THE CORRIB GAS FIELD: THE ISSUES

  • The processing plant in Erris, Co. Mayo will be the first in the world to be located onshore. It is to be built on unstable bog, on a hill between two towns.

  • The supply pipeline will be the first in the world to carry raw gas at high pressure over land; its route is through a protected estuary and through private property in close proximity to houses.

  • The processing plant will discharge toxic waste into the estuary, incinerate waste oil on site and discharge the toxins into the air, and dump acidulated water, a known cause of cancer and birth defects, into a lake which is also a source for drinking water.

  • Shell has been granted the power to levy Compulsory Acquisition Orders against Irish citizens, and to have these enforced by the Courts. This is, in essence, a granting of State powers to a foreign multinational corporation (coup d'etat).

  • The Health and Safety Authority declares that the onshore raw gas pipeline is outside their jurisdiction, even though the processing plant itself is not. In other words, Shell employees are protected by the HSA, while Irish citizens living next to a high-pressure gas pipeline are not.

  • Shell-Statoil will benefit from the Corrib gas field for 20 years, for free. The Irish State does not take any royalties and holds no interest in any oil or gas well discovered in Irish waters.

  • The 100-acre site for the processing plant, formerly State forestry land, was given to Shell free of charge by the Government.

  • Shell-Statoil (and any other oil company) can write off their expenses against Ireland's 25% oil tax, wherever in the world the company incurred them, and can backdate these expenses 25 years, so that Irish taxpayers end up funding the oil companies. (Compare this with Norway's regime: 78% tax on oil and 8% royalties, and a national fund against the day when Norway's energy reserves are exhausted.)

The Tara Foundation. http://www.tara-foundation.org

To contact the Corrib Campaigners, go to: http://www.shelltosea.com


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The Tara Foundation

The Tara Foundation

The Tara Foundation

The Tara Foundation

The Tara Foundation

The Tara Foundation

The Tara Foundation

The Tara Foundation