Shell and its agents have been ordered by John Gormley, Dáil Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to restore a SAC (special area of conservation) site to its original condition following unauthorised works at Glengad, County Mayo.

Drilling works and the installation of two boreholes were carried out last month on behalf of Shell in the proposed area of the Corrib Gas Pipeline at Glengad. Such work on a SAC site requires permission of the Minister under the the EC Habitats Regulations.

Staff at the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) were not notified of the work until after it had taken place. The work was carried out without permission from the Minister and constitutes an offence under the Habitats Regulations.

-- Advertisement --

Minister Gormley last month sought a report by a NPWS ecologist on the impact of the work. That report found that that the extent of the ecological damage/disturbance was minor and that no habitats of particular ecological value were adversely affected.

Yesterday Minister Gormley said: "The actions of the Shell contractors in entering a Special Area of Conservation and carrying out works without authorisation are a matter of serious concern to me. I find it unacceptable that this has occurred at a time when my Department has been making special efforts to keep in communication with Shell during the course of this project to date."

The Minister has decided to issue a Ministerial direction under the Habitats Regulations requiring Shell or its agents to restore the site to its original condition. Failure to comply with such a Ministerial Direction is a criminal offence.

(GK/JM)