Pipeline controversy - Time for Shell to resolve crisis

THE intervention of Minister Noel Dempsey in the controversy surrounding the Shell gas pipeline and five Mayo men who languish in Mountjoy Jail ought to be welcomed.

As demonstrated by the 2,000-strong protest in Dublin over the weekend, this crisis will not be resolved easily.

If, as Mr Dempsey suggests, Shell have breached the planning rules, then the company is clearly in the wrong. Its welding of three kilometres of pipe without permit amounts to much more than a technical breach.