Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources Noel Dempsey defended the Shell Corrib gas pipeline when confronted by supporters of the "Rossport Five" in Donegal yesterday, writes Michael O'Regan in Glenties.
Mr Dempsey, who faced a picket and angry comments from speakers during a question and answer session at the MacGill Summer School in Glenties, said that the deal had not been specifically done with Shell.
"The licence on the lease was given to Enterprise Energy initially, and it is now owned in three parts by Marathon, Statoil and Shell. The terms and conditions are as laid out in the legislation."
He added that a decision had been made many years and governments ago that the State would not spend taxpayers' money drilling wells and exploring for natural resources because each one of the wells cost anything between €15 million to €20 million at current prices.
He said he would be very disappointed if he thought people felt he had aligned himself with Shell rather than the people.
"I have tried, since this started, to keep a fair and independent line from both sides on this."
The ballroom of the Highlands Hotel was picketed by supporters of the five north Mayo men, in prison over their opposition to the pipeline, when Mr Dempsey arrived there to address the school. Later, he took questions from members of the group after he delivered his address.
School director Joe Mullholland, who chaired the session addressed by Mr Dempsey, warned hecklers that the meeting could not be hijacked.
A woman in the audience, who held up a large banner outlining the history of the pipeline, asked if it was possible for the entire deal to be looked at again. Another female speaker said the Minister was aligning himself more with Shell than the Rossport community. "I did hear you saying yesterday that going offshore was not an option for Shell," she added.
"Right away, to me that seems to me there is no question about it. People do not feel cherished equally despite what you said about the 1916 Proclamation."
Mr Dempsey said his comment about an offshore terminal not being an option for Shell was merely a statement of the com- pany's position.
Local Sinn Féin councillor Pearse Doherty also spoke in support of the men, and claimed that a former minister, Ray Burke, had sold off the assets of the State.
Mr Dempsey said it was totally untrue to say that the Government had jailed five people.
"The people in jail, which I regret very much, I tried as best I could to offer a solution to them to allow them to come out of jail. They have not accepted that yet. That is their decision."