Corrib gas pipeline - Report may vindicate protestors

AFTER languishing in jail for 94 days in defiance of the forces of the giant Shell oil company and the State, the Rossport Five will take heart from an independent report which appears to vindicate their stance. Major questions are raised by the analysis conducted for the Centre for Public Inquiry (CPI) which claims the proposed route of the Corrib gas pipeline is not acceptable on safety grounds because it runs too close to people’s houses. Claims that the pipeline cannot rupture from internal corrosion “need to be seriously challenged and investigated”, according to CPI. Earlier this year, the five men were imprisoned for contempt of court for refusing to obey a High Court order not to interfere with the construction of the pipeline. The Government’s role in the pipeline is open to question because, as revealed under the Freedom of Information Act, the Taoiseach and fellow ministers gave Shell an assurance they would lean over backwards to fast-track the venture.
Corrib gas pipeline - Report may vindicate protestors
AFTER languishing in jail for 94 days in defiance of the forces of the giant Shell oil company and the State, the Rossport Five will take heart from an independent report which appears to vindicate their stance. Major questions are raised by the analysis conducted for the Centre for Public Inquiry (CPI) which claims the proposed route of the Corrib gas pipeline is not acceptable on safety grounds because it runs too close to people’s houses. Claims that the pipeline cannot rupture from internal corrosion “need to be seriously challenged and investigated”, according to CPI. Earlier this year, the five men were imprisoned for contempt of court for refusing to obey a High Court order not to interfere with the construction of the pipeline. The Government’s role in the pipeline is open to question because, as revealed under the Freedom of Information Act, the Taoiseach and fellow ministers gave Shell an assurance they would lean over backwards to fast-track the venture. Obviously, it is in the national interest to develop the Corrib gas field as early as possible. But that should not be achieved at the expense of public safety.