Category: Rest of Europe

7.03.2007
Today at 16:00 a peaceful demonstration was held at the Shell Garage on Hoyle Street, Netherthorpe in Sheffield. This demonstration was an act of solidarity with the people of Rossport, County Mayo, Ireland and the campaign ShelltoSea, who are opposing Shells plans to build a potentially lethal high pressure gas pipe line and refinery in a marine special area of conservation.

The local people of Rossport are suffering bullying and intimidation tactics from both Shell and the Irish Government.

A banner declaring
“HANDS OFF ROSSPORT”
“NO PIPELINE”
and “Leave it as it is” written in Gaelic, was hung from the garage roof by pirates bearing the Irish Tricolour.

Fliers explaining the reasons for the action and the dangers of Shells proposed pipeline were distributed to Shells customers with a request to boycott Shell.

For more information on the local campaign please see:

http://shelltosea.com
http://www.indymedia.ie
http://struggle.ws/rsc/

or contact 07775752160

Text of Flier
===============

Boycott Shell

Shell,Statoil and Marathon, supported by the Irish government, wants to build a dangerous, experimental raw gas pipeline and refinery in northwest Ireland. But they are being stopped…

* Health and safety

The pipeline, at 5 times the usual pressure, would be built over unstable bogland, with a history of landslides and in very close proximity to people’s homes/ It would be 70m from the nearest home, 30m from a public house and 3 families would have to cross the pipeline every day to leave their houses. A recent independent safety analysis by US based pipeline consultants found: “The Corrib pipeline is not a ‘normal’ pipeline, given its potential to operate under exotically high pressures adn because of unknown gas compositions associated with gas field production. This can seriously increase the likelihood of pipeline failure.” The safety analysis said: “pipeline routing should be at least 200m away from dwellings and 400m away from unshelterd individuals to avoid massive casualties and/or multiple fatalities.”

* Environment

The refinery will have nine chimneys up to 140ft high releasing carbon dioxide and methane. 16 houses are within a 2km radius of the plant. Air and water emissions from the refinery would pollute the local environment. The emissions from the proposed refinery at Ballinboy will pollute Carrowmore Lake which
supplies the region with water. Broadhaven bay is where Shell plans to pump the waste from the refinery: including lead, nickel, magnesium, phosphorus, chromium, arsenic, and mercury. This bay provides livlihoods for local communities through fishing. Shell claim there is “no evidence that Broadhaven Bay is of particular importance to whales and dolphins”, contrary to the findings of a UCC study(commissioned by Shell). The UCC research team recorded over 220 sightings of seven whale and dolphin species, plus sightings of two seal species in Broadhaven Bay and north-west Mayo waters.

* The great gas giveaway

The Irish government has helped Shell in this project. In 1975 for oil and gas exploitation in Ireland the terms were between 8% to 16% production royalties to the government and a 50% tax rate. In addition there would be an up to 50% goverment participation in the exploitation of any find, as the establishment of a government energy company was planned. Moreover gas was sold to government companies at reduced bulk discount. Successive governments between 1985 and 1992 whittled this away to a situation where there are no royalties, no government participation, and a 25% tax rate. Furthermore there is a 100% tax write-off meaning multinationals can count their production, development and exploration costs as ‘tax’ and hence pay less tax, or even conceivably no tax. Laws were changed to allow Shell to use private land through a Compulsory Aquisition Order. Government owned forestry was sold to Shell for the refinery site.

Essentially this is a great gas giveaway, while underfunded public services go down the tube. The privatisation of natural resources is no aberration, when the same is planned for An Post, Dublin Bus, and Irish Rail, with inevitable impact on jobs and services; indeed the downgrading of the public health service is to the advantage of the private sector. Big business enjoys very low tax rates and the super-rich benefit from tax evasion amnesties, while more than 85% of income tax is paid for by PAYE workers.