The Corrib gas controversy concerns plans by Shell E&P Ireland, Statoil Exploration (Ireland) Limited, Marathon International Petroleum Hibernia Limited, and the Irish government for processing the Corrib gas field, and objections raised against those plans.
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In 1985 Dick Spring modified, Minister for Industry and Commerce Justin Keating's 1975 exploration terms to give a sliding scale of royalties but retained a right to state participation in oil and gas finds In 1987, in a move described by Dick Spring, then a member of the opposition, as "economic treason",[1] Fianna Fáil Minister for Energy Ray Burke abolished all royalties on petroleum and natural gas extraction and removed the state's right to participation.[2][3] He also surrendered the state's atake in the Kinsale Head gas field. In 1992, then Minister for Finance, former Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern extended licensing terms for fossil fuel companies, drastically reduced the tax rate for exploration companies to the lowest in the world.[4] This was compounded by Department of the Marine and Natural Resources tying the fiscal measures into the licencing terms for oil and gas exploration in November 1992.[5] Following the locking in of fiscal measures, into the licensing terms, the licence for the Corrib field was issued in January 1993.
The World Bank puts Ireland at the top (in the "very favourable" category) of its index of countries ranked by how congenial their laws are to oil and gas companies, In 2009 it was also ranked as having the lowest Government take in Western Europe.[6] Sinn Féin called for an inquiry into the Corrib deal as early as 2001.
The controversy has stemmed from many points:
In November, 2000 planning permission was submitted for an onshore terminal at Bellanaboy to Mayo County Council MCC. In January, 2001 MCC sought more information after local concerns are raised. In April a new planning application was submitted. June, MCC seek more information which is supplied in July. The Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, Minister Fahey hosted a public meeting on offshore licensing aspects of Corrib in Geesala, Co. Mayo. In August MCC granted planning permission for the onshore terminal, with conditions. This is immediately appealed to An Bord Pleanala by residents and environmental groups. Also in August Minister Fahey stated that the objectors are holding up progress in the west. The Planning decision according to a Channel Four documentary resulted from "huge pressure" that had been exerted on it. This decision was immediately appealed to An Bord Pleanála (ABP) by local people and environmental groups.[9] In 2002, planning permission for a proposed refinery in County Mayo was refused by Senior Planning Inspector Kevin Moore, of ABP. His report stated: "From a strategic planning perspective, this is the wrong site; from the perspective of Government policy which seeks to foster balanced regional development, this is the wrong site; from the perspective of minimising environmental impact, this is the wrong site; and consequently, from the perspective of sustainable development, this is the wrong site"[10].
Then Minister for Marine and Natural Resources Frank Fahey told the media that this refusal was "just a hitch".[11] He was backed by local Fine Gael TD, now leader of that party, Enda Kenny, but opposed by another local Fine Gael TD, Michael Ring. An Bord Pleanála had asked Shell to examine the less profitable option of refining the gas at sea, but this was not undertaken. In 2002 a Rossport resident failed in a High Court challenge to halt the pipeline.[12]
In 2003 senior executives from Shell sought, and were given, an interview with then Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and other Irish government ministers.[13] Within a week, Ahern met with the board of An Bord Pleanála, who are appointed by the government. In December 2003, a new planning application was made for the same site, together with a peat storage site some 11 km away. This was subject to an appeal to An Bord Pleanála who granted permission in October 2004 attaching 42 conditions.[14] The board decided to ignore many of its own inspector's recommendations. Not long before, a huge landslide swept away the whole surface area of a mountain close to the intended pipeline route.Planning permission was not required for the onshore pipeline under the Gas Act 1976.[15]
In November 2009, An Bord Pleanála ordered Shell to redesign the pipeline and move its route away from homes because it posed an "unacceptable risk". [16]
In 1998 there were complaints from unions about the failure to employ Irish workers on the exploration rig SEDCO 711. Enterprise Oil thought union wage rates offshore Ireland were two to three times higher than in the North Sea. The budget was £20 million for 2008 cumulatively £50 million A spokesman said "Just because there is a big job doesn't mean there is slush to be thrown around for good social causes,"[17] "It is now time for the companies to acknowledge that they have an ethical and moral duty not only to our local regulatory bodies but to the ordinary people of this region to come here and publicly debate all issues relating to their current and future exploration activities off our coastline," said Mr Cunningham [18] The Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, Mr. Frank Fahy, warned that apart from the construction stages very few jobs will be created. Sub-sea technology will be used to bring the gas to land, which lies fifty miles off the Mayo coast, in contrast to the more commonly used production platforms.h:[19] Strong objections are raised to the building of a Gas Terminal from the residents of Ballinaboy and Leenamore. The villagers say all sixteen of their households in the remote villages of are within 1 km of the proposed terminal and that some houses are as close as 360 metres.[20] In 2001 Enda Kenny TD raised, in the Dail,the concerns of the Erris Inshore Fishermen's Association about the effect of the discharge pipe from the terminal at Ballinaboy.[21] In 2003 an offshore terminal was mooted as an optimum solution to the Corrib gas planning crux.[22]
In January Shell sent registered letters to a a number of land owners who were denying the company access to their land, that they would take court action against them.[23]
Following the granting of planning permission, local people started blockading the terminal site and compounds set up for pipeline construction. On the 4th April 2005 Shell obtained a high court order restraining protesters from restricting access to its Rossport compound. In the week of 20 June it obtained a temporary injunction. On the 29th June Shell sought a committal order against five people for breach of the temporary injunction. This led to the imprisonment of the five men who became known as the Rossport Five[24] A 300 km 'Long Walk' from Rossport, Co Mayo to Dublin took place in August 2006 to highlight opposition to the project. It took 12 days.[25]
Integrated Risk Management Services (I-RMS), a security firm employed by Shell, began working in Glengad in the summer of 2008. Security men caused controversy when local journalists reported on them filming children swimming near Shell's Glengad compound in the summer of 2008. Local parish priest Fr. Michael Nallen told media that the security men made his parishioners prisoners in their own area.
