THEY say that high walls make good neighbours. Except, in the case of Van Morrison and Eddie Irvine it didn't work.
Van the Man, particularly, felt the wrath of wealthy neighbour Alphonsus O'Mara who went all the way to the Supreme Court in 2003 - and won - in his bid to stop the singer widening the shared driveway between their homes, Kilross and Monte Alverno, in expensive Dalkey, Co Dublin.
One of the hearings heard that racing driver Eddie Irvine and Phons had had their run-ins too. Eddie bailed out of Kilross Cottage, which he transformed in late 2004 from a two-bedroom cottage into a gigantic home, shelling out €5m or so in the process.
In a letter between the architects for the two warring parties, Phons complained that callers to Van's house were using Phons's bell, that he was an answering service for The Man and that he just wanted to be left in peace. So, no love lost there then.
Van's missus, Michelle Rocca, complained that the safety of her children was at risk on the driveway. And in an earlier High Court judgment, Mr Justice Kelly said: "This case attests to the fact that the payment of a substantial price for a good house gives no guarantee of good neighbours."
All this is by way of preamble. Phons has just put Monte Alverno on the market which will probably make tonight a marvellous night for a moondance for Van. The house has six bedrooms, stands on 1.2 acres and is priced at €25m.
Not bad considering he bought it from socialite Renata Coleman in 1992 for about €1.3m. Time to lob in that new planning permission, Van.
Kevin Murphy
© Sunday Independent
Monday, 30 April 2007
Bord Pleanala slammed for Boyle hotel delay
THE repeated deferral by An Bord Pleanala of a decision on plans for a luxury hotel in Boyle has angered politicians and business owners in the Co Roscommon town. Plans for a 25m, 120-bed hotel in the townland of Doon were appealed to the board in August last year and a final decision has been deferred on 10 separate occasions since then. Now public representatives are calling for a change in legislation to force the authority to rule with greater alacrity on what are seen as important local planning issues.
Local Fianna Fail TD and general election candidate John Ellis describes the board's failure to rule on the issue as "astonishing" and "unacceptable". "This delay is unacceptable both from the promoters' and region's point of view and denies all concerned the benefits of what this project will deliver. I'm calling on An Bord Pleanala to notify a decision forthwith and give the Boyle region a muchneeded injection which has been denied for so long".
Roscommon county council last July granted planning permission in Castlerea to AOL Developments for the construction of the 120-bed spa hotel. Permission was also granted for a 134-space car park.
"Tourists from abroad, families holidaying in Ireland as well as business people expect modern facilities, " says Paul Wynne, president of Boyle chamber of commerce.
"Unless we are in a position to offer these facilities people will not travel to or stay in the area, except for the briefest of visits."
Referring to the Doon proposals and plans for a smaller hotel in the town centre he claims that "significant time and resources have already been put into the planned developments and, if that investment and potential is not to be lost, it is essential that the delays in the planning process be resolved quickly so that both developments can proceed as soon as possible."
Developer Raymond Devine is planning the demolition of three premises on Elphin Street to facilitate the construction of a 22-bed hotel.
Councillor Peter Flannery (Fianna Fail) told a recent meeting of Boyle town council that the wait was "just like waiting on death row. Saddam Hussein didn't have to wait as long for his punishment."
"There should be a time limit on the decision process, absolutely, " says Fine Gael councillor Jan Flanagan. "No one should have to wait this long for a decision on their development. I wonder myself if there is some degree of political interference at play here and if the board has been asked to hold the decision until after the general election. If the decision is to refuse permission it will have a negative impact on the local Fianna Fail candidate's chances. On the other hand, if it's positive, I wonder will it be announced just before the election when it would have a positive impact on his chances."
An Bord Pleanala says it has a statutory timeline of deciding appeals within 18 weeks and that last year it met this target in 52% of cases. "The board has the power to extend the period and it does so on the basis that the overriding consideration is the proper planning and development of the area rather than the timeline, " says board secretary, Diarmuid Collins. "This particular appeal is in the final stages of the appeals process. The inspector's report has been completed and the appeal is currently before the board."
