Corrib Gas to be raised on Cork City Council

national | anti-capitalism | press release Saturday July 11, 2009 10:43 by Workers Party (Cork) - Workers' Party tedtynan at gmail dot com (086) 1908281

Motion from Workers Party councillor Ted Tynan

A motion calling for an inquiry into the Corrib Gas Project has been put down by Councillor Ted Tynan and is on the agenda for next Monday night's meeting of Cork City Council (13.07.09).

Councillor Ted Tynan (WP)

Councillor Tynan has tabled the motion in an attempt to widen the debate on the ongoing situation in North Mayo where the Shell corporation, with the full support of the government, is constructing a gas refinery and high pressure pipeline in the Erris Peninsula despite widespread local opposition and concern about the safety of the project.

Cllr. Tynan said that although North Mayo is a long distance from Cork City the situation at Erris is a national issue as is the scandalous deal which denies State billions of Euro of vital revenue at a time when the economy is in crisis.

The full text of Councillor Tynan's motion is as follows:-

NOTICE OF MOTION TO CORK CITY COUNCIL

“That this council express concern at the ongoing harassment of the small community of the Erris Peninsula in North Co. Mayo and the seemingly inexhaustible expenditure of state resources to further the aims of the Shell Oil Company and its associates in forcing a high-pressure pipeline and onshore gas refinery on the local people.

In particular this council is alarmed at some of the tactics being used to prevent dissent from the local community, ranging to manhandling and beating of protestors to the imposition of a curfew on the tiny village of Glengad and requiring villagers and visitors to the village to apply for permits to go about their normal daily business and visit their homes and neighbours, bringing about a situation which borders on a state of martial law.

This council is also seriously concerned at the involvement and activities of private contractors working as security on behalf of Shell. The recent allegations concerning one contractor and the fact that two of its former staff members who had worked in Erris were killed in Bolivia recently and have been accused by the Bolivian authorities of involvement in an attempted Coup D’etat need to be investigated independently within this country. Council further questions the motive behind, and the legality of the granting to Shell the use of a Compulsory Purchase Order, to acquire the lands off residents who are on the route of the proposed pipeline – the only private sector development in the history of the state to be granted such powers.

We also deplore the fact that Shell are illegally proceeding with the laying of the pipeline despite the fact that it is still the subject of appeal to An Bord Pleanála and we call upon the Minister for the Environment to instruct Shell to desist immediately from further work on this pipeline.

This council believes that the Corrib Gas Project has been a bad deal for Ireland. One of our most precious resources – a major offshore gas deposit – has been literally given away for nothing to Shell and its associated companies. Ireland’s oil and gas deposits have been estimated by our own government as being worth in the region of €540 billion. This would be a huge benefit to this country and would reverse the current economic decline overnight. Instead of utilizing this resource on behalf of the Irish people and investing in hospitals, schools and other essential services, the state has practically given this resource away for free, giving Shell and other multinationals a deal which they can get in no other country. Ireland receives no royalties whatsoever from Shell for our gas, the state has no stake in the venture and at 25%, the corporate tax charged to Shell is one of the lowest in the world. Contrast this with Norway where the state owns the exploration company (Statoil) and charges 78% corporate tax; or even Nigeria which charges 30% tax, has a 55% share in the enterprise and charges 8% royalties. On top of this the Irish taxpayers are paying for a massive policing regime to force the pipeline and gas refinery, over which many safety questions have been raised, onto a community that is genuinely afraid of this project.

This council believes it is time for a total re-examination, not only of this project, but of the overall relationship between this country and the multinational corporations involved in exploration and processing of gas, oil and other resources”

Cllr. Ted Tynan

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The motion is on the agenda for next Monday's public meeting of Cork City Council which starts at 5.30pm in City Hall.