Minister for the Marine Noel Dempsey is expected to approve commissioning of the controversial Corrib gas field onshore pipeline, following his decision to publish risk-assessment information.
However, the Independent Mayo TD Dr Jerry Cowley has appealed to the Minister to defer his decision until an independent evaluation of the health and safety risks of the high-pressure pipeline is carried out.
Dr Cowley is also seeking a meeting with the Norwegian ambassador to Ireland Truls Hanevol on the issue, as the Norwegian state-owned company, Statoil, is a shareholder in the €900 million project.
"Norwegian safety standards would be quite high, higher than our own, and we need to be sure the Norwegian government can stand over this," Dr Cowley said.
Residents in the north Mayo area have already been in court over the onshore pipeline, which Royal Dutch Shell is laying as part of its link between the gas field 70km off the Mayo coast and the proposed terminal or refinery at Bellanaboy.
Dr Cowley said he had grave concerns about the safety of a pipeline which would have a 345-bar pressure, given that a 10-bar pressure firehose could pin a man against a wall at 50 yards.
The documents which the Minister said he was issuing yesterday include a quantified risk assessment, executive summary and review of the same assessment which was carried out for his department. Mr Dempsey said he was publishing them "in accordance with a commitment given in response to a parliamentary question in the Dáil earlier this year".
However, Dr Cowley, who asked the relevant question, said the documentation had been commissioned by the gas field's former owner, Enterprise Energy Ireland, in 2001 and was not independent.
The review commissioned by Mr Dempsey's predecessor, Frank Fahey, was also not independent, as the department had clearly backed the project from the outset, Dr Cowley said.
Earlier this year the Minister acknowledged in the Dáil that the onshore pipeline was "unusual and unique both within Ireland and also within Europe".
There was no direct precedent for the pipeline, the Minister said, and the high design pressure of 345 bars was well above normal design pressure experienced for onshore distribution gas pipelines. The Health and Safety Authority has said the pipeline is not within its remit.
Shell has said that a British design standard was employed for the pipelines, which would be 1.5m underground, with a 508mm diameter and thickness of 27mm, as against the 10mm average for Bord Gáis pipelines.
The Minister said the documentation he was issuing was now available for inspection at Garda stations in Ballina, Belmullet and Bangor Erris, Co Mayo, and at Mayo County Council county manager offices in Belmullet.
Erris residents are holding several public meetings on the issue, including an information weekend and rally in Rossport, Co Mayo, on June 4th and 5th.
