Quote Originally Posted by soubresauts View Post
That looks like the way forward.

Leaving aside the environmental, heritage, and private property issues, it seems to me that... if Shell and the Irish Government cannot reach an agreement whereby the Irish people receive a reasonable share of the revenue (while Shell get their reasonable, industry-standard share), then the gas should remain, for the moment, untapped -- like money in a bank, a safe bank. We should be prepared to recognize that it belongs to future generations as well as us.

All those other issues -- damage to the landscape, environmental & health risks, danger of explosion or fire, the expense of processing the gas off-shore, the demand for gas (in Ireland and globally), and so on -- need to be examined carefully by people who are fully informed. What sources of information on those matters do people trust? (I'm keen to find out.)
Shell and the Irish government have reached agreement. It is not a good one, but it is still a legally binding agreement. I have never voted FF and so feel sick that I am compelled to do what those idiots do, but you can't take the law into your own hands all the time. For this reason Gormley should not meet the protesters. If he meets the non protesting residents, they will say they are happy with the prospects of employment and longg term investments. Those who shout loudest aren't always right.