Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

Cuirim fáilte roimh shaoradh Chúigear Ros Dumhach ar an Aoine. Ba bhua é don chúigear agus dá gclann as a gcrógacht agus an cur chuige a léirigh siad thar tréimhse 13 seachtain i ngéibheann. Ba bhua é chomh maith do na mílte i Maigh Eo agus mórthimpeall na tíre seo a thacaigh leo agus a ghlac páirt sna hagóidí, a chuir cártaí poist chuig an chúigear agus a léirigh i mbealaí difriúla a dtacaíocht don fheachtas. B'fheachtas seo a tharraing daoine le chéile le dearcaidh pholaitiúla dhifriúla agus daoine gan dearcadh polaitiúil ar bith. Léirigh sé deighilt bhunúsach idir páirtithe polaitiúla agus fiú laistigh díobh. Bhí léiriú air sin ag cinnirí na dtrí mhórpháirtithe sa Teach seo faoin deighilt sin.

Ba deighilt í idir iad siúd a sheas go hiomlán ar thaobh iad siúd a bhí ag léiriú míbhuntáistí eacnamaíochta agus timpeallachta a bhí in ndán dúinn de thairbhe phíobán na Coirbe agus ar an taobh eile iad siúd a bhí ag tabhairt tacaíochta agus tús áite go hiomlán do spéis agus buntáistí Royal Dutch Shell. Let us be clear about that.

As the Corrib gas field development stands, neither the people of County Mayo nor the citizens of the State stand to gain in any real way from the gas if it is brought on shore. Muintir Iorrais will have a dangerous pipeline at their back doors, carrying gas to which they will not even have access. This gas will be piped in by a company whose annual turnover is bigger than the State's GDP and which has, to all intents and purposes, been given the gas field for nothing. Surely it is an outstanding act of generosity for a Government to allow the company in question to write off all its tax and charge the full price for selling the gas it extracts to Bord Gáis, which this week imposed a massive price increase on its customers, many of whom already face fuel bills they cannot afford.

We know who we have to thank for this gift, namely, individuals such as Ray Burke who was no doubt motivated by the highest sentiments when he made the original deal. Sinn Féin has called for a full inquiry into why and how multinational companies were handed over control of our natural resources at terms unequalled anywhere else on the planet. I reiterate that demand and call for any review of the Corrib gas field debacle to include full disclosure of all aspects of the deal. What, for example, were the terms under which the former Minister of State at the Department of Marine and Natural Resources, Deputy Fahey, signed over Bellanaboy Wood for the terminal site? Why were parts of the report written by Kevin Moore for An Bord Pleanála and detailing the lack of economic benefits ignored? Why was misleading information given regarding the potential disaster which might have occurred had the pipeline been in place at the time of the Dooncarton landslide? What did the Taoiseach discuss with the president of Shell when he met him? If these and many other questions are to be answered, any inquiry or judicial review needs to be carried out on the basis of full disclosure. All minutes from the Department relating to the project must be made available, as must the minutes of the Taoiseach's meeting with the Shell president. After years of hiding behind the alleged lack of ministerial responsibly for Coillte, all documents relating to the transfer of Bellanaboy Wood must be placed in the public realm.

The Rossport men and their families and supporters have won a tremendous victory. As Owen Wiwa, the brother of murdered Ogoni activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa, said on Saturday at a Dublin rally for the men, "Such victories are rare." It is, however, only a temporary victory and the real issues have yet to be resolved. Unless they are resolved, the pipeline moved offshore and the State changes the licensing and revenue conditions governing the project, the campaign against the development, as currently proposed, will continue.

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