© Sunday Tribune
Local Fianna Fail TD and general election candidate John Ellis describes the board's failure to rule on the issue as "astonishing" and "unacceptable". "This delay is unacceptable both from the promoters' and region's point of view and denies all concerned the benefits of what this project will deliver. I'm calling on An Bord Pleanala to notify a decision forthwith and give the Boyle region a muchneeded injection which has been denied for so long".
Roscommon county council last July granted planning permission in Castlerea to AOL Developments for the construction of the 120-bed spa hotel. Permission was also granted for a 134-space car park.
"Tourists from abroad, families holidaying in Ireland as well as business people expect modern facilities, " says Paul Wynne, president of Boyle chamber of commerce.
"Unless we are in a position to offer these facilities people will not travel to or stay in the area, except for the briefest of visits."
Referring to the Doon proposals and plans for a smaller hotel in the town centre he claims that "significant time and resources have already been put into the planned developments and, if that investment and potential is not to be lost, it is essential that the delays in the planning process be resolved quickly so that both developments can proceed as soon as possible."
Developer Raymond Devine is planning the demolition of three premises on Elphin Street to facilitate the construction of a 22-bed hotel.
Councillor Peter Flannery (Fianna Fail) told a recent meeting of Boyle town council that the wait was "just like waiting on death row. Saddam Hussein didn't have to wait as long for his punishment."
"There should be a time limit on the decision process, absolutely, " says Fine Gael councillor Jan Flanagan. "No one should have to wait this long for a decision on their development. I wonder myself if there is some degree of political interference at play here and if the board has been asked to hold the decision until after the general election. If the decision is to refuse permission it will have a negative impact on the local Fianna Fail candidate's chances. On the other hand, if it's positive, I wonder will it be announced just before the election when it would have a positive impact on his chances."
An Bord Pleanala says it has a statutory timeline of deciding appeals within 18 weeks and that last year it met this target in 52% of cases. "The board has the power to extend the period and it does so on the basis that the overriding consideration is the proper planning and development of the area rather than the timeline, " says board secretary, Diarmuid Collins. "This particular appeal is in the final stages of the appeals process. The inspector's report has been completed and the appeal is currently before the board."
© Sunday Tribune
‘Serious concerns’ about planning process
A PROMINENT Mayo businessman has voiced ‘serious concerns’ about the current planning system, which allows organisations like An Taisce to lodge objections and delay much-needed developments in rural areas.
Mr Noel Howley was this week granted permission for a new warehouse/delivery depot in Belgarrow, Foxford – nine months after Mayo County Council had initially granted permission.
“The new depot is badly needed because where we are currently located we could not expand. I was delighted when I got my planning permission from Mayo County Council but on the very last day they could object, An Taisce lodged an objection.
“I actually spoke to someone in An Taisce and he admitted to me that the only reason they lodged the objection was because the National Roads Authority did not. I’m stuck in the middle, I had to put my plans on hold for nearly a year,” said Mr Howley, who is Managing Director of Howley Distribution Services Ltd.
Mayo County Council had originally granted permission for the development but the decision was appealed by An Taisce to An Bord Pleanála. In their appeal, An Taisce criticised both Mayo County Council and the National Roads Authority, by stating that they are both failing to systemically implement policy which controls development along national roads where the maximum speed limit of 100km per hour applies. An Taisce also criticised the Council for being deficient in exercising its forward planning functions in zoning and designating development boundaries.
“I know people are entitled to voice their concerns in relation to planning and I have no problem with objections in general, as long as the objector is an
interested party. However, An Taisce had no real problem with my development, they just objected because they felt the NRA were not doing their job.
“Everyone was in agreement that the new site is a much better location than the old one and I’m glad common sense has prevailed in the end. But it can be very stressful, waiting and wondering if the development is going to be shot down at the very last minute.”
In their appeal, An Taisce also claimed that Mayo County Council had not evaluated this application properly, as all reports, with the exception of that of one Senior Executive Planner, had failed to address the relevant NRA or local authority national road development control policies.
Mayo County Council usually do not respond when an appeal is lodged with An Bord Pleanála but on this occasion they made a detailed response, with the County Manager Des Mahon listing six reasons why he chose not to accept the recommendation of his Senior Executive Planner.
