Guarded Welcome from Sinn Féin for Government initiative on Corrib

national | rights, freedoms and repression | press release Friday November 07, 2008 17:47 by SF

Ferris welcomes establishment of Corrib Forum

The Sinn Féin Spokesperson on Natural Resources, Martin Ferris TD, welcomed
the announcement that the Government is to set up a forum to attempt to
settle the ongoing impasse over the development of the Corrib Gas field.

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For immediate release 6th November 2008:

Deputy Ferris said: “I welcome the fact that the forum is to be set up and
hopefully it will contribute to a resolution of the situation. I hope that
the body will be a truly independent one.

"The gas would be a tremendous asset to this country especially given
the
current economic situation. However, there are a number of issues that need
to be honestly addressed and resolved before that can take place in the
proper environment.

“Firstly, there is the fact that, as the project stands, this country
actually stands to gain little in terms of revenue as compared to the
fiscal regimes that are in place in other countries which have oil and gas
off shore. Secondly, there is the fact that there is nothing to ensure that
the gas when it does come on stream will be first of all used to supply
domestic requirements and thus potentially reduce costs both to domestic
and business users. And finally of course there are ongoing health and
safety concerns. All of these issues need to be discussed and resolved
before the project can move on with the support of the community.” ENDS
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