Safety firm announced but it's too little too late.

Statement from Shell to Sea
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Ref: Announcement of Independent Safety Review of Corrib Onshore Pipeline

This limited safety review is the 3rd attempt by the Government and their partners Shell & Statoil to give a clean bill of health to a project that is fundamentally flawed, unprecedented and potentially lethal. The one time this project was fully reviewed in its entirety the inspectors of an bord pleanala emphatically rejected and rubbished this project as currently proposed. Now we have the government and Shell awaiting another narrow report so it can be used in their arsenal of propaganda and spin in the hope it will advance their potentially lethal project.

This project must be completely reviewed in its entirety from terminal to Sea with comprehensive terms including design, terminal location, “kill zone” size along with the expected numbers of fatalities that would occur in the event of a rupture from this pipeline.

We demand the government and their partners Shell & Statoil immediately release the 5 honourable men they have imprisoned for 58 days so dialogue can begin and this impasse can be resolved. The government would be well advised to stop writing and commissioning reports for a project that is going nowhere until it has the consent of the local people.

Dr. Mark Garavan
For verification call Dr. Mark Garavan: 087 9023687 “Shell to Sea” Spokesperson

Pipeline protestors: No confidence in safety review26/08/2005 - 11:11:36 Online.ie Opponents of the planned Corrib gas pipeline say they have no confidence in the latest safety review planned for the scheme.The Government has appointed an international consultancy firm to carry out the assessment within the next six weeks.The company in question has previously worked for Shell, the firm behind the controversial pipeline project in north Co Mayo.The board appointed by the Government to award the contract for the review has insisted there is no conflict of interest, but local residents opposed to the pipeline say this is unacceptable.Spokesman Mark Garavan said: "The company itself is part of the oil and gas industry in Britain. It has worked before for Shell and no doubt will hope to work for them in the future."The latest safety review is being carried out because of local concerns about the previous one, which was carried out by a company owned by Shell.Mr Garavan said local residents who want gas from the Corrib field pumped to an offshore terminal believed the Government commissioned the review to evade its own responsibilities in the area.He said the Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrats coalition was "entirely compromised" due to its support for the Corrib project."Sufficient evidence is already available for [the minister] to make a determination on whether the pipeline is safe or not," he said.

Firm to assess Shell pipeline's safety25/08/2005 - 17:36:00 online.ie A company was appointed today to conduct an independent safety review of the controversial Corrib Gas pipeline in Co Mayo.As five Co Mayo men endured another night in jail over their objections to the pipeline passing over their land, Natural Resources Minister Noel Dempsey said the purpose of the review was to ease the fears of local residents.Shell is currently in dispute with residents of Rossport, Co Mayo, over the proposed onshore gas refinery pipeline passing near their homes.Mr Dempsey said: “The purpose of this review is to meet the concerns and fears expressed by local residents in relation to the safety of the onshore pipeline.“I am satisfied that the company identified by the Technical Advisory Group, Advantica, have the requisite knowledge and experience to conduct this review to the highest possible standards and I will ensure that a communication mechanism is put in place between the local residents and the consultants.”The Government’s Technical Advisory Group chose Advantica from among eight companies that applied after Mr Dempsey’s announcement of an Independent Safety Review last July.The five Mayo men known as the Rossport Five – Micheál Ó Seighin, Willie Corduff, Brendan Philbin, and brothers Vincent and Philip McGrath – have been in Cloverhill prison for more than 50 days after they refused to obey a High Court order to stop obstructing the construction of the pipeline for the Corrib gas field on their lands.Oil giant Shell said it has been considering legal options to overcome the current impasse that has seen the men spend a lengthy time in jail.