AN ORDER prohibiting Shell from entering commonage land at Rossport in north Mayo for site works has been lifted.
Shell had been found to be in contempt of the November 2007 court order in September but its application to vacate the order before Judge Mary Devins at Belmullet District Court yesterday was successful.
The order was issued by the judge at Belmullet court on November 14th, 2007, when Monica Muller and a number of other shareholders in the commonage said they had not been served with proper notification of Shell’s intention to conduct site investigations.
On September 4th last, the judge found Shell to be in contempt of her order prohibiting exploratory works on the commonage. Since the order was issued, the company has acquired a share of the commonage, which is on the route for the modified onshore gas pipeline route.
The application to vacate was one condition imposed by the judge in September when she found Shell to be in contempt of the 2007 order. Another was for the company to pay €3,000 to the charity of choice of Ms Muller, which was done, said solicitor John Gordon, representing Shell.
The other condition concerned Ms Muller’s costs and Mr Gordon said his clients gave an undertaking to have the costs paid by October 31st.
Mr Gordon reminded the judge she had remarked in September that the order of November 2007 was moot once Shell had bought a share in the Rossport commonage.
Solicitor Mairéad Casey, representing Ms Muller, said her client was concerned section 26 of the Gas Act would be complied with, but the judge said she could not grant the application to vacate the order on “terms or conditions”.
“Either I grant it or I do not.”
Meanwhile, an application to refer the contempt ruling to the High Court for clarification has been adjourned for mention to Ballina District Court on October 27th.