THE HIGH Court judicial review of State consents for the new Corrib gas pipeline route was the last outstanding legal action pursued by environmentalists and residents opposed to the project on health and safety grounds.
An Taisce has described yesterday’s settlement as a “victory”, while lead Corrib gas developer Shell EP Ireland has welcomed the clarity which this settlement . . . “provides for the project”.
However, residents of the area, such as Rossport farmers Willie and Mary Corduff, have expressed “deep disappointment” at the outcome.
“The State has admitted failures in its handling of the project, but it appears to be business as usual,” Pobal Chill Chomáin community group spokesman John Monaghan said.
“By the time promised new legislation is in place, the Corrib project will be built,” Mr Monaghan added. “It comes too late for us.”
The legal challenges taken by An Taisce and residents Monica Muller and Peter Sweetman related to the last section of the project, which is estimated to have run to €2.5 billion to date in tax-allowable costs.
In April 2003, An Bord Pleanála inspector Kevin Moore said that Ballinaboy was “the wrong location” for a project of this magnitude in a rural area.
However, that terminal has been built after protracted delays, and the offshore pipeline linking the wellhead 83km west of the Mayo coast has been laid into a landfall at Glengad.
The new pipeline route is the third such option – the first, through Rossport, having been withdrawn after the jailing of the Rossport Five and continued protests, and the second having been redrawn by the developers to avoid Rossport village.
Up to half of this second route was found to be unsafe due to proximity to housing by the planning board in 2009. It directed that the developers examine the third route up Sruwaddacon estuary, approved by it last January after another in a series of oral hearings.
There was never an overall review of the project in its entirety by State authorities, despite pleas by residents. However, former minister for energy Eamon Ryan transferred responsibility for the pipeline’s safety when built from his department to the Commission for Energy Regulation.
An Taisce’s main concern about this latest route was related to the fact that Sruwaddacon estuary is a protected habitat. However, local residents not party to the action still believe the new pipeline route is unsafe. Although it is further from some housing, they point out that it is within 700 metres of a national school at Pollathomas and close to dwellings at Glengad.
Central to the settlement is a pledge by the State to transpose European environmental law into national legislation. The State maintains its consents for the pipeline were valid.
“The critical objective for An Taisce is to ensure what happened in the Corrib project can never happen again,” An Taisce chairman Charles Stanley-Smith has said.
Shell said that the Corrib gas partners – Shell, Statoil and Vermilion – were strongly committed to completing this strategically important project which “has the potential to supply up to 60 per cent of Ireland’s natural gas needs”. The supply will be at full market price.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Showing posts with label Corrib Gas Project. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Corrib Gas Project. Show all posts
Tuesday, 1 November 2011
An Taisce and landowners withdraw Corrib gas action
LEGAL actions brought by An Taisce and others over the manner in which consents were granted for the Corrib gas project have been settled and withdrawn at the High Court.
The settlement includes an agreement by the state to properly transpose aspects of the European environmental impact assessment directive by the end of this year.
Afterwards, An Taisce said the manner in which the project was consented to was "a travesty" of European environmental law and its legal case was about "breaking bad precedents".
Chairman Charles Stanley Smith said the terms of settlement represented "a victory for the environment".
In a statement to the court, the state defendants acknowledged An Taisce’s case was properly brought and said in view of the concerns raised, the state would establish an environmental law implementation group to formally engage with An Taisce.
While acknowledging the failures of transposition, the state said it was maintaining its claims the consents challenged in the legal actions, including a foreshore licence, were valid and were granted "only after all necessary environmental assessment under Irish and EU law".
Mr Justice Peter Charelton was told by Anthony Collins SC that the actions by An Taisce, and a separate action by local residents Peter Sweetman and Monica Muller, were being withdrawn.
The cases, brought against various state parties with Shell EP Ireland and Mayo County Council as notice parties, had been at hearing before the judge for 11 days.
All parties welcomed the settlement.
Mr Sweetman and Ms Muller, of Rossport South, Ballina, Co Mayo, own land 500m south of the proposed pipeline and, with An Taisce, challenged An Bord Pleanála’s decision last January granting permission to Shell & Ireland for its third proposed route for the pipeline.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
The settlement includes an agreement by the state to properly transpose aspects of the European environmental impact assessment directive by the end of this year.
Afterwards, An Taisce said the manner in which the project was consented to was "a travesty" of European environmental law and its legal case was about "breaking bad precedents".
Chairman Charles Stanley Smith said the terms of settlement represented "a victory for the environment".
In a statement to the court, the state defendants acknowledged An Taisce’s case was properly brought and said in view of the concerns raised, the state would establish an environmental law implementation group to formally engage with An Taisce.
While acknowledging the failures of transposition, the state said it was maintaining its claims the consents challenged in the legal actions, including a foreshore licence, were valid and were granted "only after all necessary environmental assessment under Irish and EU law".
Mr Justice Peter Charelton was told by Anthony Collins SC that the actions by An Taisce, and a separate action by local residents Peter Sweetman and Monica Muller, were being withdrawn.
The cases, brought against various state parties with Shell EP Ireland and Mayo County Council as notice parties, had been at hearing before the judge for 11 days.
All parties welcomed the settlement.
Mr Sweetman and Ms Muller, of Rossport South, Ballina, Co Mayo, own land 500m south of the proposed pipeline and, with An Taisce, challenged An Bord Pleanála’s decision last January granting permission to Shell & Ireland for its third proposed route for the pipeline.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Sunday, 16 October 2011
Three separate legal challenges to onshore Corrib gas pipe begin
Judicial review proceedings seeking to quash consents for the Corrib gas onshore pipeline open in the Commercial Court today, writes Lorna Siggins. The three separate challenges are being taken by An Taisce and two north Mayo residents.
Reviews have been granted for the planning permission approved last January by An Bord Pleanála for the latest pipeline route, and for consents issued by former minister for energy Pat Carey and current Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan for the pipeline. Shell EP Ireland is a notice party to the proceedings, as is Mayo County Council. An Taisce was last week granted leave for a judicial review of the foreshore licence issued by Mr Hogan this year, which will be heard.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Reviews have been granted for the planning permission approved last January by An Bord Pleanála for the latest pipeline route, and for consents issued by former minister for energy Pat Carey and current Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan for the pipeline. Shell EP Ireland is a notice party to the proceedings, as is Mayo County Council. An Taisce was last week granted leave for a judicial review of the foreshore licence issued by Mr Hogan this year, which will be heard.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Sunday, 25 September 2011
Corrib work continued despite protest - Shell
SHELL HAS said that all work on the Corrib gas project continued as scheduled yesterday in response to claims by a protest group that a “day of action” had disrupted deliveries to the company’s site in north Mayo.
Almost 20 Shell to Sea protesters had gathered in Aughoose, the preparatory site for the proposed underwater tunnel for the Corrib gas pipeline.
“The day was a success,” Shell to Sea’s Terence Conway said, “because all deliveries have been abandoned. The protests against this project will continue.”
However, the company said it was business as usual.
There were no reported incidents during the protest, which was overseen by a small number of gardaí and members of the IRMS security company, employed by Shell.
Sara Bassiuoni, the Amnesty International-Front Line human rights observer who has been assigned to monitor the response to demonstrations at the Corrib gas project, was also present.
The Pobal Chill Chomáin community group, which opposes the project in its present configuration, was not represented.
Spokesman Willie Corduff, one of five men imprisoned in 2005 over opposition to the Corrib gas project, said that local people were putting their trust in the courts.
A High Court judicial review of permissions granted for the work is due to be heard on October 11th.
The judicial review was sought by An Taisce and local residents into permissions granted by An Bord Pleanála and the then acting minister for communications, energy and natural resources, Pat Carey, for the pipeline and the plan of development under section 40 of the Gas Act.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Almost 20 Shell to Sea protesters had gathered in Aughoose, the preparatory site for the proposed underwater tunnel for the Corrib gas pipeline.
“The day was a success,” Shell to Sea’s Terence Conway said, “because all deliveries have been abandoned. The protests against this project will continue.”
However, the company said it was business as usual.
There were no reported incidents during the protest, which was overseen by a small number of gardaí and members of the IRMS security company, employed by Shell.
Sara Bassiuoni, the Amnesty International-Front Line human rights observer who has been assigned to monitor the response to demonstrations at the Corrib gas project, was also present.
The Pobal Chill Chomáin community group, which opposes the project in its present configuration, was not represented.
Spokesman Willie Corduff, one of five men imprisoned in 2005 over opposition to the Corrib gas project, said that local people were putting their trust in the courts.
A High Court judicial review of permissions granted for the work is due to be heard on October 11th.
