Niall Ó Brolcháin (Green Party)

I welcome the Minister. It is great to be here to listen to Members on all sides commend a Bill introduced by a Green Party Minister. It is also timely. It is a shame it was not introduced many years ago because we would have avoided the effects of what has happened in north Mayo since.

with the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, when we wore a different hat, I visited the Rossport Five in Cloverhill Prison. At the time, this was a huge environmental conflict that involved huge emotion. There is still huge emotion, but a process has been established by the Minister to deal with the community aspect and the real concerns of people who actually live on the Erris Peninsula.

I want to concentrate on the human and environmental aspects of the matter. The safety Bill is one of a number of measures the Minister is introducing to deal with this issue because energy will be the currency of the future. It is of huge importance to this country. The Government targets to ensure net energy exports, while generating our own energy supplies, are crucial for the economy. To achieve this, the proper framework must be in place from a business point of view, although it must also be in place from a human and environmental point of view. There must be checks and balances.

I give credit to the Rossport Five. I will not say they are responsible for this Bill; the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources is clearly responsible, but the various protests in Erris and around the country ensured pipeline safety was an important item on the agenda. I visited Mr. Brendan Philbin, Mr. Vincent McGrath, Mr. Philip McGrath, Micheál Ó Seighin and Mr. Willie Corduff in prison. They brought forward an interesting debate on pipeline safety and were prepared to go to prison, not for monetary gain but to highlight a safety and environmental issue in their own backyard. Shell and previous Governments did not manage the projects correctly and many mistakes were made, from which we must learn. However, we will not be able to do that until we recognise that mistakes were made and introduce legislation to address the various issues raised.

Security and respect for Erris comprise a serious matter. Divisive issues were raised in the Rossport area because a lack of respect was shown during the initial stages of Shell's presence there. From my many visits to the area with other politicians and on my own, quite a few people living there believed the people in big cars coming into their area were showing them a lack of respect. The locals have grown up in the area and some of their families have lived there for generations. It is a beautiful area. When one brings pipelines onshore in the west, one cannot help but bring them through beautiful areas. The west is a beautiful place. The local community has a great dignity and possesses a resonance with the land. The individuals in question were concerned that people in Dublin, Shell and the Government were not respecting their opinions. This is the serious lesson that must be learned.

When the Solitaire came to Broadhaven Bay, I was present at the invitation of members of the Rossport five. I went down the bay in a fishing boat. The level of security was incredible. It was like a police state and needed to have been seen to have been believed. Two Naval Service ships were in the bay as well and security guards wearing masks were all over the place. Various boats photographed us, Garda divers were present and every move we made was monitored and photographed by the Garda and a private security company. Security is always a difficult business, but some people in that security company in County Mayo had links to Hungarian and Bolivian paramilitary groups, an issue that should be monitored.

People felt as if they were under siege. Their impression that someone from the outside has come to impose something on them must be addressed. I cannot stress enough the importance of the consultation process set up by the Ministers, Deputies Ryan and Ó Cuív. I have worked with Deputy Higgins and others in the area. The politics are wrong and disrespectful. We must recognise that there is a political aspect to the Corrib issue, but County Mayo is a Fine Gael stronghold and it is disappointing that some members of the Rossport community were cast adrift for political reasons. This is unfortunate, as local politicians have a key role to play in ensuring projects like this are brought forward. Great political mistakes were made.

The project must be resolved. For the country's future, it is important we have a model whereby oil and gas can be brought onshore safely and with the consent of the local people. The planning process must be and is being examined. It needs to be as transparent as possible. We need to respect communities and deal with the issues they raise. The Bill addresses one such issue and I support it 100%.

I am sure the Minister will consider the points made by Senators O'Toole and Donohoe. The Commission for Energy Regulation is the right body to look after this matter. We will arrive at the best result once the Bill passes through the House.