Séamus Pattison (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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Before calling Deputy Ring I remind Members of the sub judice rule which provides, inter alia, that a matter should not be raised in such an overt manner that it appears to be an attempt by the Oireachtas to encroach on the functions of the courts or the Judiciary.

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I offer my support to the people of Dublin. They now realise what the people of the west have put up with for a long time as five of my constituents are in prison for fighting for their rights. People should not go to the new prison to fight for their rights but should go to Mountjoy if they have to.

I raise this matter on the Adjournment because five innocent men are in prison on a health and safety issue. I shall speak on three aspects of the matter one of which is that we gave away our natural resources to an English company which probably will never pay a cent in tax here. I shall not speak about the former Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Deputy Fahey, because I hope he will come into the House some day and explain his role in this whole project. People thought there would never be a tribunal of inquiry here. There have been tribunals of inquiry and there will be more because many questions remain to be answered on this matter.

I ask the Minister and the Government to immediately step in and ask Shell, which has had great co-operation with the Government, to collapse the injunction. The Taoiseach met Mr. Andy Pyle, managing director of Shell in his offices in September 2003 but to this day we do not know what was discussed. The then Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Deputy Fahey, opened the door for Shell on many occasions and Mayo County Council opened the door on many occasions for Shell and Mr. Pyle. The only door the Minister and his colleagues opened for my five constituents was that of Mountjoy Prison.

Members of the Dáil and Seanad flew out to Colombia when three Irish citizens travelled on illegal passports and were arrested in that country. I listened here, morning after morning, to Members asking what the Taoiseach and the Irish Government was doing about the case. While a delegation of Fianna Fáil TDs and Senators flew out to Colombia to do something for them, I did not see many Fianna Fáil Deputies in Cloverhill or in Rossport since the issue arose some months ago. I ask the Minister of State, the Taoiseach and the Government to ensure Shell suspends the injunction immediately to enable us to sit down with those who wish to resolve this problem. There are some who do not wish to resolve the problem.

While there were three other ways Shell could have brought the pipeline onshore it insisted on bringing it within 70 metres of the doors of these people, which would put their lives at risk. That is wrong. This is a health and safety issue. These people do not want the pipeline passing their doors. They want the gas but they do not want it to pass by their doors. Why should the people of Rossport and County Mayo have their lives put at risk when there is no gain for the people of Mayo. Not one town in the county of Mayo will get natural gas. It is a disgrace that a natural resource is being taken out of County Mayo and all it is getting in return is headaches and the danger.

We have listened to many speeches about dialogue. The Government has an opportunity to have some dialogue. I ask that the Taoiseach make a telephone call tomorrow to the managing director of Shell, Mr. Pyle, asking that it immediately suspend the injunction so that serious negotiations can take place to resolve this very serious problem. It is wrong that five men should spend so long in jail not having committed a serious crime. I accept they broke the law and I know the Judiciary had no choice but to put them into jail, but these men will immediately purge their contempt if Shell suspends the injunction and then the negotiations can be got up and running.

I would like to hear from the Minister of State what the Government has done either publicly or behind the scenes to resolve this issue. The Taoiseach has tried to get people out of jail in Colombia. What has he done for his own Irish citizens who are in jail having done nothing wrong? Given that many of the Minister of State's constituents come from that area I am sure he has been contacted by many to try to resolve the problem. Nobody wants to see innocent men in jail fighting for their land, their homes, their families and to feel safe in their beds at night. We all know that one can no longer believe any institution in the State because we have seen what has happened with tribunals of inquiry. Why should these people have to listen to anybody from outside the State?

I wrote to Lord Oxborough in the House of Commons who is a director of Shell. He told me he visited north Mayo, which is more than many of our Ministers did. Had he told us he would visit we would have had a hero's welcome for him. He was delighted to see the support of Mayo County Council and the Government. I would like to see the same support for my constituents who are in jail and I would like to see the issue resolved. I call on the Government to ask Shell to collapse the injunction.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Ring will be aware that the Minister, Deputy Noel Dempsey, dealt with this matter yesterday at the Joint Committee on Communications, Marine and Natural Resources. It was dealt with by the Taoiseach on Leaders' Questions today when the Deputy's constituency colleague and party leader raised the issue.

On behalf of the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Deputy Noel Dempsey, I assure the House that the development of the Corrib gas field has received all required approvals and consents from the Department as required by law. These approvals and consents were only given after intense scrutiny, including reports and assessments of consultants of international reputation where warranted, as is the case in regard to the onshore pipeline.

