Opinion divided on a plan to build an oil refinery in the Dublin bay area.
In September 1972 Aquarius Securities Limited lodged a planning application for an oil refinery in the Dublin Bay area. The identity of the people behind the company remains secret and their project is proving divisive.
Opponents of the scheme include An Taisce, councillors such as Carmencita Hederman and Seán 'Dublin Bay' Loftus and numerous Dublin residents' associations. They are against the oil refinery on the grounds of the secrecy of the project and the environmental threat it poses.
Almost all the political parties are divided on the old refinery issue, with Sinn Féin the only political party actively in favour. Fianna Fáil’s David Andrews, Charles Haughey and other Dublin Teachtaí Dála (TDs) are proprietorial about Dublin Bay. However others such as Clare TD Sylvester Barrett, the party’s official energy spokesperson, strongly supports the refinery.
The oil refinery plan has received the backing of Dublin Port and Docks Board. Former general manager of the Dublin Port and Docks Board Denis Hegarty admits he was initially cautious about the proposal but after much investigation concluded the project was not a threat to the environment and,
It had enormous advantages for the city, for the country and for the Port.
Secretary of the Upper Leeson Street Residents' Association has organised a discussion panel for interested parties to find out what will be involved with an oil refinery in Dublin Bay.
From the outset one woman takes an anti-oil refinery stance because,
I’m against pollution of any kind.
An oil refinery has to be built in Dublin for it to be profitable. One Upper Leeson Street resident is convinced it would be better placed in an area that requires employment like Galway. Another woman agrees Dublin Bay is not the place for an oil refinery and would prefer to see the enlargement of the refinery in Cork.
This edition of ‘7 Days’ was broadcast on 14 November 1975. The reporter is Patrick Gallagher. The presenter is Michael Ryan.