The judicial review was sought by An Taisce and local residents into permissions granted by An Bord Pleanála and the then acting minister for communications, energy and natural resources, Pat Carey, for the pipeline and the plan of development under section 40 of the Gas Act.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Sunday, 14 August 2011
Corrib pipeline work to end in 2014
ONE of Shell’s partners in the €2.5 billion Corrib Gas project has conceded that gas will not now be brought ashore until 2014.
Previously, the lead partner in the project, Shell E&P Ireland, had stated that the gas would flow from the Corrib Gas field in 2013 at the earliest.
However, in a statement attached to its earnings for the second quarter of 2011, the Canadian-based Vermilion Energy revealed that work on the onshore pipeline will not be completed until 2014.
Vermilion purchased its 18.5% share of the field from Marathon Oil in 2009. Delays in bringing the gas ashore resulted in Marathon writing down its investment by €203 million.
The writedown is recorded in Vermilion Energy Ireland’s accounts for 2009. The publication of the accounts followed the third partner in the project, Statoil, confirming a writedown of €196m in its quarterly results for 2010.
The Corrib gas partners are now eight years behind the initial target to start generating revenues from the field.
They had hoped gas would be brought ashore this year. However, this was before Bord Pleanála ruled that half of the proposed overground pipeline would be unsafe, resulting in the application for the tunnel.
Enabling work on the subterranean 4.9km tunnel under Sruwaddacon estuary, a special area of conservation, commenced last month.
The work involves building a construction compound from where the tunnel-boring machine will be launched.
The construction of the tunnel involves the securing of the site, the removal of about 65,000 tonnes of peat and the installation of a number of measures to protect the environment.
The tunnelling will commence next year.
Energy Minister Pat Rabbitte last month said building the tunnel will cost €400m.
However, Shell &Ireland declined to comment on that figure, but has said in the past that the cost will run to hundreds of millions.
The company recently received cash injections of €190m as it prepares for the final phase of the project.
The field has one trillion cubic feet of gas and the final spend on developing it is expected to top €2.5bn — over three times the original estimate of €800m.
An Taisce has instituted High Court judicial review proceedings over Bord Pleanála’s decision to give the onshore pipeline the go-ahead.
The case has been adjourned to October and doesn’t impact on Shell Ireland’s ability to proceed with the work as no court injunction has been sought or granted.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Previously, the lead partner in the project, Shell E&P Ireland, had stated that the gas would flow from the Corrib Gas field in 2013 at the earliest.
However, in a statement attached to its earnings for the second quarter of 2011, the Canadian-based Vermilion Energy revealed that work on the onshore pipeline will not be completed until 2014.
Vermilion purchased its 18.5% share of the field from Marathon Oil in 2009. Delays in bringing the gas ashore resulted in Marathon writing down its investment by €203 million.
The writedown is recorded in Vermilion Energy Ireland’s accounts for 2009. The publication of the accounts followed the third partner in the project, Statoil, confirming a writedown of €196m in its quarterly results for 2010.
The Corrib gas partners are now eight years behind the initial target to start generating revenues from the field.
They had hoped gas would be brought ashore this year. However, this was before Bord Pleanála ruled that half of the proposed overground pipeline would be unsafe, resulting in the application for the tunnel.
Enabling work on the subterranean 4.9km tunnel under Sruwaddacon estuary, a special area of conservation, commenced last month.
The work involves building a construction compound from where the tunnel-boring machine will be launched.
The construction of the tunnel involves the securing of the site, the removal of about 65,000 tonnes of peat and the installation of a number of measures to protect the environment.
The tunnelling will commence next year.
Energy Minister Pat Rabbitte last month said building the tunnel will cost €400m.
However, Shell &Ireland declined to comment on that figure, but has said in the past that the cost will run to hundreds of millions.
The company recently received cash injections of €190m as it prepares for the final phase of the project.
The field has one trillion cubic feet of gas and the final spend on developing it is expected to top €2.5bn — over three times the original estimate of €800m.
An Taisce has instituted High Court judicial review proceedings over Bord Pleanála’s decision to give the onshore pipeline the go-ahead.
The case has been adjourned to October and doesn’t impact on Shell Ireland’s ability to proceed with the work as no court injunction has been sought or granted.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Friday, 5 August 2011
Four injured in protest over pipeline completion
MAYO COUNTY Council is drawing up a “futures plan” to try to address the “turmoil” which has engulfed northwest Mayo over the Corrib gas project.
County manager Peter Hynes said an €8.5 million “community gain investment fund” financed by Shell as part of An Bord Pleanála’s conditions for the onshore pipeline route will be administered by the local authority.
Mr Hynes was speaking during the first week of full construction work by Shell and contractors on the final section of the Corrib gas pipeline, which was marked by demonstrations, arrests and injuries to four protesters yesterday.
Gardaí made one arrest during a Shell to Sea “day of action” at Aughoose, attended by up to 80 protesters, 75 private security staff employed by Shell and two dozen uniformed gardaí at the work site.
One man required medical treatment and Shell to Sea said three other protesters were hurt. Two required hospitalisation, with a woman said to have concussion.
Supt Pat Diskin of Belmullet Garda station said an attempt had been made to pull down fencing, but it was otherwise a “peaceful protest”. He denied claims by Shell to Sea that the private security company, I-RMS,was closing roads over the past week.
Three human rights observers deployed by Amnesty International and Frontline, and one separate Table human rights observer, witnessed yesterday’s event, during which three protesters verbally abused gardaí.
The protest began at about 7am, when Shell contractors were due to move equipment to the work site for the tunnel at Aughoose. Up to seven people held a vigil at the terminal gates.
Maura Harrington of Shell to Sea said protests would continue “for as long as it takes”.
The An Bord Pleanála permission comes with 58 conditions, and Mayo County Council is “devoting considerable resources to implementation”, Mr Hynes said.
Shell has not yet paid the first of five annual instalments for the €8.5 million “community gain” investment fund, but there was agreement on a payment schedule and money would be disbursed from 2012, he said.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
County manager Peter Hynes said an €8.5 million “community gain investment fund” financed by Shell as part of An Bord Pleanála’s conditions for the onshore pipeline route will be administered by the local authority.
Mr Hynes was speaking during the first week of full construction work by Shell and contractors on the final section of the Corrib gas pipeline, which was marked by demonstrations, arrests and injuries to four protesters yesterday.
Gardaí made one arrest during a Shell to Sea “day of action” at Aughoose, attended by up to 80 protesters, 75 private security staff employed by Shell and two dozen uniformed gardaí at the work site.
One man required medical treatment and Shell to Sea said three other protesters were hurt. Two required hospitalisation, with a woman said to have concussion.
Supt Pat Diskin of Belmullet Garda station said an attempt had been made to pull down fencing, but it was otherwise a “peaceful protest”. He denied claims by Shell to Sea that the private security company, I-RMS,was closing roads over the past week.
Three human rights observers deployed by Amnesty International and Frontline, and one separate Table human rights observer, witnessed yesterday’s event, during which three protesters verbally abused gardaí.
The protest began at about 7am, when Shell contractors were due to move equipment to the work site for the tunnel at Aughoose. Up to seven people held a vigil at the terminal gates.
Maura Harrington of Shell to Sea said protests would continue “for as long as it takes”.
The An Bord Pleanála permission comes with 58 conditions, and Mayo County Council is “devoting considerable resources to implementation”, Mr Hynes said.
Shell has not yet paid the first of five annual instalments for the €8.5 million “community gain” investment fund, but there was agreement on a payment schedule and money would be disbursed from 2012, he said.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Monday, 25 July 2011
Clashes mark final phase of Corrib pipe construction
SHELL E&P Ireland began construction work on the final phase of the Corrib gas project yesterday, with clashes between a small number of protesters and a cordon of 75 security personnel.
The confrontations occurred when equipment was moved into the construction site for the gas pipeline and tunnel at Aughoose.
One protester who claims he was injured by four I-RMS security personnel has lodged a complaint with the Garda. The firm said it was “not aware of any injuries”.
The human rights observer deployed by Frontline and Amnesty International was not in the area at the time and did not witness the incident. Frontline has confirmed the observer had been present earlier, and had informed various parties she would be away for the day.
The work on the final section of the 8.3km pipeline, approved by An Bord Pleanála with 58 conditions, involved constructing a 4.9km tunnel under Sruwaddacon estuary, a Special Area of Conservation.
The Commercial Court is due to hear judicial reviews sought by An Taisce and several local residents which challenge the planning board’s approval, and separate consents signed by outgoing minister for energy Pat Carey on the day of the last general election.
Shell said in a statement yesterday it had full consents for the work, which was “expected to take in excess of two years to complete and represents an investment of several hundred million euro by the Corrib gas partners”.
