Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)

Mayo might be a Fine Gael stronghold now but it certainly was not at that time. This project was never hijacked by any of the main political parties. They never brought politics into it during this dispute. We were delighted the gas find was coming through the county because it carried many benefits from a rates point of view. The pipeline was going 100 miles from north Mayo to the Galway border and this would bring in a significant annual rate of return to a county that needed it badly. The whole project was welcomed from that point of view.

However, some issues were handled very badly. Planning permission at the beginning was announced on a bank holiday weekend. Compulsory purchase order powers were given to a wealthy private company, which should never have happened. The CPO powers should have gone to the local authority or some arm of the State. There were many badly handled issues during that period. Shell was not that generous to the community at the beginning. It could have offered much more community support. This would have softened the blow and brought the community along. However, it took Shell a long time to come around to the idea of supporting the community, which is still divided to some degree. The Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Ryan, and the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy Ó Cúiv, must be complimented on the structures they put in place to heal this. The Minister should ensure Ballyglass Harbour is chosen to service offshore gas or exploration in the area. This could heal what happened there and it would bring much-needed employment to the area. Ballyglass Harbour is one of the finest deep sea harbours in the country and using this would lead to other infrastructure being improved.

I welcome the Bill. I agree with Senators O'Toole and O'Malley on the point that safety measures are not so bad that we need legislation. However, this legislation will underpin the safety requirements. Senator O'Malley also referred to foreshore licences, an important issue for our country if we are to be a net exporter of energy. Many countries plan to be net exporters of energy derived from solar and wind sources. If every country is exporting energy, there will be a major decrease in the price of energy.