Jerry Cowley (Mayo, Independent)

The Minister referred to talks, but talk is cheap. I would not hold out much hope for these talks. The fundamental issue is that these people are in jail because of the situation that has developed. Their lives are in peril. How will talks sort this out? The Minister is the one with ultimate responsibility for this situation. Shell obtained planning permission without going through the same regime as I or anybody else would have to go through. It got carte blanche.

The Minister is the only one who can sort this out. He must intervene and stop Shell from obtaining any more consents and make sure a safe system is in place. A pipeline attached to an offshore terminal would be much safer. This is the responsibility of the Minister. The QRA is based on the work of JP Kenny, which is the company that did the original work on the pipeline which was initiated by Enterprise Energy, formerly Enterprise Oil, that was taken over by Shell. How can the QRA be independent when the company that carried it out was 50% owned by Shell? The information was flawed from the beginning, so how can it be independent? Those people are in jail because they do not feel safe. What the Minister has said will not make any difference.

An investigation must be carried out into how companies can collude with Shell and the Government to get around the planning laws. The deals done in 1987 and 1992 were sweetheart deals that gave the oil companies a 25% tax rate which they can write off against all their operations in Ireland. There is a need for an independent oil inspectorate. We need answers but we are not getting them. Those people are languishing in jail purely because of fear. Talk will not solve the problem. The Minister is the only one who can solve it. He can do so by refusing any more consents and by insisting the gas is brought onshore in a safe way.

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