Shell Ireland has apologised over the imprisonment of five men for contempt of court over their protest against the controversial Corrib gas pipeline and said it regrets the part it played in their jailing and the hurt it caused the local community.
Andy Pyle, Shell E&P Ireland
The "Rossport Five" - brothers Philip and Vincent McGrath, Willie Corduff, Micheál Ó Seighin and James Brendan Philbin - served 94 days in jail last year because they breached court orders restraining interference with the pipeline.
In a statement today, Shell has said it will adhere to all the safety recommendations put forward in an independent review of the proposed Corrib pipeline.
A series of safety measures in relation to the controversial project made by the Corrib technical advisory group (Tag) were approved by the Minister for Communciations, Marine and Natural Resources, Noel Dempsey, yesterday.
They include limiting the gas pressure in the nine-kilometre onshore pipeline, and modification of an isolation valve.
Shell E&P Ireland (SEPIL) said it welcomes the publication of the final report of the Independent Safety Review and "fully accepts all recommendations therein".
It said the report was "an important step towards addressing the safety concerns surrounding the Corrib gas pipeline.
"The company has also announced that it will fully adhere to all of the recommendations contained in the review and requested by Minister Dempsey."
The statement added: "SEPIL is pleased that the report of the Independent Safety Review stated that proper consideration was given to safety issues in the selection process for the preferred design option and the locations of the landfall, pipeline route and terminal."
Andy Pyle, managing director of Shell E&P Ireland, said: "I hope that the publication of today's report and our commitment to meet all of the recommendations will mark a turning point in this project and give an impetus to the mediation process being led by Mr Peter Cassells."
Mr Pyle said the company is fully committed to mediation and believes that "face to face dialogue is the only way forward.
"Mistakes have been made. We regret the part that we played in the jailing of the five men last summer. For the hurt that this caused the local community I am sorry," he said.
"We cannot change the past but we have learned from it. The Corrib gas partners are fully committed to the project; however, we can only succeed in partnership with the local community, and I hope that we can all now move forward together so that the full benefits of the project to Erris, to Mayo and to Ireland can be realised."