Madam, - Mr Pyle's letter (December 15th) describes Shell's "exhaustive studies of potential sites along the West coast" which "selected" the Bellanaboy site for their industrial processing plant.
Let us be quite clear. As defined by Mayo County Council's development plan, this site is part of, or adjoins, special areas of conservation, special protection areas and national heritage areas.
It is bounded by designated scenic routes, and lies within policy area 1 ("particularly sensitive to inappropriate development").
The plant proposes to discharge its waste into Broadhaven Bay, a marine special conservation area.
Whatever Shell's selection criteria were, they were clearly not based on visual and environmental concerns. Perhaps they were more to do with onshore processing being the cheapest option, the site offering the most convenient landfall, and its remoteness and sparse population giving rise to little public outcry, allowing both Government and local authority, despite their development plan, to indicate support.
As a multinational company, I naturally expect Shell to maximise its profits, while complying with whatever local standards are demanded of them. Thus their standards vary internationally from good practice on one hand to the type of environmental degradation that resulted from Shell's enterprise in the Ogoniland of Nigeria.
Our environment should not be sacrificed so cheaply. - Yours, etc.,
BERNARD GRIMES, Lindsay Road, Glasnevin, Dublin 9.