A BENEDICTINE monk from Glenstal Abbey is among a group of environmentalists leaving for London today to deliver a length of pipeline to the headquarters of Royal Dutch Shell plc.
Brother Anthony Keane is representing Gluaiseacht, a network of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) concerned with environmental and social justice issues.
The St Patrick's Day protest in London will be peaceful, but aims to highlight the "giveaway and mismanagement" of the State's natural resources, the network says. The group intends to demonstrate outside the Dáil this evening before its departure.
Brother Anthony, who is a forester at Glenstal Abbey in Co Limerick, said it was time the State followed the example of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez in relation to multinational oil and gas companies. "Chavez's approach is that we don't need them as owners, but we may use them as partners," he told The Irish Times.
Brother Anthony said that Irish people would "not benefit" from the Corrib gas project in north Mayo, as it would destroy a pristine environment and the health and safety of a local community, and the State would have to buy back gas from Shell at an "ever-increasing international market value".
Shell consultants RPS say that they are not yet able to announce a "preferred" route for the Corrib gas onshore pipeline. Public consultation on the modification finished on January 18th last.
