Irish Times: Shell 'committed' to solving Corrib issues: Saturday Oct 15, 2005

Lorna Siggins, Marine Correspondent

Shell E&P Ireland says it is "fully committed" to completing the 900 million Corrib gas project in Mayo and to finding a solution relating to all the issues raised by some local landowners on the onshore pipeline route.

The company's managing director Andy Pyle said in Ballina, Co Mayo, yesterday that all sides needed to work together in a constructive manner. He said he welcomed progress made at all of the project sites in Mayo over the past fortnight.

Referring to the two-day public hearing on safety issues, which Mr Pyle described as "well attended", he said he hoped that the initiative would allow all of the concerns to be addressed in a comprehensive and transparent way.

Only a small group of people attended the two-day hearing chaired by senior counsel John Gallagher in Geesala, Erris, and hosted by the Minister for the Marine's technical advisory group on the Corrib project.

The five men who served 94 days in prison over their opposition to the pipeline said that they could not participate, primarily because of the narrow terms of reference that did not consider alternative technologies to refine the Corrib gas.

They were also constrained by impending mediation talks and further court hearings, they said. 

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