The company said it was “committed to ensuring that this final construction phase has the least possible impact on the local community”. It said five full-time community liaison officers were available to deal with queries.
Up to 15 supporters of the Rossport Solidarity Camp and Shell to Sea have been staging demonstrations for the past three days at a Bord na Móna site at Srahmore, near Bangor Erris, where some 75,000 cubic metres of peat unearthed from the pipeline route are due to be deposited.
Early on Thursday, gardaí removed a caravan used by members of the camp, across from the Aughoose works site. A camp spokeswoman said they believed the caravan had been illegally seized and impounded by Mayo County Council. “This caravan was on private property on the edge of a field and we are seeking clarification on why it was removed,” the spokeswoman said.
Mayo County Council said in a statement it “removed a temporary dwelling which was causing a hazard to road traffic users from the roadside at Aughoose, in accordance with section 69 of the Roads Act 1993”.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The confrontations occurred when equipment was moved into the construction site for the gas pipeline and tunnel at Aughoose.
One protester who claims he was injured by four I-RMS security personnel has lodged a complaint with the Garda. The firm said it was “not aware of any injuries”.
The human rights observer deployed by Frontline and Amnesty International was not in the area at the time and did not witness the incident. Frontline has confirmed the observer had been present earlier, and had informed various parties she would be away for the day.
The work on the final section of the 8.3km pipeline, approved by An Bord Pleanála with 58 conditions, involved constructing a 4.9km tunnel under Sruwaddacon estuary, a Special Area of Conservation.
The Commercial Court is due to hear judicial reviews sought by An Taisce and several local residents which challenge the planning board’s approval, and separate consents signed by outgoing minister for energy Pat Carey on the day of the last general election.
Shell said in a statement yesterday it had full consents for the work, which was “expected to take in excess of two years to complete and represents an investment of several hundred million euro by the Corrib gas partners”.
The company said it was “committed to ensuring that this final construction phase has the least possible impact on the local community”. It said five full-time community liaison officers were available to deal with queries.
Up to 15 supporters of the Rossport Solidarity Camp and Shell to Sea have been staging demonstrations for the past three days at a Bord na Móna site at Srahmore, near Bangor Erris, where some 75,000 cubic metres of peat unearthed from the pipeline route are due to be deposited.
Early on Thursday, gardaí removed a caravan used by members of the camp, across from the Aughoose works site. A camp spokeswoman said they believed the caravan had been illegally seized and impounded by Mayo County Council. “This caravan was on private property on the edge of a field and we are seeking clarification on why it was removed,” the spokeswoman said.
Mayo County Council said in a statement it “removed a temporary dwelling which was causing a hazard to road traffic users from the roadside at Aughoose, in accordance with section 69 of the Roads Act 1993”.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Thursday, 2 June 2011
Court to fast-track Corrib challenges
Two challenges to key consents signed by former minister for energy Pat Carey for construction of the final section of the Corrib gas pipeline scheme in Co Mayo are to be fast-tracked by the Commercial Court.
An Taisce and local residents Monica Muller and Peter Sweetman separately want to overturn the consents signed on the day of the general election. The actions may be heard in tandem with earlier challenges by the same parties to a decision of An Bord Pleanála in January.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
An Taisce and local residents Monica Muller and Peter Sweetman separately want to overturn the consents signed on the day of the general election. The actions may be heard in tandem with earlier challenges by the same parties to a decision of An Bord Pleanála in January.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Friday, 29 April 2011
Shell invests extra €60m to complete Corrib gas project
SHELL IRELAND has received a further cash injection of €60 million from its parent company to complete the Corrib gas project.
This brings to €190 million what Shell E&P Ireland Ltd has received in additional cash in recent months as it prepares to complete the final phase of the project that includes the construction of a 5km subterranean tunnel to bring gas ashore from the Corrib Gas field.
Documents recently filed with the Companies Office show the fresh cash injection has brought Shell Ireland’s share capital to €614 million.
The field has one trillion cubic feet of gas and the final spend on developing the field is expected to top €2.5 billion – more than three times the original estimate of €800 million.
A spokeswoman for Shell Ireland said the costs of the tunnel phase would “represent capital investment of several hundred million euro”.
All the necessary permissions and licences to proceed with the construction of the tunnel have been secured.
This follows An Bord Pleanála, the Department of the Environment and the Department of Energy and Natural Resources providing the necessary consents for the tunnel project to proceed.
The Shell spokeswoman said “the €60 million is to support the company’s ongoing activities on the Corrib project”.
“Now that all the necessary consents and permits are in place, Shell E&P Ireland Limited plans to commence construction in the coming months,” the spokeswoman added.
The numbers to be employed in the final phase are not as yet confirmed, but it is expected that several hundred jobs will be created during the construction of the onshore pipeline.
An Taisce and two local residents have instituted legal action in the Commercial Court against An Bord Pleanála’s decision to give the pipeline the go-ahead.
The case has been adjourned to October and does not impact on Shell Ireland’s ability to proceed with the work, as no court injunction has been sought or granted.
The spokeswoman said “it is anticipated that first gas will flow in 2013 at the earliest”.
Construction work on the tunnel will take approximately 22 months to complete.
The tunnel proposal to bring the gas ashore only emerged after An Bord Pleanála ruled out half a previous pipeline proposal on safety grounds in 2009.
Last year, it emerged that two of Shell’s partners, Marathon Oil and Statoil, had written off €399 million arising from delays with the project and due to falling gas prices.
Canadian company Vermilion Energy bought Marathon’s 18.5 per cent share in the Corrib field in 2009.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
This brings to €190 million what Shell E&P Ireland Ltd has received in additional cash in recent months as it prepares to complete the final phase of the project that includes the construction of a 5km subterranean tunnel to bring gas ashore from the Corrib Gas field.
Documents recently filed with the Companies Office show the fresh cash injection has brought Shell Ireland’s share capital to €614 million.
The field has one trillion cubic feet of gas and the final spend on developing the field is expected to top €2.5 billion – more than three times the original estimate of €800 million.
A spokeswoman for Shell Ireland said the costs of the tunnel phase would “represent capital investment of several hundred million euro”.
All the necessary permissions and licences to proceed with the construction of the tunnel have been secured.
This follows An Bord Pleanála, the Department of the Environment and the Department of Energy and Natural Resources providing the necessary consents for the tunnel project to proceed.
The Shell spokeswoman said “the €60 million is to support the company’s ongoing activities on the Corrib project”.
“Now that all the necessary consents and permits are in place, Shell E&P Ireland Limited plans to commence construction in the coming months,” the spokeswoman added.
The numbers to be employed in the final phase are not as yet confirmed, but it is expected that several hundred jobs will be created during the construction of the onshore pipeline.
An Taisce and two local residents have instituted legal action in the Commercial Court against An Bord Pleanála’s decision to give the pipeline the go-ahead.
The case has been adjourned to October and does not impact on Shell Ireland’s ability to proceed with the work, as no court injunction has been sought or granted.
The spokeswoman said “it is anticipated that first gas will flow in 2013 at the earliest”.
Construction work on the tunnel will take approximately 22 months to complete.
The tunnel proposal to bring the gas ashore only emerged after An Bord Pleanála ruled out half a previous pipeline proposal on safety grounds in 2009.
Last year, it emerged that two of Shell’s partners, Marathon Oil and Statoil, had written off €399 million arising from delays with the project and due to falling gas prices.
Canadian company Vermilion Energy bought Marathon’s 18.5 per cent share in the Corrib field in 2009.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Wednesday, 13 April 2011
Rabbitte says gas project to continue despite incident
MINISTER FOR Energy Pat Rabbitte has said the taped remarks made by gardaí about a female Corrib gas protester are “completely unacceptable”, but work will continue on the Corrib gas project in north Mayo.
However, he said he was open to anything that “encourages better communication” in relation to the controversial project.
Mr Rabbitte told The Irish Times yesterday that the particular remarks recorded in a patrol car on March 31st last were “stupid and unacceptable”. In the taped conversation, recorded on a video camera confiscated from one protester that was still switched on, two gardaí discussed the identity of two women from the Rossport Solidarity Camp whom they arrested on a public road near the Shell pipeline works at Aughoose some minutes earlier.
When one garda, surmised that one of the women “sounds like a Yank or Canadian”, another garda said: “Well, whoever, we’ll get Immigration f***ing on her.” The two gardaí then joked about threatening to deport and rape the woman if she did not give her name and address to them. The two women were travelling in separate vehicles to Belmullet Garda station, and only discovered the recording when the camera was returned to them on their release without charge.
One of the two women, postgraduate student Jerrie Ann Sullivan, has said she believes the experience is “not unique” in north Mayo. The second woman has not made any public comment.
