A complaint has been lodged with the European Commission over the Government's failure to implement an EU directive on industrial accidents.
The submission by the Labour Party's candidate in Mayo, Harry Barrett, relates to the Corrib gas project.
The revised Seveso II directive strengthens existing legislation on major industrial accidents, and the Dáil was told last month that it would apply to the Corrib gas terminal at Bellanaboy, Co Mayo. However, the deadline of June 30th last for its transposition into Irish law has already passed, Mr Barrett said.
The EU directive 2003/105.EC will oblige industrial establishments to produce risk maps showing areas that might be affected by a major accident. Member states must also provide the EU with minimum data on all sites which must comply with the Seveso directive on hazardous substances within their territory.
The directive was amended after 18 people were killed in a fireworks explosion in Enschede, Holland, in 2000, and the spill of more than 100,000 cubic metres of cyanide-tainted water from a reservoir near Baia-Mare in northern Romania, also in 2000.
Mr Barrett said he wished to know if the Corrib gas project complied with the directive, and whether proper risk maps had been produced to show the effect of a vapour cloud explosion on the area near the proposed terminal. He said he was aware that the high pressure onshore pipeline was exempt from the terms of the existing Seveso directive.
However, he pointed out that a "substantial portion" of the proposed 9km onshore pipeline would run within the terminal site, and would have to comply with it. "The terms set out in the directive are only minimum requirements and there is nothing to stop Shell E&P Ireland producing risk maps for the entire project, pipeline included," Mr Barrett said. He added that the Minister for the Marine could insist that this was done.
Mediation chaired by former Ictu secretary-general Peter Cassells has been initiated between Shell E&P Ireland and the five men who were imprisoned for 94 days over their opposition to the pipeline. However, the legal case involving an application by Shell for a permanent injunction against opponents of the pipeline, and the outstanding issue of possible "punishment" of the men by the High Court president, is due for mention tomorrow.
Meanwhile, a large mural marking the 10th anniversary of the execution in Nigeria of writer Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight colleagues was unveiled outside the Corrib terminal site at Bellanaboy on Saturday. The leader of the Ogoni people was hanged over opposition to Shell's activities. Several hundred members of Irish-African communities joined Erris residents and supporters of the Shell to Sea campaign at the event.
