Setback for €800m Corrib gas field project

The Shell subsidiary, Enterprise Energy Ireland (EEI), says it is reviewing the €800 million Corrib gas field project, following yesterday's An Bord Pleanála ruling, which rejected permission for its proposed terminal in north Mayo.

The Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Mr Dermot Ahern, said yesterday the Government "regrets" that the development of the Corrib field would be "further delayed" by the board's decision.

The implications of the decision were discussed by the Cabinet yesterday, the Minister said.

"While I fully respect the decision today of An Bord Pleanála, it is to be hoped that the ruling does not end efforts to tap into this rich vein of energy off our coast and the jobs, investment and infrastructure which it has the potential to deliver," the Minister emphasised.

The Minister of State for Labour Affairs and former marine minister who approved the project, Mr Fahey, said if the project didn't go ahead, it would have a "severe, negative impact" on the west of Ireland.

While EEI has expressed disappointment at the decision, it declined to comment on its future involvement with the Corrib gas field.

"We will now take time to assess the board's decision and we will engage in a full review of the project before making any decisions on its future," Mr Andy Pyle, EEI's managing director, said.

Earlier last month, the company denied a press report that it might pull out altogether if the conditions attached to the appeals board ruling proved to be too onerous.

The Irish Offshore Operators Association (IOOA) described the decision as "a serious blow to the development of Ireland's energy resources and infrastructure".

An Bord Pleanála took the unprecedented step of holding two oral hearings, visiting the terminal site in north Mayo, and spending two days considering the inspector's report earlier this week before issuing its ruling. It also appointed an outside consultant to consider the project.

The board rejected two of its inspector's recommended grounds for refusal, but made a unanimous decision to turn down the application because of the high risk posed by the transfer of some 650,000 cubic metres of peat to adjoining blanket bog - equivalent to an unstable "blanket" covering 94 acres, with part of it running down onto a regional road.

It said this would constitute an "unacceptable risk to the health and safety of the local community and of the general public on the public road" adjoining the site. There would also be a pollution risk to the salmonid waters of Glenamoy River, Sruwaddacon Bay and Carrowmore lake, it said.

In its detailed explanation of the final decision, the board noted that "alternatives are available" for the development of the Corrib gas field.

The decision has been welcomed by the appellants in north Mayo; the Green Party and Green MEP Ms Patricia McKenna; An Taisce; the Friends of the Irish Environment and SIPTU's offshore committee.

Ms Maura Harrington, spokeswoman for the Erris appellants, said she was "delighted". The company's "disdain for the communities who lived on and beside that bog at Ballanaboy led to its downfall," Ms Harrington said.

Mr Padhraig Campbell, spokesman for SIPTU's offshore committee, said it was time for a "review of the Government's approach to handling natural resources". A more "holistic" approach was needed, and one which involved specific Government direction of terms to mineral exploration companies.

Ms McKenna said the decision was "a victory for the environment and responsible planning".

Ms McKenna had filed a complaint with the European Commission against the project in August 2001, after planning permission had initially been granted to EEI by Mayo County Council, on the grounds that the planned pipeline and terminal would have encroached on three outstanding Special Areas of Conservation.

An Taisce called the decision "one of the most significant and progressive in the board's history". The Friends of the Irish Environment called it a "brave defence of basic science". Infrastructural delays were "inevitable if environmental impact assessments are fundamentally flawed," a spokesman said.

However, the Mayo Independent TD, Dr Jerry Cowley, who had called for a review of the Government's original deal with EEI on Corrib, said he was disappointed. "Mayo and the western region needs this gas, and we can only hope that it can be brought ashore in an environmentally-responsible manner," Dr Cowley said, while welcoming the board's concerns about health and safety.