Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)

Apart from the economic issues, which have been dealt with by Deputies Adams and Ferris, the Corrib project has proven to be highly controversial with widespread opposition to the pipeline in Mayo. Apart from safety and the environmental concerns, many of those involved in the protest have based their opposition on the fact that as things stand, the Irish people will gain little from the gas coming onshore. The reaction of the consortium and the State to the campaign also leaves much to be desired. It has been heavy-handed, to say the least. We saw more evidence of this recently, with allegations that certain members of the Garda had joked about rape of two female protesters. In 2005 we had the disgraceful jailing of five men from Rossport after Shell took an injunction preventing them from engaging in legitimate protests at the site of the pipeline as it was then proposed.

Since then, Shell has made some alterations to the route - which it claimed at the time it could not and would not do - but many in the local community remain strongly opposed to the pipeline, for which consent was given on the day of the election by the former Minister for Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy Pat Carey. Although both Fine Gael and Labour protested at the manner in which this consent was given, the Government has done little to overturn it. In fact, it has stood by the decision. The lack of action or urgency on behalf of the Government has done nothing to reassure those who, locally and nationally, are still opposed to the project and will continue with their campaign of opposition.

I referred earlier to the policing of the protests in Mayo, which has raised some serious issues. On the State side, we have the example of some members of the Garda acting in a hostile manner towards protesters. This is not to mention the conservative estimate of the cost of all of this policing, which runs to more than €20 million. Protesters have been harassed, followed and searched, and there was the recent allegation to which I referred earlier. This is not the only time such an allegation has surfaced. A local woman has alleged that she was subject to similar abuse on another occasion. According to numerous reports, sexual intimidation is quite common in that area. Apart from the Garda, there are also private security operatives who seem to act with impunity. Shell's own security company, IRMS, has been involved in a number of incidents, including physical assaults, intimidation and the photographing of children. Its members have also been accused of taking photographs of people through the windows and doors of their own homes.

All of this action is designed to intimidate local residents and protesters. As the recent film "The Pipe" has shown, many local people feel they are in a community living under siege. The calibre of those involved in providing security has also been called into question. One person who worked for the company at Glengad later turned up in Bolivia, where he had dealings with members of a fascist group that was allegedly planning to kill President Morales. There was also the case of the undercover British policeman Mark Kennedy, who spent several days at Rossport in 2006. Kennedy's task was to infiltrate anti-globalisation and environmental groups but we have yet to receive a report on what exactly he was doing in this country, on whose behalf he was working, and whether the Garda was aware that he was here.

With regard to the wider legal issues connected to Corrib and the oil and gas sector generally, there are grounds for a full investigation of issues including the granting of licenses, the changes to the revenue terms and the transfer of State forestry lands at Bellanaboy to the consortium for the construction of a refinery. As was said at the time of the publication of the Flood tribunal report containing evidence related to Ray Burke which led to his being jailed on corruption charges, the terms of reference of that report should have been extended. Ray Burke was the Minister responsible for giving away the State's share of oil and gas funds. We know that he met privately with oil company executives against the advice of senior officials in his Department. Given what we also know about his activities with regard to planning, a full investigation should be made into his role in all of this.

In light of all the information we now know, there is a case to be made, as we propose in the motion, for a full review of the granting of all licenses, and consent for Corrib and other projects should be revoked pending the outcome of such a review. This would not be unheard of; the Russian Government did exactly what we are proposing in 2007, when it re-established a majority state holding in several projects, including one involving Shell, because of environmental violations and suspicions about the manner in which licenses were granted and operated. The only review approaching the type we consider is required was one carried out by the Centre for Public Inquiry. The CPI then became the centre of a politically motivated controversy and was forced to cease its operations. Perhaps this was a coincidence but even so, there can be no doubt but that its intention to investigate other murky areas of Irish public life was not welcomed with open arms by members of the political and economic elite.

The report on Corrib makes for interesting reading. Among its key findings, it concluded that the pipeline as proposed carried a high risk of failure and that the quantified risk assessment on the basis of which planning approval was granted was inappropriate to the type of pipeline proposed. The report also outlines the unhealthy and unusual access that company officials had to those in power, and the timeline demonstrates how crucial favourable decisions often followed quickly after meetings with relevant Ministers. This all took place during the era of the Galway tent, and the fact that Enterprise Oil was a regular attendee and facilitator will not, I am sure, be lost on anyone in the House. Kevin Moore of An Bord Pleanála recommended the rejection of the project on environmental and safety grounds. His advice was, of course, ignored. The subsequent decision by An Bord Pleanála followed a meeting between members of the board and leading oil company officials from Shell, Statoil and Marathon. There was coincidence after coincidence.

Kevin Moore also questioned the sale of Bellanaboy Wood for the 400 acre refinery site. He pointed out that the consortium required such a single site under sole ownership and that this just happened to be one owned by the State forestry company, Coillte. Questions remain to be answered about how all of this came about. Legislative steps were then taken to ensure that a private company could build on privately owned land. All of this took place even before the application for planning permission had been submitted. There are many other items of interest in the report and I recommend all Deputies to read it. It also provides a good model for the type of review we propose in our motion.

I referred to President Morales of Bolivia. He nationalised Bolivia's mineral resources on the basis of a referendum held in 2004 on a proposal to take control over those resources. Perhaps that is something this Government should consider to embody constitutionally what the authors of the Proclamation and the democratic programme of the first Dáil clearly intended, namely, to establish and guarantee the nation's sovereignty over "all its material possessions, the Nation's soil and all its resources, all the wealth and all the wealth-producing processes within the Nation".

That was the vision of the Republic expressed by those we will honour next Sunday. It is a vision which every subsequent Government has failed to live up to but remains worth remembering, particularly at this time when our State's sovereignty has been further undermined by the conditions attached to the bank bailout and the IMF-EU austerity programme. Such a constitutional change would also ensure that when pressure is applied, as it surely will be, for the sale of State companies, including the 7% of the land under the control of Coillte, we will have built-in protections.

I ask all Deputies to give consideration to this motion and I hope it will get the support of Deputies beyond my party. I ask the Government to withdraw its amendment. My party intends to follow this motion in Leinster House by proposing similar motions at local level at town, city and county councils of this State.

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