Corrib Gas Planning

Things are heating up in Mayo, the Gardai are taking instructions from a private security firm, the Navy Ship LE Orla is assisting the Guards. The police operation is costing €15million and they are now seeking extra reinforcements. Is it just a few crusties and eco-warriors from the UK looking for a cause, or are there genuine concearns.

At present the downstream pipeline by bord gais is completed and the terminal is 30% complete, however the upstream raw gas pipeline has not yet received planning permission. This is passing through 2 SAC’s and an SPA, a sandmartin nesting site (now demolished) a Machair dune system and virgin blanket bog. The Works were halted in 2002 as it turned out the foreshore license was not signed by the then minister Frank Fahy. Since 2006, Gas Infrastructure projects are no longer exempt from planning, A Strategic Infrastructure Act Application has been submitted by Corrib Partners and An Bord Pleanala and has not yet validated it as the EIS is incomplete. An oral hearing is due to take place in Belmullet in late october. However work is proceeding ahead of the statutory approval. A foreshore license was issued recently and the developer is using this licence to undertake works above the high tide line, also claiming that section 40 of 2002 Gas Act ammended, gives them permission for such works. The right of way along the Beach has been blocked by the works. The urgency to complete the connection of the subsea pipeline to the unauthorized Valve station is due to the pipelaying ship, having a small window of availability this September, but does this excuse illegal construction work?

The local inhabitants are seriously affected by the way the development has been proceeding. This is not unusual per say, all development has its affects, nobody is against the Gas coming in, the problem is that at each approval stage the valid concerns of the local people are ignored and the conditions imposed on the approvals are not implemented correctly. The recent Judgement of the European court of Justice on Ireland’s failure to fully implement European EIS legislation, critisised Ireland for allowing development approval by retention and for developments to proceed without Environmental Impact Assessment. Derrybrien was the most recognizable example of Irelands infringement of EU law. But this ruling may yet have an impact on the pipe route.

The Corrib controversy only came to light when the men were jailed for contempt of court when they refused to obey a court order to allow a private company access their land. The private company were allowed compulsorily purchase their land due to changes in legislation by Ray Burke. The original developers of Corrib Enterprise Oil have been implicated in alleged Sterling payments to a former Taoiseach. The foundation that the development is based on is corrupt, we must at some point shout stop and request that the development is carried out in consultation with those whose environment and sense of security is being irrevocable altered and in accordance with the law.

The country need this gas, Proper and sustainable use of this gas would be to leave it in the ground untill it is strategically usefull, at the moment we are filling the empty Kinsale field with Russian gas. For a sustainable energy future, we need to use the west to harness its vast potential wind and wave resource, This is intermittent electric power and needs a power station that can be geared to be fired up quickly to meet any shortfall in the power that it is contracted to sell. A gas turbine in the redundant Bellacorrrick power station which will soon have a 220kV connection to the grid would be an ideal solution to ensuring energy security for Ireland. However when the 4 or 5 fields in the North West come on stream in the next 10 years through Corrib’s refinery, the site will be intensified further and the Gas will be sold into the inter-connector to be extracted as fast as possible. Yes the country needs the Gas, but it needs a sustainible supply of energy. As for Jobs, the future for jobs in west mayo is ecotourism ( the stags of broadhaven has diving comparable with the Barrier reef) and renewable energy, the corrib project as currently configured constrains growth in both of these key sectors.

what do Architects and Planners think?