"About 120 protesters outside Mullingar station Ming Flanagan, Maura Harrington, etc. Supporting McCabe. M" - Ex-Garda Commissioner Callinan
"You can judge a man by his friends" Brian Purcell - SG of Dept of Justice
"Some shower Brian" Callinan
In 2006, the Department of Communications, Energy & Natural Resources (DCENR) estimated that the amount of gas and oil off Ireland’s west coast, is a potential 10 BBOE (billion barrels of oil equivalent). Based on the average price of a barrel of oil for 2010 of $80, this works out at $800 billion, or €600 billion.
A 2007 report by the United States Government Accountability Office found that only Cameroon took a lower share of the revenues from its own oil or gas resources than Ireland. In December 2010, Brian Ó Catháin, who previously was in charge of the Corrib Gas Project stated he expected “that Corrib will never pay tax”.
As it currently stands Ireland has no control over how oil & gas found on Irish land and waters is used. Even with the world-wide recession, oil prices have risen steadily for the last 2 years. Despite this the Government seem intent on giving away control of these resources. In 2011, the Government hope to open up over ¼ million square kilometres to the oil companies for exploration.
Shell have received an unprecedented Compulsory Acquisition Orders (CAO) over land in Glengad and Aughoose despite some of the landowners being totally opposed to Shell's plans for the area. Shell are proposing to put up fencing and engage security to keep people off their own land.
The unique high pressure raw gas pipeline runs through a community close to houses, schools and crosses a main road. An Bord Pleanala initially refused to give permission to over 2/3 of the pipeline that Shell suggested but eventually gave permission to the most dangerous part of the project at Glengad after lobbying from the Department of Energy.
Shell have been granted permission to lay a 5km long tunnel with a diameter of 4.2m through an area that has been designated as a Special Area of Conservation under EU law.
Political Parties Stand on the Issues
Fine Gael Policy – Past & Present
Jim Higgins – Fine Gael MEP - 5th July 2001
"I'm at a total loss to know as to why the government is so benign, so benovalent, and so generous in terms of dealing with oil companies and effectively in my opinion selling the family silver because that is really what's happening here”
“If you’re giving a far a more generous set of terms and conditions than other jurisdictions are giving in terms of the development of your natural resources, one has to ask why and I'm at a loss to know why"
Leo Varadkar – Fine Gael Energy Spokesperson - 3rd November 2010
“We have no plans to change or review the current tax regime for oil and gas.”
Labour Policy – Past & Present
Dick Spring - 20th October 1987 – the leader of the Labour Party
“We will now, as a result of the changes this Government have made, get absolutely no return whatever from the development of any foreseeable oil find .....
What is most serious about this development is that there has been, up to now, a certain level of national consensus about how we should view our natural resources — even parties that did not really believe it were prepared to pay lip service to the notion that the natural resources of Ireland belonged to the people of Ireland. In the breaking of that consensus, and in their cold-blooded decision to give those resources away, Fianna Fáil have committed what I have already described as an act of economic treason, one for which I believe they should not be forgiven by the young people and by the people at large.”
Liz McManus - Labour energy spokeswoman – in November 2007 refused to support a motion calling for the renegotiation of the oil and gas terms saying that it would leave the State open to paying compensation to the oil companies.
For more information see: www.shelltosea.com