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Quotes

Betty Schult

"This brutal change of our lives has been forced on all of us, nobody can escape the reality of what happens when a multinational succeeds in manipulating a Government, and when greed and recklessness seem to rule."

— Betty Schult - on the Occupation of the area

Nnimmo Bassey

"It will come to a point when we will be liberated and when ecological crimes will have to be rated the same as war crimes.  Ecocide has to be recognised and Shell and Government should be held liable for crimes against Mother Earth around the world"

— Nnimmo Bassey - Nigerian environmental campaiger

IRMS

"Covert Camera Not in Box I-RMS 10"

— IRMS security guard as recorded in leaked IRMS notebooks

Banner at James Price Point, Australia

"Morality is doing what's right regardless of what your told

Obedience is doing what your told regardless of what is right"

— Banner protesting against the building of a Gas plant in James Price Point in Australia

James Laffey

"There is a rich irony in the events of last week.  Locals involved in the Corrib Gas protest have received criminal convictions for blocking roads.  But when Shell blocks a road it is slavishly faciltated by the local council and up to 150 gardaí - all paid for by the taxpayer."

— James Laffey - Editor of The Western People

Maura Harrington

"This tunnel boring machine means the rape of the environment and the rape of our natural resources. That Shell is using armed protection from the state means we live in a banana republic. Where you have occupation you have resistance."

— Shell to Sea spokesperson Maura Harrington

Colm Rapple

"All the costs are deducted from revenue before declaring a taxable profit.....In effect, therefore, the taxpayer will be subsidising Providence's ongoing exploration programme, including the well planned for the Kish bank offshore Dalkey in south Co. Dublin.  But we won't be getting any ownership stake in anything found there either."

— Colm Rapple discussing Providences' oil find in Barryroe - Irish Daily Mail - 26th July 2012

Betty Schult

"But in my view we do not own fundamental rights as human beings just because we exist. Our human rights were not given to us by a higher power; they were recognized and declared by people like you and me. If ordinary people in ordinary communities like ours do not keep using them, claiming them all the time, if we neglect to improve and expand and practice them, then we will lose them."

— Betty Schult - local resident speaking at the Peoples' Forum entitled "Human Rights in Erris"

Gerry Coyle

"Rules and laws are made by people and rules and laws can be changed by people"

— Gerry Coyle - Fine Gael county councillor from Belmullet

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh

"His only concrete statement was that he did not wish to be negative or undersell Ireland as a location for exploration investment, but he is underselling Ireland. Is he acting on behalf of citizens or the oil companies? His statement today and previous statements seem to place him on the companies’ side."

— An Seanadóir Trevor Ó Clochartaigh, Sinn Féin replying after Pat Rabbitte's speech on oil and gas exploration