The reasons were: the strategic nature of the proposed development to a significant geographic part of the county; an existing similar development adjoining the proposal; the proximity of the 60km/h speed limit sign; the suitability of the site for the proposed development; the recommendations/reports of the National Roads Authority, the Regional Design Office and the Roads Department of Mayo County Council, and the benefit to the town and the local community of the relocation of the existing business to a more appropriate site.
Mr Mahon agreed that the issue of a lack of local area plans is a valid one but he felt it was unfair to blame the Council due to a government embargo on public sector staff increases.
“Rather than wait two to three years for a Local Area Plan to be in place the proposal was assessed on its merits. The site is unlikely to be zoned anything other than commercial/industrial in any future plan given its location and adjoining uses,” said Mr Mahon.
Mr Howley also sent a response to the board, saying that the current location of Howley Distribution in Curradrish, Foxford was ‘totally unsuitable due to the continued growth of the business’.
Ms Emer Doyle was the planning inspector who adjudicated on the application and ultimately she felt the principle of the development was acceptable and was a ‘planning gain’ for the town of Foxford.
“I consider that the proposed development is acceptable having regard to the pattern of development in the vicinity and the proximity of the 60 km/h speed limit signs,” said Ms Doyle. Permission was given subject to eleven conditions, one of which means Mr Howley has to pay €4,000 to the County
Council to allow for the relocation of the town sign of Foxford and the extension of traffic route lighting in the vicinity of the application site.
Michael Duffy
© Mayo News
Mr Noel Howley was this week granted permission for a new warehouse/delivery depot in Belgarrow, Foxford – nine months after Mayo County Council had initially granted permission.
“The new depot is badly needed because where we are currently located we could not expand. I was delighted when I got my planning permission from Mayo County Council but on the very last day they could object, An Taisce lodged an objection.
“I actually spoke to someone in An Taisce and he admitted to me that the only reason they lodged the objection was because the National Roads Authority did not. I’m stuck in the middle, I had to put my plans on hold for nearly a year,” said Mr Howley, who is Managing Director of Howley Distribution Services Ltd.
Mayo County Council had originally granted permission for the development but the decision was appealed by An Taisce to An Bord Pleanála. In their appeal, An Taisce criticised both Mayo County Council and the National Roads Authority, by stating that they are both failing to systemically implement policy which controls development along national roads where the maximum speed limit of 100km per hour applies. An Taisce also criticised the Council for being deficient in exercising its forward planning functions in zoning and designating development boundaries.
“I know people are entitled to voice their concerns in relation to planning and I have no problem with objections in general, as long as the objector is an
interested party. However, An Taisce had no real problem with my development, they just objected because they felt the NRA were not doing their job.
“Everyone was in agreement that the new site is a much better location than the old one and I’m glad common sense has prevailed in the end. But it can be very stressful, waiting and wondering if the development is going to be shot down at the very last minute.”
In their appeal, An Taisce also claimed that Mayo County Council had not evaluated this application properly, as all reports, with the exception of that of one Senior Executive Planner, had failed to address the relevant NRA or local authority national road development control policies.
Mayo County Council usually do not respond when an appeal is lodged with An Bord Pleanála but on this occasion they made a detailed response, with the County Manager Des Mahon listing six reasons why he chose not to accept the recommendation of his Senior Executive Planner.
The reasons were: the strategic nature of the proposed development to a significant geographic part of the county; an existing similar development adjoining the proposal; the proximity of the 60km/h speed limit sign; the suitability of the site for the proposed development; the recommendations/reports of the National Roads Authority, the Regional Design Office and the Roads Department of Mayo County Council, and the benefit to the town and the local community of the relocation of the existing business to a more appropriate site.
Mr Mahon agreed that the issue of a lack of local area plans is a valid one but he felt it was unfair to blame the Council due to a government embargo on public sector staff increases.
“Rather than wait two to three years for a Local Area Plan to be in place the proposal was assessed on its merits. The site is unlikely to be zoned anything other than commercial/industrial in any future plan given its location and adjoining uses,” said Mr Mahon.
Mr Howley also sent a response to the board, saying that the current location of Howley Distribution in Curradrish, Foxford was ‘totally unsuitable due to the continued growth of the business’.
Ms Emer Doyle was the planning inspector who adjudicated on the application and ultimately she felt the principle of the development was acceptable and was a ‘planning gain’ for the town of Foxford.
