The Mayo News

The North West Mayo Forum was dubbed ‘a sham’ and ‘a wasted opportunity’ by two community groups No red tape for Corrib’s silent protestors


Áine Ryan

As the decision on the new pipeline route for the controversial Corrib gas project is – after two deferrals – finally due today (Tuesday),  two community groups have dubbed the North West Mayo Forum as ‘a sham’ and ‘a wasted opportunity’.
Held yesterday in Rossport’s An Corrán Buí centre, this latest session of the forum was  attended by three government ministers and personnel from the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC), which has investigated numerous complaints by Corrib protestors.  
While both Pobal Chill Chomáin and Pobal le Chéile boycotted proceedings, in a surprise move, Shell to Sea activists silently attended the proceedings with placards and taped mouths, symbolically showing how ‘the community has been silenced’.
However, according to a spokeswoman for Minister Éamon Ó Cuív, the ministers were delighted at the attendance of the protestors.
“The ministers [Ó Cuív, Eamon Ryan and Dara Calleary] were delighted that Shell to Sea attended the forum, even if they had their mouths taped and did not participate. From the outset there has been an open invitation to attend the forum,” the spokeswoman said. 
Speaking to The Mayo News afterwards, Ms Maura Harrington questioned the costliness of three ministers and a squad of civil servants to travelling to remote north Mayo to discuss ‘what could have been stated in a Press Release’.
“This government forum doesn’t talk about the real issues, which are health and safety, our drinking water supply and the giveaway of our natural resources to a private company,” Ms Harrington said.
In a joint statement, the two Pobals said the ‘process is continuing to miss the point at issue in our community, by focussing on ‘development’ about which we are all in agreement. The so-called forum is completely ignoring the health and safety issues surrounding the Corrib gas project, yet these are the specific issues that are continuing to give rise to conflict and disagreement in Erris’.
It continued: “The Ministers’ forum is widely regarded within our community as a sham, and is being used not as an instrument of conflict resolution but as an instrument for Corrib project advancement.”
“This is intentionally dishonest, and exposes the process as a PR-driven device designed to create the illusion of community involvement,” the statement added.

Garda Ombudsman
Meanwhile, personnel from the GSOC, Graham Doyle and Kieran Fitzgerald addressed the government forum and a forum organised by Shell to Sea, entitled the People’s Forum.
Explaining the process for complaints, Mr Doyle said that, in a GSOC survey, the main reasons revealed for not coming forward to make a complaint were that people felt nothing would be done, and, moreover, that their situation with gardaí would deteriorate as a result.
Mr Fitzgerald revealed that since the establishment of the GSOC in May 2007, it had received 111 complaints regarding Corrib policing; that 78 of these were deemed admissable and that seven had files sent to the DPP.  
Furthermore, in reports in The Irish Times over the weekend it was revealed that the GSOC has recommended that disciplinary action be taken against a senior member of An Garda Síochána in relation to garda handling of a protest at Pollathomas Pier on June 11, 2007. Around 20 civilians and two gardaí were injured during the fracas, after an elderly landowner objected to Shell contractors entering his lands. The contractors later removed a portacabin from the property on receipt of a letter for his solicitor.

Corrib scholarships
Meanwhile, the 2009 successful applicants for the Corrib Natural Gas Third Level Scholarship Programme has been announced.
There were a total of forty-two applicants for the ten scholarship places. The scholarships are valued at €4,000 per year for the duration of the courses chosen and must be taken up in the year during which they are offered.
According to the Chairman of the independent Scholarship Board, Mr Sean Staunton, the standard of entry was ‘extremely high’ and was a credit to the students, their teachers and parents.
“In these difficult economic times the scholarships will be much appreciated by the students and their parents,” said Sean Staunton, “This is particularly the case for Erris based students because of the distance they are from third level institutions.”

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