Enough Already About Rossport

international | anti-capitalism | opinion/analysis

Wednesday November 02, 2005 20:34

by Henry

This dispute is simply intractable.

The position as I understand it of the Shellto Sea (from reading newspaper, listening to radio, watching television and following the debate on this website) is that they want NO gaspipe line or refinary to be constructed.
That position appears uncompromising.

Shell and Statoil et al meanwhile have met with those opposed to them and outlined in detail what their plans are.

I take it that those opposed believe that they are being lied to about the danger of an explosion and besides they are unsatisfied no matter what assurances they recieve that the pipeline will be safe.

Hypothetically if there is in fact no danger of an explosion and the pipeline is in fact safe the Rossport protestors would oppose it anyway because they believe it is forced upon them by a multi-national company and they compare the persecution they feel to the tyranny of Cromwell.
They have repeatedly stated that they believe the offshore gas should be held in trust by the government for the Irish people even though the government lacks the expertise to pipe it ashore and need the help of a private company to do it for them.

The gas is useless to anybody where it is beneath the sea so presumeable for it be of future use it would have to be brought ashore at some time. ShelltoSea want the proposed gas refinery built offshore. Once the gas would be refined it would still have to piped ashore somewhere. The protestors in Rossport do not want it piped ashore where they live so presumeably if the government ( it could not be a private multinational according to the Rossport demonstrators) would have to pipe it somewhere else.

For many years now the Kinsale gasfield has supplied gas through a high pressure pipe into Cork and from there throughout the country. Gas tankers regularly arrive at Whiddy Island even though there was a major disaster in the early eighties.

Oil petrol and gas and other hazardous substances are transported and stored through out the country with the risk of potential disasters.

Cars containing many gallons of fuel in their tanks travel through our cities and towns.
Buses carrying our children to school carry hundreds of litres of highly combustible fuel.
Aersols which can exploded near naked flames are sold in shops through out the country even to children and sprayed on human bodies.

Its getting to dangerous to go out.