The Rossport Five

I've been following the Rossport 5 story. In case you haven't heard about it, I'll try and sum it up from what I understand. The Irish Government gave corporations the permission to begin offshore oil drilling near Rossport, County Mayo. They also gave them permission to build on locals' private land.

So, the Corrib development began. Shell, Statoil, and Marathon Oil are the companies behind the plan. Basically, unrefined gas will be transported from the offshore field to the onshore processing plant in a high pressure pipeline. The onshore refinery is to be built about 10km inland, on a peat bog.

"The project is the subject of controversy, as the project is being undertaken in a populated area. The village of Rossport is located nearby, and some homes are located less than 200m from the intended path of the pipeline (with a road running within 90m of it). The safety standards for such a high-pressure pipe (345 bar) dictate a 750 m buffer zone (although expected blast radius from a rupture would be 900m). There are currently no plans to ensure this limit is adhered to, with current plans to pass nearby dwellings rather than reroute the pipeline or issue CPOs." [Wikipedia article, 8/14/05]


This shows the proposed development off Erris Head (click to enlarge).

So, the Irish government is allowing these multinational energy corporations to ignore safety regulations in order to make things easier for the companies. The Irish Government has long been encouraging people to "ride the tiger!" (referring to the so-called Celtic tiger economy) and make sacrifices for the greater economic good. In this case, the sacrifice is potentially the publics safety but that doesn't worry the capitalist/consumerist government.

However, it did worry Micheál Ó Seighin, Willie Corduff, Brendan Philbin, Vincent McGrath, and Philip McGrath. These five local residents became alarmed when they learned that the pipeline would be built close to their homes. After the Irish High Court granted Shell the right to access private lands in the village for the installation of the pipeline, the five men refused to give up their land in an act of civil disobedience. The "Rossport Five" and are now being held in Dublin in Cloverhill Prison.

Today, the Rossport Five issued a statement:

We are currently in prison for refusing to allow Shell and their Irish Government partners build a pipeline close to our family homes. Our crime was to refuse access to our lands. We have refused access because of the certainty that if this pipeline as currently proposed ruptures we, our families and neighbours, will die...

To date the dealings of the Irish government in this project have seen our land rights given to a private company, our families and neighbours very lives endangered and the natural resource of the Irish people given away... the government has provided 400 acres of Coillte land and committed the Irish people to finance a gas pipe from Mayo to Galway to facilitate the outward transport of gas to the UK and Europe. The national interest is a myth that has been fabricated by the Irish government and their partner Shell...

We have been betrayed by our government, marginalized by sections of the media and ignored by the ‚?alternative‚? government. Instead it has been the people of Ireland who have sustained us during this time of crisis and personal trauma and who have rallied and continue to rally to our aid ‚? thank you. All we demand is for our families and neighbours to be safe in their own homes - no more no less."
(Read the complete statement here)

Protests are continuing across Ireland. Unfortunately, I'm stuck in Santa Barbara.

Links:
Indymedia coverage | Shell to Sea campaign | Free the Rossport Five campaign

Tags: Rossport Five, Corrib, Shell to Sea

posted by Liam @ 3:00 PM