A Word In Our Shell-Likes

The Freedom Institute have never met a large commercial organisation they didn't like. But sometimes they seem to have a particular affinity for one- so much so that they can almost predict what it is going to do next.

Shell Ireland E & P Ltd had a touch of bother with their planned gas pipeline through Rossport earlier in the year. I refer you to A. L. Waller on tuppenceworth.ie for a roundup of the issues.

However, one uncharacteristically lucid post on the FI caught my eye at the height of the controversy.

Shell eventually asked the court to withdraw their injunction and free the men from prison. But before that happened they announced that they wanted the men to take part in discussions and would defer work on the pipeline to allow a breathing space for those talks. In return for this breathing space they hoped that the 5 jailed men would accept not to breach the terms of the injunction Shell had sought and received from the court.

Anyone with eyes to see could tell that this had the same chance of success as a fried snowball.

The FI Fie Foe Fum interest in this matter arises from that long and jargon-filled post of Donal Fitzgibbon, a Gemini working in the Environment according to his profile. Here, a week before Shell acted, he laid out a plan for them. Specifically, it is a plan for restoring some semblance of credibility to the Rossport project by opening up talks in the locality. These talks would be aimed at appointing an independent person, (who might be a Gemini, who knows?) to reassure the natives that talk of exploding pipes is a

'subjective' risk assessment, one in which emotions, rather than a deep scientific and technical understanding of the potential risk determines what risk the development poses and what suitable risk management procedures are necessary.

If only we knew somebody working in the field of the Environment who could help us out of this morass of irrationality!

These talks would also involve state agencies, binding the government tighter to Shell, at a time when the Minister was starting to feel the heat of standing too close to them already.

But of equal importance, multi-stakeholder dialogue also facilitates communication between relevant regulatory agencies, such as the Health and Safety Authority, government departments or local authority planning offices and interested parties such as those same local residents. Communications allows the relevance and role of each agency in the planning process for the project to be made clear from the outset. It also provide an opportunity for the relevant government agencies to show that it is representing the best interests of the public most likely to be affected by the development and that it is exercising the rule of law in ensuring human health and the environment is protected.

For some reason the state didn't jump at that idea. But it did like the idea of talks happening without it- the Minister also offered to appoint an intermediary.

But in the end a Gemini just can't get a break. It turned out that Shell would eventually find their offer of talks (or 'multi-stakeholder dialogue', if you prefer) explaining and justifying the decisions already taken was not enticing enough to lure the 5 men from jail, and would instead ask the President of the High Court to withdraw the order he had previously granted them. Nobody, not even someone who worked in Enviroment, was appointed as an intermediary.

But, loyal as ever, the FI haven't given up on their gassy friends.