The Garda Commissioner has issued an apology for the incident, five gardaí have been assigned to office duties in Castlebar, and an internal investigation has been forwarded to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission for its own inquiry into the incident in the public interest.
A separate taped conversation made public this week where an officer allegedly made sexually derogatory remarks about the wife of a Corrib protester in 2006 prompted renewed calls this week for a review of Garda and private security policing at Corrib.
The Friends of the Earth and the Irish Council for Civil Liberties said yesterday they had sent a joint letter to Garda ombudsman chair Dermot Gallagher, requesting a “root and branch” review of Garda practices, policies and procedures on public order.
Mr Rabbitte said he did not see any connection with the incident and the Corrib gas project.
“The gardaí have been put in a difficult situation and, yes, it is very expensive for the taxpayer, but I do not believe this particular incident that is of concern is typical of the gardaí,” he said.
“What has happened has happened in relation to Corrib, and whatever one’s view the terminal is built,” he said. “What am I supposed to do when so much investment has gone in, and when there is the extraordinary decision to built a tunnel under [Sruwaddacon] bay?”
He said he had not talked to Shell EP Ireland since taking office, though he had met them in opposition some years ago. He was aware of the judicial review application taken by An Taisce and several residents, which seeks to challenge An Bord Pleanála’s approval of the Sruwaddacon estuary pipeline route on grounds that it is through a special area of conservation and in breach of EU directives.
A date has been set for a full hearing in the Commercial Court on October 5th. Mr Rabbitte said he had no letter from the company about their intentions in this regard, but it was his understanding work would continue.
Shell has said that it is involved in preparatory works.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
However, he said he was open to anything that “encourages better communication” in relation to the controversial project.
Mr Rabbitte told The Irish Times yesterday that the particular remarks recorded in a patrol car on March 31st last were “stupid and unacceptable”. In the taped conversation, recorded on a video camera confiscated from one protester that was still switched on, two gardaí discussed the identity of two women from the Rossport Solidarity Camp whom they arrested on a public road near the Shell pipeline works at Aughoose some minutes earlier.
When one garda, surmised that one of the women “sounds like a Yank or Canadian”, another garda said: “Well, whoever, we’ll get Immigration f***ing on her.” The two gardaí then joked about threatening to deport and rape the woman if she did not give her name and address to them. The two women were travelling in separate vehicles to Belmullet Garda station, and only discovered the recording when the camera was returned to them on their release without charge.
One of the two women, postgraduate student Jerrie Ann Sullivan, has said she believes the experience is “not unique” in north Mayo. The second woman has not made any public comment.
The Garda Commissioner has issued an apology for the incident, five gardaí have been assigned to office duties in Castlebar, and an internal investigation has been forwarded to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission for its own inquiry into the incident in the public interest.
A separate taped conversation made public this week where an officer allegedly made sexually derogatory remarks about the wife of a Corrib protester in 2006 prompted renewed calls this week for a review of Garda and private security policing at Corrib.
The Friends of the Earth and the Irish Council for Civil Liberties said yesterday they had sent a joint letter to Garda ombudsman chair Dermot Gallagher, requesting a “root and branch” review of Garda practices, policies and procedures on public order.
Mr Rabbitte said he did not see any connection with the incident and the Corrib gas project.
“The gardaí have been put in a difficult situation and, yes, it is very expensive for the taxpayer, but I do not believe this particular incident that is of concern is typical of the gardaí,” he said.
“What has happened has happened in relation to Corrib, and whatever one’s view the terminal is built,” he said. “What am I supposed to do when so much investment has gone in, and when there is the extraordinary decision to built a tunnel under [Sruwaddacon] bay?”
He said he had not talked to Shell EP Ireland since taking office, though he had met them in opposition some years ago. He was aware of the judicial review application taken by An Taisce and several residents, which seeks to challenge An Bord Pleanála’s approval of the Sruwaddacon estuary pipeline route on grounds that it is through a special area of conservation and in breach of EU directives.
A date has been set for a full hearing in the Commercial Court on October 5th. Mr Rabbitte said he had no letter from the company about their intentions in this regard, but it was his understanding work would continue.
Shell has said that it is involved in preparatory works.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Wednesday, 6 April 2011
Rights monitors observe policing of Corrib row
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL and the Front Line human rights defenders organisation have sent a joint reconnaissance group to north Mayo to observe the policing of the Corrib gas dispute.
The two organisations have not initiated formal monitoring as yet, although protests are planned today over initiation of preparatory work to lay the approved Corrib gas pipeline up the Sruwaddacon estuary special area of conservation.
Shell to Sea and the Rossport Solidarity Camp have asked why work has started when a judicial review application of An Bord Pleanála’s decision to approve the pipeline route is still before the courts. The pipeline laying, including tunnelling, is expected to take two years and has been given consents by former acting energy minister Pat Carey (FF) and Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan.
Amnesty International and Front Line agreed to work together on human rights monitoring last year in discussions with former energy minister Eamon Ryan.
Mr Ryan had welcomed the publication of Front Line’s report by barrister Brian Barrington last April, which recommended that a human rights observer be appointed in the event that planning permission for the pipeline was given along a contested route.
Mr Barrington’s report also recommended that the Garda would co-operate with monitoring and that it should appoint a trained lawyer with relevant experience in human rights advice to review Garda policies and practices and assist with planning.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The two organisations have not initiated formal monitoring as yet, although protests are planned today over initiation of preparatory work to lay the approved Corrib gas pipeline up the Sruwaddacon estuary special area of conservation.
Shell to Sea and the Rossport Solidarity Camp have asked why work has started when a judicial review application of An Bord Pleanála’s decision to approve the pipeline route is still before the courts. The pipeline laying, including tunnelling, is expected to take two years and has been given consents by former acting energy minister Pat Carey (FF) and Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan.
Amnesty International and Front Line agreed to work together on human rights monitoring last year in discussions with former energy minister Eamon Ryan.
Mr Ryan had welcomed the publication of Front Line’s report by barrister Brian Barrington last April, which recommended that a human rights observer be appointed in the event that planning permission for the pipeline was given along a contested route.
Mr Barrington’s report also recommended that the Garda would co-operate with monitoring and that it should appoint a trained lawyer with relevant experience in human rights advice to review Garda policies and practices and assist with planning.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Court agrees to fast-track challenges to Corrib decision
THE COMMERCIAL Court has agreed to fast-track separate legal challenges by An Taisce and two local residents aimed at quashing a consent permission by An Bord Pleanála for an onshore pipeline linked to the Corrib gas field in Co Mayo.
An Taisce chairman Charles Stanley-Smith said the deliberations of the board, when granting the consent last January, were not transparent and the board had failed to properly record its decision. An Taisce had inspected An Bord Pleanála’s file and there were “glaring omissions”, he said in an affidavit.
An Taisce was not opposed to exploitation of the Corrib gas field but was very concerned at how this latest consent had been obtained and about the manner in which the project was being split into several parts, with each part requiring its own consent, Mr Stanley-Smith added.
This approach was giving rise to “a poor standard of decision-making” and an absence of strategic and holistic environmental assessment. European law required such a project to be properly screened and assessed as a whole.
He said the planning board did not carry out an appropriate assessment and there was no reference in its decision to any conservation objectives.
The board also appeared to have differed from its own inspectors who determined the proposed development would be likely to have a significant effect on European habitat sites and should be subject to appropriate assessment.
Mr Justice Peter Kelly transferred both actions to the Commercial Court yesterday, made directions for the exchange of legal documents and directed the cases would be heard together beginning on October 4th.
When James Devlin SC, for An Taisce, expressed concern about some preliminary works being carried out for the pipeline, Declan McGrath, for Shell EP Ireland, said these were exempt development and there was no need for any injunction application to be brought pending the October hearing.
When Mr Justice Kelly told Mr Devlin that Mr McGrath’s remarks should provide him with “some comfort”, Mr Devlin replied: “Not necessarily.”
However, both he and Michael O’Donnell, for local residents Peter Sweetman and Monica Muller, indicated they were not seeking to bring any injunction applications at this point.
An Taisce, the national trust for Ireland, and Ms Muller and Mr Sweetman, Rossport South, Ballina, Co Mayo – who own land 500 metres south of the proposed pipeline – have advanced a large number of grounds in support of their challenges but they have been directed to narrow these down.
They want orders quashing the board’s decision of January 19th last granting permission to Shell EP Ireland to construct 8.3km of pipeline between the Corrib gas field and the gas terminal at Bellanaboy.
In both cases, it is claimed the pipeline consent granted by the board breaches provisions of the European environmental impact assessment directive.
It is also claimed that the State had failed to properly implement that directive here.
It is alleged that the board, in its assessment of the Shell planning application, was required but failed to carry out an appropriate assessment in relation to the impact of the development on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora.