“I consider that the proposed development is acceptable having regard to the pattern of development in the vicinity and the proximity of the 60 km/h speed limit signs,” said Ms Doyle. Permission was given subject to eleven conditions, one of which means Mr Howley has to pay €4,000 to the County
Council to allow for the relocation of the town sign of Foxford and the extension of traffic route lighting in the vicinity of the application site.
Michael Duffy
© Mayo News
Campaign begins to protect retail sector in small towns
THE WEST of Ireland will be faced with a situation where its smaller towns will be reduced to virtual ghost towns if the current trend of business closures is not reversed.
This was the bleak picture painted by speakers at a meeting in Kiltimagh last Thursday night when business people, community activists and interested members of the public gathered to discuss the future of the retail sector in small towns. The meeting heard a variety of views with some accusing the shopkeepers for failing to remain competitive while others pointed the finger of blame at the multi-nationals who are establishing a monopolistic stranglehold on the retail sector.
The meeting was organised by IRD Kiltimagh and chaired by John Coll, Director of Community and Enterprise, Mayo Co Council. It was attended by a number of candidates in the General Election as well as local councillors, some of whom are in business.
Mr Joe Kelly, CEO, IRD Kiltimagh, said a campaign called Communities Under Threat had been launched in East Mayo in the 1990s but the problem of shop closures had escalated significantly since then.
“Contrary to beliefs, the silent cancer of the decline of the retail sector is not just affecting the small towns in rural Ireland, though they are the most vulnerable and show the effects in a more dramatic fashion. It is also evident in the larger towns as the Irishowned traditional retailers close as a result of the predatory effects of the multi-national.”
Mr Kelly said the success of multinationals like Tesco, Aldi and Lidl were having a devastating effect on the traditional retail sector. The problem was to be seen in Kiltimagh where three businesses had closed since the beginning of the year. The knock-on effects of these closures were enormous.
“This problem is not just killing jobs in the retail sectors and local economies. It goes much further than that. Jobs are being lost in manufacturing and production, including in agriculture as a result, as more and more produce is being imported from the cheaper Third World economies so as to compete with Irish produce. Irish jobs are being lost as a result.”
Mr Kelly said people believed they were getting value-for-money in supermarkets but they were really only making themselves hostages to fortune.
“The multinationals have taken over our lives, our areas and our livelihoods. We don’t understand that when they have delivered their lethal blow and achieved their Tesco town status we are at their mercy. They can do what they want and charge what they like. They will have no competition and no controls will be able to be placed upon them.”
Cllr Gerry Murray said the burden of responsibility ultimately fell on the Government which had done nothing to stop the decline of the retail sector in
our small towns. He said the most obvious step that should be taken to help the shopkeepers was a re-evaluation of the rates system which was “unfair and outlandish”. Tax incentive schemes could also be provided in our smaller towns while there was no reason why the corporate tax rate of 12.5 per cent could not be adopted for the retail sector.
It was resolved to hold another meeting after the General Election to further advance the campaign to protect the retail sector in the West’s smaller towns. The promoters of the venture - IRD Kiltimagh - say they are very determined to ensure that the matter remains uppermost in the minds of the public in the months ahead. There is a feeling that a crisis point has been reached and the thorny nettle of shop closures has to be grasped once and for all.
James Laffey
© Mayo News
This was the bleak picture painted by speakers at a meeting in Kiltimagh last Thursday night when business people, community activists and interested members of the public gathered to discuss the future of the retail sector in small towns. The meeting heard a variety of views with some accusing the shopkeepers for failing to remain competitive while others pointed the finger of blame at the multi-nationals who are establishing a monopolistic stranglehold on the retail sector.
The meeting was organised by IRD Kiltimagh and chaired by John Coll, Director of Community and Enterprise, Mayo Co Council. It was attended by a number of candidates in the General Election as well as local councillors, some of whom are in business.
Mr Joe Kelly, CEO, IRD Kiltimagh, said a campaign called Communities Under Threat had been launched in East Mayo in the 1990s but the problem of shop closures had escalated significantly since then.
“Contrary to beliefs, the silent cancer of the decline of the retail sector is not just affecting the small towns in rural Ireland, though they are the most vulnerable and show the effects in a more dramatic fashion. It is also evident in the larger towns as the Irishowned traditional retailers close as a result of the predatory effects of the multi-national.”
