"The Pipeline Is An Experiment And We Are The Guinea Pigs"

mayo | environment | feature Thursday May 26, 2005 22:00 by Terry (Photos by William) info at shelltosea dot com

- Vincent McGrath: Retired Schoolteacher Who Lives Right Beside The Proposed Route Of Pipeline

Today (24th May) the ‘Quantified Risk Assessment’ (Q.R.A.) of Shell’s Rossport pipeline has finally been released. This was sought by campaigners through Dail Questions (from Deputies Ferris, Higgins, and Cowley) and Freedom of Information Act requests (including one by local T.D. Michael Ring). However this is only a new version of the Q.R.A. Versions A,B,C,D and E will not be released, nor will the research documentation which forms the basis of the Q.R.A.

Earlier, in Shell’s case to bring injunctions against Rossport residents and owners of the land upon which their pipeline will go, the President of the High Court described it as “inconceivable” that the Q.R.A.s would not be before the court. This was in reference to the earlier versions.

Meanwhile a review into the safety of the project, commissioned by Minister Noel Dempsey in the middle of March this year, has been revealed to have been carried out by a company, British Pipeline Agency LTD, established in 1969 as a joint venture between British Petroleum and Shell. So effectively Dempsey’s “review” was another tax payer subsidy to Shell!

In related news the Irish Times of Friday May 20th reports that the High Court judge Fidelma Macken has been nominated to the Supreme Court. Macken’s decision on the application for a judicial review of Shell’s development made by Martin Harrington will be made and announced by the middle of June.

While on the ground Shell have re-started, they say, transiting removed peat from the refinery site at Ballinaboy to the bog storage place at Srahmore. This process had been halted due to accidents, the trucks started to roll again on Tuesday the 17th.

The final plans are being laid for the June Bank Holiday Weekend’s Solidarity Gathering in Rossport, north-west Mayo.
There are three core components to the Gathering. On Sunday June 5th at 2pm there will be a solidarity rally at the pier in Rossport. This will include speakers from other communities who are campaigning against planning atrocities. Another facet is live music, including punk, metal and traditional, with Dublin based punks Puget Sound headlining on Saturday night. Feel free to bring ye’r instruments and get stuck in. The focus of activities during the day on Saturday is education. This will include being shown the route of the pipeline and told about what has happened with it to date.
Full details, and travel information

Related Links:
Shell’s Rossport Pipeline: Detailed Analysis.
Photos of Shell to Sea public meeting in Galway.
Photos of Good Friday Silent March in Rossport, Co.Mayo.
Shell undertake unauthorised construction at Rossport.
Shell in Glengad: A Photo Story
Shell in Rossport: A Photo Story

Contact the media spokespeople for more information:
Maura Harrington at 087 9591474
Vincent McGrath at 087 7557244 or 097 88026
Mícheál O'Suighin at 097 88961