Shell to Sea raise awareness at two teachers conferences in Galway
galway |
rights, freedoms and repression |
news report 
Tuesday April 06, 2010 23:08
by Maura Harrington - Shell to Sea
It is becoming clear to more and more people that this government nationalises the liabilities of their friends yet continues to privatise the natural resources of the state.
Shell to Sea activists from Galway and Mayo have spent a productive two days at both the INTO and ASTI conferences which are taking place in Galway this week.
Delegates to the INTO conference in the Salthill Hotel were treated to a display of Shell to Sea banners on the approach to the hotel. The message of the continued giveaway of our natural resources is being listened to by more and more people as the calamity brought about by the greedy paymasters of Fianna Fáil becomes clear. As Mary Coughlan read her prepared script to a cold reception from INTO delegates today Maura Harrington, who spent 35 years teaching in Kilcommon Parish stood beside her holding up a copy of Shell to Sea's information leaflet 'The Someday Independent' which proclaims 'Ireland strikes it rich: all cuts to be scrapped'.
At lunchtime today the activists continued their information campaign at the ASTI conference in the Radisson Hotel. There was no objection raised to Shell to Sea activists handing out literature within the hotel as delegates made their way to the opening stages of the conference, indeed they were welcomed and discussed in detail.
At both venues it was plain to see that people are not alone angry and disgusted but eager to discuss the scandal of the resources giveaway. The opinion of many teachers who stopped to chat with Shell to Sea is that the government parties have no difficulty in unilaterally breaking contracts with the public service when it is necessary to find the money to save their friends.
It is becoming clear to more and more people that this government nationalises the liabilities of their friends yet continues to privatise the natural resources of the state. At a time of dire current and future economic need the continued giveaway of our oil and gas can only be viewed as negligent and treasonable.
Caption: Video Id: h0X1bNxiHvk Type: Youtube Video
Shell to Sea raise awareness at two teachers conferences in Galway
Comments (11 of 11)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11Maura (and all the rest involved),
Well done on this. It is important to take whatever opportunities present themselves to make this very vital issue more and more public.
One gets the sense that there is, increasingly, an appetite to digest such news. Hopefully, the meal will also energise people.
Again, well done to all involved.
Mark C.
Maura ,You are a very dedicated member of our society who cares about other people and what has happened to Ireland in the last decades; to make this country as it should be with all it's Irish richness.
Not just the selected few, and outsiders who get the wealth of Ireland Natural RESOURCE ! IT WOULD BE GREAT IF THERE WERE MORE PEOPLE LIKE YOU and maybe then this country would be back on top of the world instead of borrowing from every other country. If the Irish Natural Gas which is suppose to be owned by the Irish people, went back to it's rightful owner> The Irish people, then there would most certainly be no cut backs in the Education or hospital closures and maybe roads that would be safe to drive on , Instead of the Gov. Ministers trying to beg off of other countries for jobs an what not. You are always in our thoughts and Prays Keep up the great work.
In other words, the taxpayer gets saddled with the massive debts of the bankers, while our massive oil and gas assets are given away to private companies, despite the fact that Article 10 of our Constitution (Bunreacht na hEireann) clearly states that "all natural resources" within the Republic of Ireland jurisdiction "belong to the State".
Where did our "public servants" (so called) get the authority from to give away what was not theirs to give away?
Where are our constitutional lawyers?
Why is our Judiciary acting against our people?
When will such questions be raised in public?
When will they be answered?
Ireland did not have the technological resources or know-how to bring the oil ashore alone.
(How many Irish people knew how to drill an oil well when the drill bit had to start to bite into ground having already gone at least a mile deep under the Atlantic Ocean?)
So highly specialised and well experienced oil companies with "Know-How" had to be employed.
For sure the deal was too generous to them.
But don't blame Shell.
For several years now, Shell have been consistently acting in a manner which suggests that they have absolutely nothing but total contempt for our written Constitution (Bunreacht na hEireann), and for the several million citizens of the Republic of Ireland who depend on this core legal document for their most basic PROTECTIONS and FREEDOMS under the rule of LAW.
A further major question arises from this viewpoint, which is this: why, in connection with our State-owned oil and gas reserves, which have been valued at 5.4 trillion Euros (please see at http://www.indymedia.ie/article/90909 ), is our Government -- EXECUTIVE, LEGISLATIVE, and JUDICIAL -- doing business with a company which is showing total contempt for our written Constitution?
Does our Government not understand that their doing so is very frightening for many people -- and not just for people in the Republic of Ireland, but for people all over the world, who are similarly dependant on their constitutions?
Shell hire specialists to do the work for them. Shell directors don't know much about drilling and rigging.
But even allowing that they know who to hire, the Irish government could have taken a stake like Marathon or Statoil. They are not operating the field, just sitting back and taking the profits.
When Marathon was involved, they had a tiny office in Cork to deal with their Corrib comnmitments. Now the new Canadian company Vermilion has taken over their their 18.5 per cent share of Corrib, and they are managing without even opening an office in this country.
There is no reason why the state could not have a similar arrangement.
The Irish Government gave Shell the go ahead.
We may agree that the financial terms were daylight robbery.
That was caused by our own elected government.
Not Shell.
.
To "Technologist" at Tue Apr 13, 2010 11:05:
Shell are accomplices regarding the "daylight robbery" you have referred to.
For those who might not know, and "accomplice" is a person (or a group of people, or a company) that "helps another in committing a crime"
Both our Government (all three of its main branches, Executive, Legislative, and Judicial), and Shell, are committing extremely serious crime (in partnership) by providing each other with mutual help and support to violate our written Constitution in an extremely major way: and, so far at least, both parties are doing so with complete impunity.
To violate Bunreacht na hEireann, is to violate the "basic law of the Republic of Ireland" -- as that is what Bunreacht na hEireann literally means.
Now for the very worst part:
NOBODY SEEMS TO KNOW HOW TO STOP THIS CRIME.
"For several years now, Shell have been consistently acting in a manner which suggests that they have absolutely nothing but total contempt for our written Constitution.........."
We know.
Shell operates because it has to generate a profit.
Shell doesn't give a damn about Ireland.
(When Dell pulled out of Limerick they showed that they don't give a damn either.)
For a company to generate a profit is no problem whatsoever, from the viewpoint of the vast majority of people (as far as I know), and it is what all, or almost all, reasonable and normal companies do, or strive to do at least.
However, when companies aggressively and arrogantly pursue profits in ways which blatantly and persistently violate written constitutions in the most major of ways, and when they keep up such behaviour year after year, that is wilful lawlessness of an EXTREMELY SERIOUS kind, which is awash with crime and extreme arrogance, and which makes a complete mockery of the "rule of law" -- a phrase we frequently hear from the hypocritical lips of many of those (from both sides of this particular criminal partnership) who are supporting this particular piece of "daylight robbery": which is happening just at a time when the Republic of Ireland (and its several million citizens) can least afford it.
Shell's history in Nigeria gives us no grounds for trusting them to act ethically.
Indymedia Ireland is a media collective. We are independent volunteer citizen journalists producing and distributing the authentic voices of the people. Indymedia Ireland is an open news project where anyone can post their own news, comment, videos or photos about Ireland or related matters.