Both sets of proceedings are against An Bord Pleanála, the Minister for the Environment, Ireland and the Attorney General with Shell EP Ireland a notice party. Mayo County Council is also a notice party in An Taisce’s action but intends to play no active part in the case as no orders are sought against it.
The cases are brought via applications for leave for judicial review. Mr Justice Kelly has directed that the leave applications will be heard in tandem with the substantive judicial reviews.
He also directed that the claims for orders quashing the permission and related to the environmental impact assessment directive will be determined first.
Depending on the outcome of those claims, the court may then proceed to decide arguments that section 50b of the Planning and Development Act, which abolishes legal costs orders in decisions covered by the directive except in “exceptional circumstances”, is unconstitutional and contrary to European law.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
An Taisce chairman Charles Stanley-Smith said the deliberations of the board, when granting the consent last January, were not transparent and the board had failed to properly record its decision. An Taisce had inspected An Bord Pleanála’s file and there were “glaring omissions”, he said in an affidavit.
An Taisce was not opposed to exploitation of the Corrib gas field but was very concerned at how this latest consent had been obtained and about the manner in which the project was being split into several parts, with each part requiring its own consent, Mr Stanley-Smith added.
This approach was giving rise to “a poor standard of decision-making” and an absence of strategic and holistic environmental assessment. European law required such a project to be properly screened and assessed as a whole.
He said the planning board did not carry out an appropriate assessment and there was no reference in its decision to any conservation objectives.
The board also appeared to have differed from its own inspectors who determined the proposed development would be likely to have a significant effect on European habitat sites and should be subject to appropriate assessment.
Mr Justice Peter Kelly transferred both actions to the Commercial Court yesterday, made directions for the exchange of legal documents and directed the cases would be heard together beginning on October 4th.
When James Devlin SC, for An Taisce, expressed concern about some preliminary works being carried out for the pipeline, Declan McGrath, for Shell EP Ireland, said these were exempt development and there was no need for any injunction application to be brought pending the October hearing.
When Mr Justice Kelly told Mr Devlin that Mr McGrath’s remarks should provide him with “some comfort”, Mr Devlin replied: “Not necessarily.”
However, both he and Michael O’Donnell, for local residents Peter Sweetman and Monica Muller, indicated they were not seeking to bring any injunction applications at this point.
An Taisce, the national trust for Ireland, and Ms Muller and Mr Sweetman, Rossport South, Ballina, Co Mayo – who own land 500 metres south of the proposed pipeline – have advanced a large number of grounds in support of their challenges but they have been directed to narrow these down.
They want orders quashing the board’s decision of January 19th last granting permission to Shell EP Ireland to construct 8.3km of pipeline between the Corrib gas field and the gas terminal at Bellanaboy.
In both cases, it is claimed the pipeline consent granted by the board breaches provisions of the European environmental impact assessment directive.
It is also claimed that the State had failed to properly implement that directive here.
It is alleged that the board, in its assessment of the Shell planning application, was required but failed to carry out an appropriate assessment in relation to the impact of the development on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora.
Both sets of proceedings are against An Bord Pleanála, the Minister for the Environment, Ireland and the Attorney General with Shell EP Ireland a notice party. Mayo County Council is also a notice party in An Taisce’s action but intends to play no active part in the case as no orders are sought against it.
The cases are brought via applications for leave for judicial review. Mr Justice Kelly has directed that the leave applications will be heard in tandem with the substantive judicial reviews.
He also directed that the claims for orders quashing the permission and related to the environmental impact assessment directive will be determined first.
Depending on the outcome of those claims, the court may then proceed to decide arguments that section 50b of the Planning and Development Act, which abolishes legal costs orders in decisions covered by the directive except in “exceptional circumstances”, is unconstitutional and contrary to European law.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Thursday, 31 March 2011
Garda urges peaceful Corrib protests
A SENIOR Garda in north Mayo has appealed for any protests against work at the Corrib gas pipeline to be peaceful, on the eve of two “days of action” planned by the Rossport Solidarity Camp.
The appeal was made yesterday by Supt Pat Diskin of Belmullet Garda station, who said he respected the “right to peaceful protest” and the “right of people to go to their place of work”.
Shell E&P Ireland has begun preparatory work on the pipeline route, which was approved by An Bord Pleanála in January but is the subject of a judicial review application by An Taisce and two residents before the High Court.
Shell to Sea and members of the Rossport Solidarity Camp, along with community group Pobal Chill Chomáin, have described as “provocative” the developer’s decision to proceed with constructing a compound as part of preparatory work overseen by private security staff, while legal proceedings are still in train.
However, Shell acquired its necessary consents to construct the pipeline from the outgoing minister for energy Pat Carey and new Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan on February 25th and March 25th respectively.
Two arrests were made by gardaí yesterday morning at Aughoose, the location of one end of the proposed tunnelling works to lay the high-pressure pipeline.
Two people, including a female protester who was secured to the underside of a private security vehicle overnight, were taken to Belmullet Garda station. They were released without charge and a file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Supt Diskin said gardaí were investigating reports of alleged assaults on two security staff shortly before 11pm on Tuesday, and the alleged theft of property from security personnel.
Shell to Sea has said protesters were assaulted and injured, several people received medical attention, and one campaigner was referred to hospital with suspected broken ribs after an altercation with a security guard employed by Integrated Risk Management Services.
Supt Diskin said he had “no knowledge of any injuries”. The security firm’s spokesman said “in keeping with our standard approach we spoke with the gardaí and made a full statement about events of the past 24 hours”. Supt Diskin said his “door was open” to groups in the area with concerns about policing of the project and he invited some groups to engage in discussions in recent weeks.
He said he was invited to a public meeting, but felt there was more value in holding discussions with representatives of various groups. “I totally respect any decision not to meet me,” he said.
Pobal Chill Chomáin spokesman John Monaghan confirmed that invitations were issued by Supt Diskin. He said his group was waiting to hear back details, and agreed in principle to meet. He said residents had no advance warning of work and there were “at least 60 private security staff in the area”. It is expected to take two years to construct the pipeline route.
Shell to Sea spokesman Terence Conway appealed for support for the “days of action”.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The appeal was made yesterday by Supt Pat Diskin of Belmullet Garda station, who said he respected the “right to peaceful protest” and the “right of people to go to their place of work”.
Shell E&P Ireland has begun preparatory work on the pipeline route, which was approved by An Bord Pleanála in January but is the subject of a judicial review application by An Taisce and two residents before the High Court.
Shell to Sea and members of the Rossport Solidarity Camp, along with community group Pobal Chill Chomáin, have described as “provocative” the developer’s decision to proceed with constructing a compound as part of preparatory work overseen by private security staff, while legal proceedings are still in train.
However, Shell acquired its necessary consents to construct the pipeline from the outgoing minister for energy Pat Carey and new Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan on February 25th and March 25th respectively.
Two arrests were made by gardaí yesterday morning at Aughoose, the location of one end of the proposed tunnelling works to lay the high-pressure pipeline.
Two people, including a female protester who was secured to the underside of a private security vehicle overnight, were taken to Belmullet Garda station. They were released without charge and a file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Supt Diskin said gardaí were investigating reports of alleged assaults on two security staff shortly before 11pm on Tuesday, and the alleged theft of property from security personnel.
Shell to Sea has said protesters were assaulted and injured, several people received medical attention, and one campaigner was referred to hospital with suspected broken ribs after an altercation with a security guard employed by Integrated Risk Management Services.
Supt Diskin said he had “no knowledge of any injuries”. The security firm’s spokesman said “in keeping with our standard approach we spoke with the gardaí and made a full statement about events of the past 24 hours”. Supt Diskin said his “door was open” to groups in the area with concerns about policing of the project and he invited some groups to engage in discussions in recent weeks.
He said he was invited to a public meeting, but felt there was more value in holding discussions with representatives of various groups. “I totally respect any decision not to meet me,” he said.
Pobal Chill Chomáin spokesman John Monaghan confirmed that invitations were issued by Supt Diskin. He said his group was waiting to hear back details, and agreed in principle to meet. He said residents had no advance warning of work and there were “at least 60 private security staff in the area”. It is expected to take two years to construct the pipeline route.
Shell to Sea spokesman Terence Conway appealed for support for the “days of action”.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Hogan grants Shell foreshore licence
ONE OF the last outstanding consent applications for the Corrib gas project was completed yesterday when Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan granted a foreshore licence to Shell EP Ireland.
The foreshore licence, which is subject to conditions, allows the lead developer to construct the final 8km section of pipeline linking the gas field to the terminal built inland at Ballinaboy.
