A chara, – With reference to letters from Messrs Padraic MacCana and Mark Garavan and article by Andy Storey, (Opinion, June 19th) may I be permitted to make a few points?
In referring to the sinking of Mr Pat O’Donnell’s boat and the presence of an inflatable life raft Mr MacCana makes no mention of the fact that another one of Mr O’Donnell’s boats was nearby at the time, which was fortuitous in the circumstances.
I am sure the full picture will emerge in time, if all co-operate with the Garda. This does not appear to be the case at present. Strange, is it not, why no mention is made of the damage to quarry owners who supply Shell, over the same few days, and the digging up of greens at Mulranny golf course, accompanied by Shell to Sea slogans. One even has to search assiduously in some media to find references to these occurrences.
In regard to Mr Garavan’s assertion regarding the danger of the proposed pipeline, may I draw attention to the fact that an Advantica Independent report stated three years ago that there was no danger involved in a pipeline at 144 bar pressure which has been accepted by Shell.
Can Mr Garavan tell us where such ruptures have occurred in so far as Shell is concerned? In the Netherlands, which is the best comparison, pipes run much nearer to dwellings and no Armageddon occurs.
Of course no one can plan for earthquakes, tsunamis or whatever which Shell must, it seems, take into account for the Corrib gas project with the bar being set so high.
Mr Storey’s article is a different matter. Shell to Sea’s campaign was about safety and “what we have we hold” in regard to possession of the locality. The tax regime, while appearing to be generous, did not result in a rush of applicants for this project – in fact only two applied given the issues involved.
Make no mistake, it is the State itself, not Shell, which is now being challenged, and a lot of people from home and away await with interest the outcome, because whether we like it or not we still depend on the multinationals for jobs and well-being, especially in the present circumstances. – Is mise,