Protesting is best left to the professionals

AT 7.18pm Maura Harrington walked into the hall. She strode through the centre aisle, all the way to the front of the stage.

Stand back, the big guns are in town. If it’s a protest you want, listen up.

Protests against big infrastructure have become a frequent feature in public life over the last decade or so. An attempt to build an incinerator in Cork Harbour has been resisted with some success. In Dublin, another incinerator project has so far got the better of stiff resistance. In north Co Dublin, vocal and organised protest beat back the siting of a water treatment plant. So far. And then there is the one that has taken up more column inches than all others. Shell To Sea is still fighting the good fight, although the progress of gas through north Mayo now looks likely.

Last Tuesday evening in Dalkey, sparks were ignited which could develop into the most colourful protest of them all. There is a possibility that oil may be discovered 6km offshore from the charming south Co Dublin village, and the prospect has caused consternation, not least because of how events have unfolded.

Dalkey nestles on the rim of Dublin Bay, about 10 miles from the city. The area is much sought after by those with serious money. Appropriately for such a beautiful place, it is a favoured retreat of the beautiful people.

You could bump in to Bono in the newsagents. Or David McWilliams on the street. Or maybe Van Morrison browsing books. Look, there’s Neil Jordan. He drinks coffee in a coffee shop just like everybody else.

On Tuesday, locals thronged in to hear about the oil. The meeting was called in response to an application for a foreshore licence from Providence Resources. The whole thing was sprung on them on Jan 6. A member of the community council got a call from the gardaí about a public document that lodged there in relation to the application.

All hell broke loose. Signs went up in shop and restaurant windows. Send a submission to Phil Hogan, the minister for the environment. Send it to his constituency office. Stop this madness. For the people of Dalkey, the whole thing is a source of worry. For those beyond the gilded orbit of the village, it’s a chance to see how the other half protests.

The event was billed as an information meeting and was held in the local town hall, which is a castle. Two hundred souls filed in, and another hundred had to be turned away.

Proceedings were opened by a woman who began by saying: “My name is Dr Susan McDonald.” It wasn’t really her name, as nobody is christened “Dr”, but you shouldn’t go out in Dalkey without your title.

Ms McDonald pointed out that the proposal wasn’t just a matter for the village. “Will new terms be negotiated with the oil companies?” she asked. Her contribution, and those that followed, were balanced and reasonable, pointing out the drawbacks and benefits of the oil boys coming to town.

“If oil is found in Dublin it might lift us out of the recession,” said Kathy Irwin, a local solicitor.

Then others came forward. A man who gave his name as John Kenny said he was a barrister, but he wasn’t wearing his barrister hat on the night. He was talking as somebody who used the bay as an amenity. On balance, he wasn’t willing to take a gamble on the proposed exploration. Later in the evening, a speaker would refer back to Kenny as the “underwater barrister”.

Politicians were next up. Dalkey has political firepower with the presence of Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore. He was invited to speak and took the microphone without introducing himself. “Who are you?” came a shout from the back of the hall to the sound of laughter. Like most present, the least he wanted was a public inquiry. Then it was the turn of Richard Boyd Barrett. RBB is a rock star in these parts, the type of socialist you could bring home to the mammy. He’s dead set against the whole thing and received loud applause. They know he’s a good man if a protest is required and they also know that he will never get in to power, so their money is safe.

The contributions from the floor were notable in how well qualified the local populace is. A man identified himself as a GP. Another as a “sixth-generation Dalkey resident and a field ecologist”. A woman who said she was a geologist said gas rather than oil was the likeliest find. A man identified himself as a “practicing accountant and registered auditor”.

Then there was a man who started: “I have a unique career path.” He spent most of his time with the microphone regaling the hall about his experience and qualifications, and was requested by the chairman to finish up.

Maura Harrington, the poster girl for Shell to Sea, took the floor and said that she and others had travelled from Westport and warned the gathering not to lose its naivety when dealing with oil companies. She also mentioned that her son was “a qualified civil engineer”. When in Dalkey…

At the evening’s end, the consensus was that a public inquiry was the least that was expected before any drilling got underway. When asked if anybody in the hall had no concerns about the issue, just four hands reached up.

It will be interesting to observe how events unfold. The big mistake Shell made in Mayo was that the company marched in with scant regard for local mores and fears. That appalling approach has since been rectified, but much damage was done in the interim. The resistance from the local community did result in the Shell being subjected to far greater scrutiny, and from that it emerged the company did try to cut corners in respect of its planning obligations.

There is little chance that Providence will make the same mistake. Apart from the political power, any protest emerging from Dalkey will be plugged into huge celebrity endorsement, and in today’s world, these things do actually carry weight. If Bono can sort out the ills of Africa, then his unique powers of charm and persuasion could be called on to sort out his backyard.

Other issues abound. Exploration companies pay 40% tax on anything found, but can write off the whole cost of exploration. Surely that issue must be addressed.

Much has been made about security of supply of resources, particularly in an unstable world. Is that vital, and in the event that supplies are required on the island, can the Government commandeer a resource from the exploration company? And how equipped are state agencies to ensure strict adherence to rules in the operation?

Ultimately, if there is oil or gas in Dublin Bay, common and economic sense demand that it be extracted, but it’s going to be a slow process. Public inquiries tend to be long drawn out affairs, and if the authorities opt not to hold one, then watch out. The good burghers of Dalkey look like they are prepared to get down and dirty. You ain’t seen nothing yet.