An Taisce, which has sought a judicial review of the recent An Bord Pleanála decision to approve the pipeline route through a special area of conservation, said it was “unhappy” that Mr Hogan had made his decision while legal proceedings were still in train.
A month ago, consents for the onshore pipeline issued by acting Fianna Fáil minister for energy Pat Carey on the day of the general election aroused criticism from a number of opposition TDs and from former Labour Party president Michael D Higgins.
Minister for Energy Pat Rabbitte has rejected a call made by up to 20 Opposition TDs and Dublin Shell to Sea outside the Dáil last Tuesday to reverse Mr Carey’s decision.
Former minister for the environment John Gormley had earlier pointed out he did not anticipate a foreshore licence recommendation for some time, due to the volume of up to 700 foreshore applications before his department.
However, last week, the Department of the Environment told The Irish Times that a decision on the Shell EP Ireland application, lodged in June 2010, would be made “as soon as possible”. It denied yesterday there had been any “fast-tracking”.
Mr Hogan’s approval with conditions permits the lead developer to construct a pipeline system from Glengad through Sruwaddacon estuary, a special area of conservation.
Mr Hogan said the decision was made “pursuant to the provisions of the Foreshore Acts 1933 to 2009”, and “having regard to” submissions from prescribed bodies, submissions during public consultation, the advice of his department and the conclusions and recommendations of the Marine Licence Vetting Committee.
An Taisce chairman Charles Stanley Smith said yesterday that he was “unhappy that such a decision has been made before the judicial review process has been completed”, but it “does not affect the case”.
Pobal Chill Chomáin community group spokesman John Monaghan said his group was disappointed “a Minister barely in office approves work that is currently being challenged in the courts”.
Mr Monaghan said hundreds of residents in Kilcommon parish in Erris had called for an oral hearing, which foreshore legislation allows for, but had been “denied meaningful input into significant decision-making by the State”.
The pipeline route is expected to take two years to complete, and gas will not flow before a safety permit is issued by the Commission for Energy Regulation, and before a revised emissions licence application is issued by the Environmental Protection Agency.
The additional €100 million cost of this third route option will be written off against tax by the developer, with cited costs of the project now running at between €2.5 billion and €3 billion.
Earlier this week, ESB chief executive Pádraig McManus told RTÉ’s Today with Pat Kenny that the Irish consumer would not “get Corrib gas cheaper than gas from anywhere else” as it was an “international commodity”.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The foreshore licence, which is subject to conditions, allows the lead developer to construct the final 8km section of pipeline linking the gas field to the terminal built inland at Ballinaboy.
An Taisce, which has sought a judicial review of the recent An Bord Pleanála decision to approve the pipeline route through a special area of conservation, said it was “unhappy” that Mr Hogan had made his decision while legal proceedings were still in train.
A month ago, consents for the onshore pipeline issued by acting Fianna Fáil minister for energy Pat Carey on the day of the general election aroused criticism from a number of opposition TDs and from former Labour Party president Michael D Higgins.
Minister for Energy Pat Rabbitte has rejected a call made by up to 20 Opposition TDs and Dublin Shell to Sea outside the Dáil last Tuesday to reverse Mr Carey’s decision.
Former minister for the environment John Gormley had earlier pointed out he did not anticipate a foreshore licence recommendation for some time, due to the volume of up to 700 foreshore applications before his department.
However, last week, the Department of the Environment told The Irish Times that a decision on the Shell EP Ireland application, lodged in June 2010, would be made “as soon as possible”. It denied yesterday there had been any “fast-tracking”.
Mr Hogan’s approval with conditions permits the lead developer to construct a pipeline system from Glengad through Sruwaddacon estuary, a special area of conservation.
Mr Hogan said the decision was made “pursuant to the provisions of the Foreshore Acts 1933 to 2009”, and “having regard to” submissions from prescribed bodies, submissions during public consultation, the advice of his department and the conclusions and recommendations of the Marine Licence Vetting Committee.
An Taisce chairman Charles Stanley Smith said yesterday that he was “unhappy that such a decision has been made before the judicial review process has been completed”, but it “does not affect the case”.
Pobal Chill Chomáin community group spokesman John Monaghan said his group was disappointed “a Minister barely in office approves work that is currently being challenged in the courts”.
Mr Monaghan said hundreds of residents in Kilcommon parish in Erris had called for an oral hearing, which foreshore legislation allows for, but had been “denied meaningful input into significant decision-making by the State”.
The pipeline route is expected to take two years to complete, and gas will not flow before a safety permit is issued by the Commission for Energy Regulation, and before a revised emissions licence application is issued by the Environmental Protection Agency.
The additional €100 million cost of this third route option will be written off against tax by the developer, with cited costs of the project now running at between €2.5 billion and €3 billion.
Earlier this week, ESB chief executive Pádraig McManus told RTÉ’s Today with Pat Kenny that the Irish consumer would not “get Corrib gas cheaper than gas from anywhere else” as it was an “international commodity”.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Corrib foreshore licence approved
Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan has granted a foreshore licence to Shell E&P Ireland as one of its last outstanding consents for the Corrib gas project.
The licence, which is subject to conditions, allows the lead developer to construct the final 8km section of high pressure gas pipeline linking the Corrib field off the Mayo coastline to the terminal built inland at Ballinaboy.
Planning approval has already been granted for the pipeline by An Bord Pleanála, and consents under the Gas and Petroleum Acts were issued by former acting energy minister Pat Carey on the day of the general election.
An Taisce has sought a judicial review of the Bord Pleanála decision, which is before the High Court next Tuesday.
An Taisce’s chairman, Charles Stanley-Smith, has said that the organisation is “unhappy that such a decision has been made before the judicial review process is completed” but that Mr Hogan’s approval “does not affect the case”.
Shell E&P Ireland applied for the foreshore licence in June 2010 to construct a pipeline system from Glengad through Sruwaddacon estuary, a special area of conservation (SAC), involving a 4.6km-long concrete tunnel.
The department received 465 submissions, identified 103 separate issues arising from these and sought further information from the developer last autumn.
Mr Hogan said that the decision was made “pursuant to the provisions of the Foreshore Acts 1933 to 2009”, and “having regard to” submissions from prescribed bodies, submissions during public consultation, the advice of
his department and the conclusions and recommendations of the Marine Licence Vetting Committee (MLVC)
The MLVC was established by former marine minister Frank Fahey to provide advice on initial consents for the project in 2001/2002.
The tunnel and associated works will add €100 million to the cost of the project, according to the developer, with costs now running at between €2.5 billion to €3 billion which can be offset against tax. The pipeline route is expected to take two years to construct, with gas projected to flow in 2013.
The developer still requires a revised emissions licence from the Environmental Protection Agency and a safety permit from the Commission for Energy Regulation under the new Petroleum (Exploration and Extraction) Safety Act 2010.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The licence, which is subject to conditions, allows the lead developer to construct the final 8km section of high pressure gas pipeline linking the Corrib field off the Mayo coastline to the terminal built inland at Ballinaboy.
Planning approval has already been granted for the pipeline by An Bord Pleanála, and consents under the Gas and Petroleum Acts were issued by former acting energy minister Pat Carey on the day of the general election.
An Taisce has sought a judicial review of the Bord Pleanála decision, which is before the High Court next Tuesday.
An Taisce’s chairman, Charles Stanley-Smith, has said that the organisation is “unhappy that such a decision has been made before the judicial review process is completed” but that Mr Hogan’s approval “does not affect the case”.
Shell E&P Ireland applied for the foreshore licence in June 2010 to construct a pipeline system from Glengad through Sruwaddacon estuary, a special area of conservation (SAC), involving a 4.6km-long concrete tunnel.
The department received 465 submissions, identified 103 separate issues arising from these and sought further information from the developer last autumn.
Mr Hogan said that the decision was made “pursuant to the provisions of the Foreshore Acts 1933 to 2009”, and “having regard to” submissions from prescribed bodies, submissions during public consultation, the advice of
his department and the conclusions and recommendations of the Marine Licence Vetting Committee (MLVC)
The MLVC was established by former marine minister Frank Fahey to provide advice on initial consents for the project in 2001/2002.
The tunnel and associated works will add €100 million to the cost of the project, according to the developer, with costs now running at between €2.5 billion to €3 billion which can be offset against tax. The pipeline route is expected to take two years to construct, with gas projected to flow in 2013.
The developer still requires a revised emissions licence from the Environmental Protection Agency and a safety permit from the Commission for Energy Regulation under the new Petroleum (Exploration and Extraction) Safety Act 2010.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Tuesday, 22 March 2011
Ruling due on Corrib pipeline objections
A JUDGE will rule today in a case in which An Taisce and two local residents have initiated High Court challenges aimed at quashing An Bord Pleanála’s decision to grant planning permission for the construction of a section of pipeline between the Corrib gas field and a gas terminal in Co Mayo.