On September 9, 2008, Maura Harrington began a hunger strike in protest at the arrival of the pipe-laying ship Solitaire into Broadhaven Bay, and stated she would refuse food until the vessel left Irish waters. She ended her protest on September 19, after the ship was damaged and had to leave Ireland for repairs.[26]
On the night of September 15 2008, an IED consisting of a plastic bag containing a bottle of petrol, a clock and a can of paint was found outside the Dublin HQ of Shell.[27]
The Shell to Sea campaign, which is campaigning to have the gas processed at sea rather than inland, was created during their imprisonment. Pobal Chill Chomáin also oppose the current plans for the project, due to concerns about the health, safety and environmental impact of the onshore aspects of the scheme and cite Shell's record in similar projects.[28] ) Pobal Le Chéile an alliance of small and medium sized local businesses.
The Pro Gas Mayo Group (PGMG) is a small pressure group based in County Mayo, Ireland and successor to the Pro Erris Gas Group. It considers the Shell to Sea campaign to be threatening employment in Mayo.[29] It has three known members, Pádraig Cosgrove (from Bangor Erris),Harry Walsh (from Kilmaine) former non-party councillors on Mayo County Council (MCC)), and Brendan Cafferty from Ballina (a former Garda).
A poll conducted throughout the county by TNS/MRBI on behalf of RTÉ's Nuacht in September 2006[30] showed that 60% of respondents agreed the gas processing terminal should be located offshore, with 23% supporting Shell and the government's decision to build inland. The offshore alternative had strongest support amongst those aged under 49 years, and those residing in Castlebar/Ballinrobe/ Claremorris and Westport/Belmullet areas."
Protest against the current configuration of the project has led to the gas processing terminal building site at Bellanaboy being the most heavily-guarded in Ireland at times, with security assisted by sometimes hundreds of Gardaí. The scale and nature of the Garda Síochána operation has been controversial since force was first used in October 2006 to remove protesters blockading the Bellinaboy site. The Garda Síochána are often described as Shell's police force by protesters due to their treatment of them.
In April 2009, protesters removed sections of fence they asserted were erected illegally. On 23 April, Willie Corduff, a Pobal Chill Chomáin member, was hospitalised in the early hours of the morning after an alleged assault by masked people during a protest at Shell works at Glengad.[31][32][33] I-RMS later confirmed that employees had intended to remove Corduff, but found him standing up, and had him taken away by ambulance when he complained of chest pains.[34]
In an effort to resolve issues, the OECD is to host talks between Pobal Chill Chomáin and Shell Ireland, following a complaint from Pobal Chill Chomáin that the project violates OECD guidelines for multinational companies.[35]
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   | Fine Gael News - Minister should stay out of planning process - Ring - Fine Gael News - Minister should stay out of planning process - Ring |
| | Campaigns » Labour Youth - Campaigns » Labour Youth |
| | Technical details of the Corrib project from Shell's offshore-technology.com - Corrib Gas Field - Offshore Technology |
| | Advantica's review of onshore pipeline - Technical Advisory Group - Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources |
| | Gas Lads - SHELL TO SEA: The West's Awake! |
| | Bitter dispute over gas pipeline - BBC NEWS | UK | Northern Ireland | Bitter dispute over gas pipeline |
| | Buckfastforbreakfast - Blogger: Login to read |
| | Giving our resources to Norway - Information for Ireland or abroad, travel, entertainment listings, sports news, games, puzzles, recipes, TV listings and more- Ireland.com |
| | Shell to Sea protester ends 10-day hunger strike - The Irish Times - Sat, Sep 20, 2008 - Shell to Sea protester ends 10-day hunger strike - The Irish Times - Sat, Sep 20, 2008 |
| | Giving our resources to Norway - The Irish Times - Tue, Aug 30, 2005 - Giving our resources to Norway |
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