange business that? Do the recipients have courage enough to ask themselves these questions or will the next generation have to do so as in developing countries where corrupt governments took huge unpayable loans the retrun of which every year has crippled these countries. Hawking unearned money is a moral question for the giver and reciever.