The judge said he would read the legal documents tonight and would give his decision today.
If leave to bring the actions is granted, the applicants are seeking an order preventing commencement of works on the pipeline pending the outcome of the cases. Mr Justice Michael Peart will rule on the leave application today.
An Taisce has brought its own set of judicial review proceedings while the second action is by Monica Muller and Peter Sweetman, Rossport South, Ballina, Co Mayo, who own land 500 metres south of the proposed pipeline.
In both cases, it is contended that the board’s approval of permission breached EU directives relating to the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora. It is claimed the pipeline traverses several areas of special conservation interest in Co Mayo governed by the EU habitats directives.
In judicial review proceedings against the board, Ireland, the Attorney General and the Minister for the Environment, the applicants want to overturn the board’s decision of January 11th to grant planning permission to Shell EP Ireland to construct 8.3km of pipeline between the Corrib gas field and the gas terminal at Bellanaboy, Co Mayo.
Shell EP Ireland is a notice party to the proposed actions.
The applications for leave to bring the proceedings was made yesterday at the High Court to Mr Justice Michael Peart on an ex parte – one side only – basis.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The judge said he would read the legal documents tonight and would give his decision today.
If leave to bring the actions is granted, the applicants are seeking an order preventing commencement of works on the pipeline pending the outcome of the cases. Mr Justice Michael Peart will rule on the leave application today.
An Taisce has brought its own set of judicial review proceedings while the second action is by Monica Muller and Peter Sweetman, Rossport South, Ballina, Co Mayo, who own land 500 metres south of the proposed pipeline.
In both cases, it is contended that the board’s approval of permission breached EU directives relating to the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora. It is claimed the pipeline traverses several areas of special conservation interest in Co Mayo governed by the EU habitats directives.
In judicial review proceedings against the board, Ireland, the Attorney General and the Minister for the Environment, the applicants want to overturn the board’s decision of January 11th to grant planning permission to Shell EP Ireland to construct 8.3km of pipeline between the Corrib gas field and the gas terminal at Bellanaboy, Co Mayo.
Shell EP Ireland is a notice party to the proposed actions.
The applications for leave to bring the proceedings was made yesterday at the High Court to Mr Justice Michael Peart on an ex parte – one side only – basis.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
High Court broadens judicial review of Corrib decision
THE HIGH Court is to hear arguments from the State and An Bord Pleanála before deciding whether to grant leave to An Taisce and two local residents to bring separate judicial review actions aimed at quashing permission for a gas pipeline linked to the Corrib gas field in Co Mayo.
If leave is granted for the proceedings, an order restraining works on the pipeline until the cases are decided will be sought.
An Taisce, the heritage protection agency, and Monica Muller and Peter Sweetman, Rossport South, Ballina, Co Mayo – who own land 500 metres south of the proposed pipeline – both claim the permission breaches EU directives relating to the conservation of natural habitats. It is also alleged the pipeline crosses several areas of special conservation interest in Co Mayo.
The applicants have brought separate judicial review proceedings against An Bord Pleanála, the Minister for the Environment and the State aimed at overturning the board’s decision of January 11th last, granting planning permission to Shell EP Ireland to construct 8.3km of pipeline between the Corrib gas field and the gas terminal at Ballinaboy, Co Mayo.
Shell EP is a notice party to the proposed actions.
Mr Justice Michael Peart said the applications for leave to seek judicial review should be made on notice to the defendants and notice party.
The decision means the board, State parties and Shell will be heard by the court before its ruling on whether to grant leave for judicial review. The proceedings will come before the court again later this month.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
If leave is granted for the proceedings, an order restraining works on the pipeline until the cases are decided will be sought.
An Taisce, the heritage protection agency, and Monica Muller and Peter Sweetman, Rossport South, Ballina, Co Mayo – who own land 500 metres south of the proposed pipeline – both claim the permission breaches EU directives relating to the conservation of natural habitats. It is also alleged the pipeline crosses several areas of special conservation interest in Co Mayo.
The applicants have brought separate judicial review proceedings against An Bord Pleanála, the Minister for the Environment and the State aimed at overturning the board’s decision of January 11th last, granting planning permission to Shell EP Ireland to construct 8.3km of pipeline between the Corrib gas field and the gas terminal at Ballinaboy, Co Mayo.
Shell EP is a notice party to the proposed actions.
Mr Justice Michael Peart said the applications for leave to seek judicial review should be made on notice to the defendants and notice party.
The decision means the board, State parties and Shell will be heard by the court before its ruling on whether to grant leave for judicial review. The proceedings will come before the court again later this month.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Friday, 4 March 2011
Carey defends signing pipe consents
CORRIB GAS: MINISTER FOR Energy Pat Carey has staunchly defended his decision to sign, on the day of the general election, key consents for the last section of the Corrib gas pipeline.
He said the decision was part of an eight-month process and taken after very comprehensive assessment and legal advice, including from the Attorney General.
He said this was not the end of the process and the media and other critics should read the letter of consent and the conditions attached before casting judgment. He said the conditions are very comprehensive and very strict.
The decision has been condemned by representatives of the Labour Party, Sinn Féin, the Socialist Party and United Left Alliance. Residents opposed to the pipeline in north Mayo have also criticised the decision. Asked about the signing on the day of the election, the Minister said it was “the only day I was reasonably free”.
He insisted this was “absolutely not done on a whim. At a political cost to myself, I took a lot of time to read over four very large folders” about the issue. “I read every single submission,” he said.
Mr Carey said the signing was just one more stage in a process and a judicial review was expected and that would deal with all the issues.
He said the fact that it was not politically popular to make such a decision did not make it wrong.
The Green Party confirmed that a recommendation on the consent application by Shell EP Ireland to construct the pipeline under the Gas and Petroleum Acts had not arrived on the desk of then minister for energy Eamon Ryan before he left office.
Last week Éamon Ó Cuív, who took over the environment portfolio from John Gormley, also said the foreshore licence had not come before him.
Mr Carey said the issue had been ongoing for eight months. His department said the applications were received on May 31st, 2010 from Shell EP Ireland Limited, acting on behalf of the Corrib gas partners. The assessment included two periods of public consultation and expert assessment.
Fine Gael energy spokesman Leo Varadkar said Mr Carey had contacted the party on Monday to inform it of his decision.
Mr Varadkar said the signing “is largely a formality. It shouldn’t come as surprise and obviously there’s going to be a judicial review”.
He added that “the State stands to gain at least 25 per cent of profits from Corrib and the sooner the gas is brought ashore, the sooner that money can be used to fund essential services”.
An Taisce has described as “very disappointing” the decision by the outgoing Minister to sign the consents.
An Taisce chairman Charles Stanley-Smith said it was public knowledge that the environmental organisation was seeking a judicial review of the recent An Bord Pleanála decision to approve the new pipeline route, as it ran through a special area of conservation.
“This legal challenge relates to An Bord Pleanála specifically, as we believe it breaches several EU directives. However, it is very disappointing that the Department of Energy would sign off on this consent at this point,” Mr Stanley-Smith said.
Labour Party president Michael D Higgins, who has condemned Mr Carey’s action, said there should be full transparency on any communication between the department and any interested parties both before and since the general election was called.
Shell has confirmed it received the consents and, within hours of the department confirming the signing, the international energy press welcomed it as a “final approval”. However, a foreshore licence is still required from the Minister for the Environment, currently Éamon Ó Cuív, before work can start on the €100 million tunnel for the pipe through Sruwaddacon estuary linking the landfall at Glengad to the terminal built at Ballinaboy.
Pobal Chill Chomáin spokesman John Monaghan, representing community interests in Erris opposed to the pipeline, described the signing as a “cowardly act by Mr Carey”.
The letter of consent and attached conditions can be read on the Department of Energy’s website dcenr.gov.ie
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
He said the decision was part of an eight-month process and taken after very comprehensive assessment and legal advice, including from the Attorney General.
He said this was not the end of the process and the media and other critics should read the letter of consent and the conditions attached before casting judgment. He said the conditions are very comprehensive and very strict.
The decision has been condemned by representatives of the Labour Party, Sinn Féin, the Socialist Party and United Left Alliance. Residents opposed to the pipeline in north Mayo have also criticised the decision. Asked about the signing on the day of the election, the Minister said it was “the only day I was reasonably free”.
He insisted this was “absolutely not done on a whim. At a political cost to myself, I took a lot of time to read over four very large folders” about the issue. “I read every single submission,” he said.
Mr Carey said the signing was just one more stage in a process and a judicial review was expected and that would deal with all the issues.
He said the fact that it was not politically popular to make such a decision did not make it wrong.
