THE Northern Executive has taken welcome and decisive action to protect our environment, our health and jobs by committing to a ban on all forms of onshore petroleum exploration and production, including fracking. This decision is part of the Executive’s commitment to tackle our dependence on fossil fuels. Conor Murphy, the Economy Minister announced that, following drafting and consultation, he will be introducing legislation next year to block licensing applications.
Ten years ago I travelled through the border counties of Sligo, Cavan, Leitrim and Fermanagh. It was part of a visit culminating in a speaking engagement at an anti- fracking conference in the Lough Erne Hotel in Fermanagh.
At the time there were efforts under way to promote fracking in the region. An Australian shale gas exploration company was planning to drive a bore hole over 700 feet into the underground rock. Local people were rightly angry at this threat to their environment. The scenery of the west is striking and beautiful. There is a grandeur about the landscape which catches the breath. I once had the pleasure of flying low over this region in a helicopter. From the air the view is stupendous. The rolling hills and loughs, the rocky inclines, the streams and rivers snaking their way down mountain sides and through lush green glens.
Every now and then you can spot a Neolithic fort or tomb – a prehistoric relic of those who once lived here. There is a sparkle from the crystal clear waters of the numerous waterways. Upper and Lower Lough Erne are dotted with scores of islands. Cavan is said to have 365 loughs, one for each day of the year. It is also claimed that the islands of Upper and Lower Lough Erne have the same number – although in truth it’s around 200.
The Shannon-Erne Waterway links the two rivers. The source of the Shannon, known as the ‘Shannon Pot’, is just a few miles north of Dowra, on the Cavan Way. The importance of the water system to Fermanagh, Cavan, Sligo and Leitrim and to the island of Ireland can be found by simply Googling the tourist literature for the region. The water system of this region services the population of these counties and more with their drinking water.
But it does more than that. It sustains much of our tourism, business and inland fishing industry.
The above- and below-ground water system of these counties is an indispensable part of this community. Its drinking water ensures life for the people and animals and fauna and fish. Its presence provides leisure and tourism and jobs.
Take all of that away and the social and economic cost to the people of that area and of this island would be incalculable. This beautiful landscape does not belong only to our generation. It was here before us and our duty is to ensure that it is here after us and for our children and our children’s children.
That is why we must oppose fracking, which involves extracting natural gas trapped in layers of sedimentary rock between one and two kilometres beneath the surface. Horizontal wells are drilled and filled with a mixture of water and sand and chemicals, which are forced at high pressure. This fractures the rock and allows gas to seep into the wells where it makes its way to the surface for collection and distribution. An average well will use up to 20,000 cubic metres of water. About a third, containing treatments, sands and other chemicals, is returned to the surface where it has to be disposed of.
Fracking can cause serious environmental pollution, health risks for people, and is a significant and dangerous threat to our countryside. It can damage fish stocks. It poses a very real risk to our farming industry and to the health and safety of rural communities, as well as undermining our tourism industry.
Fracking or onshore petroleum exploration is not the answer to the energy needs of the people of the island of Ireland. So, well done to Minister Murphy and the Executive for this sensible decision.
Amnesty report damning evidence of Israel’s Gaza crimes
AMNESTY International has published a damning landmark report on Israel’s genocide in the Gaza Strip. The report, entitled, “‘You Feel Like You Are Subhuman’: Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza”, documents how the Israeli state has “carried out acts prohibited under the Genocide Convention, with the specific intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza.”
The report examines the results of investigations into Israeli “genocidal acts of killing and causing serious mental and bodily harm.” These acts include killings, causing serious bodily or mental harm and deliberately inflicting on Palestinians in Gaza conditions of life intended to bring about their destruction.
Amnesty examined the context of dispossession, the Israeli apartheid regime and unlawful military occupation of the occupied territories over decades. Amnesty’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard described Israel’s objective: “Month after month, Israel has treated Palestinians in Gaza as a subhuman group unworthy of human rights and dignity, demonstrating its intent to physically destroy them.”
The Amnesty report determines that Israel is fully aware of the harm it is doing and continues to do in defiance of “countless warnings about the catastrophic humanitarian situation and of legally binding decisions from the International Court of Justice.
Amnesty examined the claims by the state of Israel that it was targeting Hamas and other armed groups and not the civilian Palestinian population. It also looked at Israeli claims that the unprecedented destruction and denial of aid to the Palestinian people were as a result of the actions of Hamas. Amnesty concluded that these claims are not credible.
Ms Callamard said the international community’s shameful failure to press Israel to end its atrocities in Gaza and the continued supplying of weapons “is and will remain a stain on our collective conscience.”
She is right. Too many governments pretend that they are powerless to end the genocide. They need to uphold international law, move beyond expressions of regret and take decisive action. They also have a duty and responsibility to respect the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
There is an onus on the incoming Irish government to give a lead on this by urgently passing into law the Occupied Territories Bill and by imposing economic and other sanctions against Israel.
•I WANT to ask your support for an important initiative aimed at drawing attention to the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people and also to raise much needed funds for UNRWA.
I’m committing to join the Hunger for Justice – Troscadh ar son na Córa initiative. This is a 24-hour fast taking place across Ireland on December 12. The event is being organised by former republican hunger strikers, including Laurence McKeown and Jackie McMullan, in conjunction with Nenagh Friends Of Palestine. All funds raised will go to UNRWA. The aim is to get at least 1,000 people across the island of Ireland to participate.
Participants are encouraged to not only take part in the fast but to organise an event in their local area on the 12th. The event can be as small as two or three people holding a short vigil, or can be much more imaginative.
Anyone wishing to take part in the 24-hour fast can do so by completing the short online form at: https://forms.gle/jxUXaL8dSWviYYAQ8
Anyone wishing to donate to it can do so at gofundme.com/f/hunger-for-justice-gaza
A Facebook page has been set up specifically for the event at www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61568421206188&locale=en_GB
If anyone participating wishes to make a short video stating their name and a short message that can be put on the webpage that would be much appreciated.
Samples of such previous videos can be viewed on the Nenagh Friends Of Palestine Facebook page at www.facebook.com/NenaghFriendsofPalestine
For additional information on Hunger for Justice, please contact the organisers at hungerforjusticeireland@gmail.com
