People Before Profit and Sinn Fein TD’s to challenge Minister Rabbitte in Dail today on Providence licence.
Today at Minister’s Question time, Joan Collins TD (People Before Profit/ULA) and Michael Colreavy (Sinn Fein) questioned Minister Rabbitte about Providence Resource’s Exploration Licence to drill in Dublin Bay.
This follows on from last week’s successful demonstration outside the Dail by campaigners against the rig and a briefing for TD’s and Senators organised by Richard Boyd Barrett TD last Tuesday.
A number of TD’s from around the country have now indicated their support for the campaign and the campaign is proceeding with plans to organise meetings around Dublin Bay.
People Before Profit/ULA call on Minister Rabbitte to hold a public inquiry and carry out an Environmental Impact Assessment before Providence proceeds with a site survey and drilling in order to comply fully with the Aarhus convention.
Providence Resources Plc were granted a standard exploration licence in 2011 to explore for oil just 6kms from the Dublin/Wicklow coast – no specific Public Consultation accompanied this licence grant.
In 2012 they were successful in their application for a Foreshore Licence – with a very scant public consultation process.
They now have to apply to Minister Rabbitte to conduct the survey and/drill.
The Aarhus convention, which Ireland signed up to in June 2012, proclaims that environmental issues are best handled with the participation of citizens, that individuals should have access to information concerning the environment and the opportunity to participate in decision-making processes. Access to remedial measures and redress should also be provided.
Campaigners against the oil rig are calling on the Minister for Natural Resources and the Minister for the Environment to, even at this late stage, call a Public Inquiry and carry out an Environmental Impact Assessment into the application to drill 6kms from the Dublin Coast.
Joan Collins TD said: “It is pointless for the government to sign up to the Aarhus Convention and to commit to taking issues that affect the Environment seriously and then to ignore or just pay lip service to the directives that flow from the convention.
“Dublin Bay is not just an amenity for those who are lucky enough to live along the coast. It is for all the people of Dublin. We want to make sure this bay is kept for the people of Dublin and not sold off to some private petro consortium that will keep all the profits for itself.”
Richard Boyd Barrett TD added: “The Aarhus convention is absolutely clear – all environmental issues are best handled with the participation of citizens. In the case of this exploration for oil in Dublin Bay this has obviously not been the case. The fishermen in Dun Laoghaire, whose very livelihoods could be dependent on whether or not the oil rig goes ahead, were totally unaware of any of these plans until the Foreshore Licence was applied for last January.
“It is vitally important that this issue becomes an issue for the whole of the country. Our natural resources and who owns them and who benefits from them are issues for the whole country, not just the people of Dun Laoghaire and Dalkey. The campaign is currently organising a meeting in Clontarf and from there will be working with other groups around the country to mobilise people to join us in our call for a public inquiry and an Environmental Impact Assessment.”