The Green Party confirmed that a recommendation on the consent application by Shell EP Ireland to construct the pipeline under the Gas and Petroleum Acts had not arrived on the desk of then minister for energy Eamon Ryan before he left office.
Last week Éamon Ó Cuív, who took over the environment portfolio from John Gormley, also said the foreshore licence had not come before him.
Mr Carey said the issue had been ongoing for eight months. His department said the applications were received on May 31st, 2010 from Shell EP Ireland Limited, acting on behalf of the Corrib gas partners. The assessment included two periods of public consultation and expert assessment.
Fine Gael energy spokesman Leo Varadkar said Mr Carey had contacted the party on Monday to inform it of his decision.
Mr Varadkar said the signing “is largely a formality. It shouldn’t come as surprise and obviously there’s going to be a judicial review”.
He added that “the State stands to gain at least 25 per cent of profits from Corrib and the sooner the gas is brought ashore, the sooner that money can be used to fund essential services”.
An Taisce has described as “very disappointing” the decision by the outgoing Minister to sign the consents.
An Taisce chairman Charles Stanley-Smith said it was public knowledge that the environmental organisation was seeking a judicial review of the recent An Bord Pleanála decision to approve the new pipeline route, as it ran through a special area of conservation.
“This legal challenge relates to An Bord Pleanála specifically, as we believe it breaches several EU directives. However, it is very disappointing that the Department of Energy would sign off on this consent at this point,” Mr Stanley-Smith said.
Labour Party president Michael D Higgins, who has condemned Mr Carey’s action, said there should be full transparency on any communication between the department and any interested parties both before and since the general election was called.
Shell has confirmed it received the consents and, within hours of the department confirming the signing, the international energy press welcomed it as a “final approval”. However, a foreshore licence is still required from the Minister for the Environment, currently Éamon Ó Cuív, before work can start on the €100 million tunnel for the pipe through Sruwaddacon estuary linking the landfall at Glengad to the terminal built at Ballinaboy.
Pobal Chill Chomáin spokesman John Monaghan, representing community interests in Erris opposed to the pipeline, described the signing as a “cowardly act by Mr Carey”.
The letter of consent and attached conditions can be read on the Department of Energy’s website dcenr.gov.ie
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Corrib permission granted subject to conditions
Mr. Pat Carey, Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, has announced that in response to applications received on 31 May 2010 from Shell E&P Ireland Limited (SEPIL), acting on behalf of the Corrib Gas Partners, that permission has been granted, subject to conditions.
Permission has been granted -
* for consent to construct a gas pipeline from the Corrib gas field subsea facilities to the Corrib gas terminal at Bellanaboy, Co. Mayo - and
* for approval of an addendum to the Plan of Development for the Corrib gas field development.
www.buckplanning.ie
Permission has been granted -
* for consent to construct a gas pipeline from the Corrib gas field subsea facilities to the Corrib gas terminal at Bellanaboy, Co. Mayo - and
* for approval of an addendum to the Plan of Development for the Corrib gas field development.
www.buckplanning.ie
Tuesday, 1 March 2011
Criticism as Carey signs off on Corrib pipeline
THERE HAS been widespread criticism of a decision by Minister for Energy Pat Carey to sign key consents for the last section of Corrib gas pipeline on the day of the general election.
The Department of Energy has said the consent to construct the pipeline and approval of the project’s amended plan of development was issued as a matter of course after An Bord Pleanála approved the new pipeline route in January.
However, Green Party sources say a recommendation on the consent application by Shell EP Ireland had not arrived on former energy minister Eamon Ryan’s desk before he left office.
An Taisce says it is seeking a judicial review of the Bord Pleanála decision, as it believes it is in breach of several EU directives.
The approved 8km of pipeline linking the landfall to the gas terminal at Ballinaboy runs through a special area of conservation in Sruwaddacon estuary.
Sinn Féin’s spokesman on natural resources Martin Ferris described the Minister’s move as “sharp practice”.
“Pat Carey issued this order on the day that he lost his seat and Fianna Fáil lost power. He had no political or moral authority to give the go-ahead to a pipeline over which many concerns still exist even with the changes made following the Bord Pleanála ruling.
“The Corrib field will bring little or no economic benefits to the Irish people under current revenue terms.
“Indeed, Shell now have been given the go-ahead to build infrastructure that will pump the gas from the west coast to their interconnectors in Britain,” Mr Ferris said.
Outgoing Labour spokesman on marine issues Michael McCarthy expressed concern at the timing of the Minister’s action.
“I would be very worried about ministers signing orders in relation to projects like this, in the dying days of the Government. Making decisions of this scale at this juncture in terms of where we are politically is very serious indeed.”
Socialist Party MEP and re-elected TD for Dublin West Joe Higgins said: “This is just outrageous and it is grotesque that a government whose credibility has been shattered and that has been utterly disowned by the Irish electorate would make such a momentous decision.
“I call on the incoming government, which looks like Fine Gael and Labour, to denounce this and say that it just will not honour this decision.
“This is an attempt to complete the total sell-out by Fianna Fáil to the multinationals. Mr Carey is putting the final stamp on this monumental and shameful sell-out.
“The Socialist Party and the United Left Alliance will be strenuously campaigning in the Dáil and outside it for natural resources to be brought back into public ownership and developed with public investment,” Mr Higgins said.
Labour Party president Michael D Higgins said last night that it was “very wrong” for such a decision to be signed on the day of the election, given the public interest in the project.
“This is not a decision that one would regard as “clearing one’s desk” as minister, as it has very serious implications,” Mr Higgins told The Irish Times .
“This project has been dogged by decisions taken which were not before the public gaze, and this will just add to the lack of accountability. It is very unhelpful,” Mr Higgins said.
Pobal Chill Chomáin chairman Vincent McGrath, whose group had objected to the pipeline routing, said he was “not surprised” at Mr Carey’s move.
“I’m sure nobody will be surprised that the final act of this discredited Government was to put the interest of a major developer ahead of those of a community,” Mr McGrath said.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The Department of Energy has said the consent to construct the pipeline and approval of the project’s amended plan of development was issued as a matter of course after An Bord Pleanála approved the new pipeline route in January.
However, Green Party sources say a recommendation on the consent application by Shell EP Ireland had not arrived on former energy minister Eamon Ryan’s desk before he left office.
An Taisce says it is seeking a judicial review of the Bord Pleanála decision, as it believes it is in breach of several EU directives.
The approved 8km of pipeline linking the landfall to the gas terminal at Ballinaboy runs through a special area of conservation in Sruwaddacon estuary.
Sinn Féin’s spokesman on natural resources Martin Ferris described the Minister’s move as “sharp practice”.
“Pat Carey issued this order on the day that he lost his seat and Fianna Fáil lost power. He had no political or moral authority to give the go-ahead to a pipeline over which many concerns still exist even with the changes made following the Bord Pleanála ruling.
“The Corrib field will bring little or no economic benefits to the Irish people under current revenue terms.
“Indeed, Shell now have been given the go-ahead to build infrastructure that will pump the gas from the west coast to their interconnectors in Britain,” Mr Ferris said.
Outgoing Labour spokesman on marine issues Michael McCarthy expressed concern at the timing of the Minister’s action.
“I would be very worried about ministers signing orders in relation to projects like this, in the dying days of the Government. Making decisions of this scale at this juncture in terms of where we are politically is very serious indeed.”
Socialist Party MEP and re-elected TD for Dublin West Joe Higgins said: “This is just outrageous and it is grotesque that a government whose credibility has been shattered and that has been utterly disowned by the Irish electorate would make such a momentous decision.
“I call on the incoming government, which looks like Fine Gael and Labour, to denounce this and say that it just will not honour this decision.
“This is an attempt to complete the total sell-out by Fianna Fáil to the multinationals. Mr Carey is putting the final stamp on this monumental and shameful sell-out.
“The Socialist Party and the United Left Alliance will be strenuously campaigning in the Dáil and outside it for natural resources to be brought back into public ownership and developed with public investment,” Mr Higgins said.
Labour Party president Michael D Higgins said last night that it was “very wrong” for such a decision to be signed on the day of the election, given the public interest in the project.
“This is not a decision that one would regard as “clearing one’s desk” as minister, as it has very serious implications,” Mr Higgins told The Irish Times .
“This project has been dogged by decisions taken which were not before the public gaze, and this will just add to the lack of accountability. It is very unhelpful,” Mr Higgins said.
Pobal Chill Chomáin chairman Vincent McGrath, whose group had objected to the pipeline routing, said he was “not surprised” at Mr Carey’s move.
“I’m sure nobody will be surprised that the final act of this discredited Government was to put the interest of a major developer ahead of those of a community,” Mr McGrath said.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
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