Mr Kelly said the success of multinationals like Tesco, Aldi and Lidl were having a devastating effect on the traditional retail sector. The problem was to be seen in Kiltimagh where three businesses had closed since the beginning of the year. The knock-on effects of these closures were enormous.
“This problem is not just killing jobs in the retail sectors and local economies. It goes much further than that. Jobs are being lost in manufacturing and production, including in agriculture as a result, as more and more produce is being imported from the cheaper Third World economies so as to compete with Irish produce. Irish jobs are being lost as a result.”
Mr Kelly said people believed they were getting value-for-money in supermarkets but they were really only making themselves hostages to fortune.
“The multinationals have taken over our lives, our areas and our livelihoods. We don’t understand that when they have delivered their lethal blow and achieved their Tesco town status we are at their mercy. They can do what they want and charge what they like. They will have no competition and no controls will be able to be placed upon them.”
Cllr Gerry Murray said the burden of responsibility ultimately fell on the Government which had done nothing to stop the decline of the retail sector in
our small towns. He said the most obvious step that should be taken to help the shopkeepers was a re-evaluation of the rates system which was “unfair and outlandish”. Tax incentive schemes could also be provided in our smaller towns while there was no reason why the corporate tax rate of 12.5 per cent could not be adopted for the retail sector.
It was resolved to hold another meeting after the General Election to further advance the campaign to protect the retail sector in the West’s smaller towns. The promoters of the venture - IRD Kiltimagh - say they are very determined to ensure that the matter remains uppermost in the minds of the public in the months ahead. There is a feeling that a crisis point has been reached and the thorny nettle of shop closures has to be grasped once and for all.
James Laffey
© Mayo News
Farmers take case against golf club
More than 30 farmers from the midlands have brought High Court proceedings alleging a golf club is interfering with their long-standing grazing rights on commonage in Co Laois.
The farmers, who live on lands known as the Great Heath near Portlaoise where they have grazed animals for many years, have taken the action against the Heath Golf Club, Portlaoise; the Minister for Finance and the Office of Public Works, which manages the land. The defendants deny the claims.
The farmers, who mainly graze sheep on the heath, are seeking a declaration that they are entitled to graze animals over the heath and they also want an injunction preventing the club from interfering with that right.
They want to restrain the golf club from carrying on any business beyond the area of land leased to them by the State in September 1971. They say the State should ensure that the club complies with the terms of that lease.
The farmers want the court to grant additional orders preventing the club from carrying out activities which, they contend, interfere with the rights of common
pasture, including planting trees, enclosing parts of the heath for a driving range or mowing the grass to an excessively low length.
They say the club also should not be engaging in the daily collection of animal droppings from the course as this deprives the grass of its natural nourishment, nor should it be removing sods of turf from the heath to repair greens or extending the course beyond 18 holes. The club should also be restrained from using tractors and quadbikes which had caused flooding, they say.
The farmers are also seeking to have taken down a number of structures allegedly built without planning permission. In addition, they want the club to reinstate grazing lands where three additional golf holes were constructed.
Cormac Ó Dulacháin SC, for the farmers, said in court yesterday it was his clients' contention that their rights had been infringed as the golf club has expanded.
The case, before Mr Justice Thomas Smyth, is expected to last several days.
© 2007 The Irish Times
The farmers, who live on lands known as the Great Heath near Portlaoise where they have grazed animals for many years, have taken the action against the Heath Golf Club, Portlaoise; the Minister for Finance and the Office of Public Works, which manages the land. The defendants deny the claims.
The farmers, who mainly graze sheep on the heath, are seeking a declaration that they are entitled to graze animals over the heath and they also want an injunction preventing the club from interfering with that right.
They want to restrain the golf club from carrying on any business beyond the area of land leased to them by the State in September 1971. They say the State should ensure that the club complies with the terms of that lease.
The farmers want the court to grant additional orders preventing the club from carrying out activities which, they contend, interfere with the rights of common
pasture, including planting trees, enclosing parts of the heath for a driving range or mowing the grass to an excessively low length.
