Shell E&P Ireland is seeking a committal order in the High Court today which may result in the arrest of five north Mayo residents who are opposed to the Corrib gas pipeline.
The five - four landowners and a supporter living in the area - have been served with notices of the proceedings, after Shell was granted a temporary injunction last week preventing named protesters from obstructing access to its compound at Rossport, Co Mayo.
One of the five, retired school teacher Micheál Ó Seighin (65), has had a coronary by-pass. Mr Ó Seighin and landowners Philip and Vincent McGrath, Brendan Philbin and Willie Corduff are expected to travel to court today. The group has already tried unsuccessful legal action to halt the pipeline route, which comes within 70 metres of residences.
Independent Mayo TD Jerry Cowley was convening a meeting of Mayo Oireachtas members in Leinster House, Dublin, last night in an attempt to seek a compromise which might avert the arrests. "It's a sad day when people who are in mortal fear of their lives over the safety of this high-pressure pipeline can be arrested for no other reason than this," he said. "Shell hasn't even got all this ministerial consents to install or commission the pipeline, and yet it is being given total control of this area of north Mayo by the Government, and people are going to be sent to jail."
The Minister for the Marine is due to issue a new review of the quantified risk assessment carried out for the onshore pipeline, linking the gas field to the terminal under construction at Bellanaboy, before giving final consent for the pipeline's installation and commissioning phase.
Dr Cowley has called on Minister Noel Dempsey to insist that Shell builds its Corrib gas field terminal offshore, and has called for an independent inspectorate to monitor the €900 million project.
In a written Dáil reply to Dr Cowley on June 21st, Mr Demp- sey discounted the offshore terminal proposal and said his department had sought "alternative concept studies" in Decem- ber 2000. "Those were examined and reviewed in January 2001 by the consultant petroleum engineer advising my department. He advised the department that the developers of the Corrib gas field should not be required to change or consider changing the Corrib development scheme," he said.