Authorisations were granted for the Corrib gas field under a number of provisions. Under the Continental Shelf Act 1968, authorisation was given for the construction of the sub-sea facilities within the continental shelf designated areas. Consent was also given for the plan for the development of the field under the Petroleum and Other Minerals Development Act 1960. Under the Gas Act 1976, as amended, consent was given for the construction of a gas pipeline from the gas field through the offshore to the terminal. A foreshore licence was also granted under the Foreshore Acts. In accordance with EU directives, an environmental impact assessment was carried out and an environmental impact statement was submitted with each application for consent or approval.

In regard to the five Rossport men, as the Minister Deputy Noel Dempsey has stated, it is regrettable that anyone should be committed to prison as a result of their opposition to the development of the Corrib gas field. It has been a traumatic time for the men and their families.

Deputies will appreciate that the Minister as a member of the Government cannot intervene in a decision by the High Court. The Minister has nonetheless made every effort to create the conditions that would allow the men to purge their contempt. Initially, the Minister contacted the five men in prison through an intermediary to discuss their concerns. He proposed a safety review by an independent body as a response to those concerns. Despite this and his willingness to meet the men if they purged their contempt, the men decided not to purge their contempt. Despite this also, the Minister ordered an additional comprehensive safety review of the onshore, upstream gas pipeline to be carried out by independent internationally recognised experts. Advantica was identified as the successful bidder and appointed on 25 August. The company is a world leader in the development and application of advanced hazard and risk assessment technologies for gas pipelines. This safety review will examine critically all relevant documentation on the design, construction and operation of the pipeline and associated facilities.

A particular issue of concern to local residents has been the proximity of the pipeline to inhabited dwellings. This will be addressed by the safety review. Advantica has been asked to identify any deficiencies in safety and to make recommendations as to how these, if identified, can be remedied.

It is important that people who have views on the safety of the pipeline should have the opportunity to have those views considered. Views are now being invited from local residents, communities and any interested party during the period of the review.

Pádraic McCormack (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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Why was that not done at the beginning?

Pat Gallagher (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The Advantica company is visiting the Corrib site as part of its work. A two-day public hearing will also be held in Mayo next month and will be chaired by Mr. John Gallagher, Senior Counsel.

Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)
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Not long enough.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The issue of the appointment of an intermediary who would attempt to seek some common ground between the parties and perhaps be able to map a way forward out of the current impasse has been raised. On a number of occasions, the Minister has indicated his willingness to seek out such a person. However, for such a process to work there needs to be the prospect of some movement by both parties towards some common ground. While there has, unfortunately, been no evidence of this to date, the Minister remains strongly supportive of the idea of appointing such an intermediary.

A second area of concern expressed by local people was the level of monitoring and supervision. The Minister has put new monitoring and verification procedures in place to ensure the developer complies with all legal consent issues. Extra personnel have been assigned to the petroleum affairs division of the Department. A new technical advisory group, independent of the petroleum affairs division, has been established to advise, monitor and verify works being carried out on this project.

The Deputy has raised the question of consents for the project. There appears at times to be some confusion about pipeline consents so I would like to clarify the process. On 15 April 2002, the Minister, Deputy Fahey, issued consent to construct a pipeline for the Corrib gas field development.

Pádraic McCormack (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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That is when it started.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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He did so under section 40 of the Gas Act 1976, as amended. It was subsequently agreed between the Department and the developers that the consent would be split into seven phases to reflect actual timing as well as the different equipment spreads for each activity. The seven phases are as follows: nearshore construction, landfall, onshore pipeline and umbilical, offshore pipeline, offshore umbilical, manifold installation and in-field works, and hook-up, testing and commissioning. Applications for phases 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 have been submitted by the developers and substantially approved. Phases 5 and 7 have yet to be submitted. The Minister has met with Shell and discussed these consents process with them as well as the safety review and the wider economic aspects of the Corrib project.

It has been commented incorrectly that there is no State agency with specific responsibility for onshore, upstream pipeline safety. This is simply untrue. The Minister has specific powers concerning the safety of the gas pipelines and he will use all legislative mechanisms available to him to ensure that safety in the installations and operation of such pipelines is being addressed and policed properly.

I assure the House that the Minister is committed to the safe and effective exploration of natural resources. He very much regrets that anyone should be committed to prison as a result of his or her opposition to the Corrib onshore gas pipeline. The Minister is extremely conscious that residents in the vicinity of the pipeline have concerns about health and safety issues and he is committed to setting up all the necessary mechanisms, including a comprehensive safety review and public hearing, to deal with these issues.