Is Shell's Corrib Gas project good for the local community?
YES:
Erris is experiencing its first major inward investment since electricity was brought to north Mayo in the 1950s. The memory of rural electrification for me is very faint and distant, but I do remember that at the time a lot of the old people were worried that it was not safe and would cause house fires. There were even some altercations with gardaí. Perhaps some things never change! When the linemen arrived, and stayed in the area, people saw the economic boost and the jobs it created.
Many people reading this are under the misconception that everyone in north Mayo is against the Corrib gas project and that, within the local community, it has no support. Nothing could be further from the truth. In my estimation, well over 350 families in the Erris region are directly benefiting through a weekly wage from the construction of the gas terminal in Bellanaboy.
Combined with this, the Corrib gas promoters have also invested money in the community by sponsoring a large number of community events for between €2,000 and €10,000 over the years. This year, 10 students from the four local secondary schools receive bursaries of €4,000 each every year for the duration of their degrees, and 10 more will join them up to 2009, when the scheme will be reviewed. Last month, Belmullet GAA club received €150,000 for development of its grounds. An advisory panel has been established which will assist with the establishment of the Corrib Gas Community Investment fund. This level of corporate social investment is unheard of around here, and will probably never be seen again.
At present, some 450 people are employed directly on the building of the gas terminal. That number is expected to reach over 700 early in 2008. The gas project currently brings in some €2 million per week to the local economy. The 100 permanent jobs that will be created by Corrib Gas in Erris will have the same impact in our community as Google is creating in Dublin. High-net-value jobs have a ripple effect and not only does it bring in more money to the local economy but it also introduces and keeps families here. It will help us keep our student numbers up in the local primary schools and thereby hold onto valuable teachers and keep our economy alive.
I believe that while our hotels and pubs have seen increased business from the economic activity in the area, there has been a cost. The constant pictures and media coverage of protests and the continued exaggeration of local involvement in these protests send out a negative image of the region and have damaged a fledgling tourist destination in an area with many great natural amenities.
Every day, a long string of cars and vans with MO registration plates hum along the road outside my house on their way to and from work at the Bellanaboy gas terminal site. I am no longer a resident of an isolated community, whose workers were obliged to travel away from their homes on a Sunday night and be away all week at work in Galway and Dublin. Now, our young people have jobs locally and many people are returning from abroad in the hope of getting work. After 160 years, private enterprise has seen fit to make an investment in the area, and we should be seen to welcome that investment in the hope that other companies in other industries will look to move here.
No town or region in Ireland would refuse this and the people of Erris are no different. Given last May's election results, and that recent protests have relied on bussed-in students from Galway, Cork, Dublin and Belfast, topped with a large sprinkling of English eco-warriors, the argument over community consent is well and truly over.
While I acknowledge that a group is against the gas project in any form, whether at sea or on land, the majority of local people are voting with their feet. Having work on your doorstep is a given in Dublin; here in Erris it is a miracle. We will pray the miracle continues for the 15 to 20 years that Corrib gas is flowing ashore.
Pádraig Cosgrove lives in Bangor Erris, near the proposed gas terminal, and is chairman of the Pro Gas Mayo Group