They say the club also should not be engaging in the daily collection of animal droppings from the course as this deprives the grass of its natural nourishment, nor should it be removing sods of turf from the heath to repair greens or extending the course beyond 18 holes. The club should also be restrained from using tractors and quadbikes which had caused flooding, they say.
The farmers are also seeking to have taken down a number of structures allegedly built without planning permission. In addition, they want the club to reinstate grazing lands where three additional golf holes were constructed.
Cormac Ó Dulacháin SC, for the farmers, said in court yesterday it was his clients' contention that their rights had been infringed as the golf club has expanded.
The case, before Mr Justice Thomas Smyth, is expected to last several days.
© 2007 The Irish Times
Statoil plans heightens concern
CAMPAIGNERS opposed to the controversial Corrib gas pipeline and refinery at Bellanaboy have said that possible plans by Statoil to use the pipeline to transport gas from a field four times bigger than the Corrib field have reaffirmed fears that the site will be used for further development.
Statoil, who are one of the partners along with Shell in the Corrib gas project, have begun searching for gas in an adjacent area off the Mayo coast and they have confirmed that if any gas is found it is possible that Statoil could use the Corrib gas pipeline being built by Shell to transport it.
Statoil co-owns the exploration rights to the two areas it plans to explore with Shell, but unlike the Corrib gas project, Statoil are the senior partner and are solely responsible for the exploration work. The companies have held on to one of the two areas since 1994 and secured the rights to explore another area last year. The size of the two areas totals 1,970 square kilometres compared to 467 square kilometres for the area that produced the Corrib gas find.
The news of the gas exploration work and the possibility of using the Corrib gas pipeline came as little surprise to the opponents of the Corrib gas project who said they have constantly raised the issue of further development of the site. Dr Mark Garavan said there is a potential for more gas finds off the Mayo coast and the real reason for the development of the Bellanaboy site is for for further expansion.
“That news has come as no surprise, it has been one of the arguments we have been making for years. Bellanaboy as a development was never only about Corrib but it is clearly going to be about the development of further gas fields in the north east Atlantic. The reason Shell and the Corrib developers were so keen on a land base for a refinery site was for the expansion of a development of a future well and it accounts for the reason for a high pressure pipeline. We always argued that this was not just about Corrib, and what’s really the real issue here is the development of a site with the capacity for expansion,” said Mark Garavan.
A spokesperson for Shell to Sea, John Monaghan told The Mayo News that at all the planning stages they have always tried to highlight the issue of expansion at Bellanaboy, but this was refuted by the developers, who said it was a once-off. He said the news that Statoil would look to use the site is confirmation that the site will not just be about Corrib and will lead to the increase in the industrialisation of a rural area.
“This is confirms the statement of the Department of the Marine, Communications and Natural Resources who have been promoting new licences to explore in Atlantic waters and have advertised the Corrib infrastructure as potentially reducing the development costs of any other find. The developers were never pushed on the future expansion of the site and it seems our fears are coming true and are well-founded,” he said.
In light of the new exploration of the gas field, Independent TD, Dr Jerry Cowley called for the re-negotiation of the gas exploration deals to ensure that Ireland benefits from the new finds. He said that at present the Norwegian Government will be the beneficiaries of the Corrib gas find while Ireland will receive nothing from the riches of the gas coming ashore.
Efforts to contact a Shell representative on Monday failed.
Anton McNulty
Mayo News
Statoil, who are one of the partners along with Shell in the Corrib gas project, have begun searching for gas in an adjacent area off the Mayo coast and they have confirmed that if any gas is found it is possible that Statoil could use the Corrib gas pipeline being built by Shell to transport it.
Statoil co-owns the exploration rights to the two areas it plans to explore with Shell, but unlike the Corrib gas project, Statoil are the senior partner and are solely responsible for the exploration work. The companies have held on to one of the two areas since 1994 and secured the rights to explore another area last year. The size of the two areas totals 1,970 square kilometres compared to 467 square kilometres for the area that produced the Corrib gas find.
The news of the gas exploration work and the possibility of using the Corrib gas pipeline came as little surprise to the opponents of the Corrib gas project who said they have constantly raised the issue of further development of the site. Dr Mark Garavan said there is a potential for more gas finds off the Mayo coast and the real reason for the development of the Bellanaboy site is for for further expansion.
“That news has come as no surprise, it has been one of the arguments we have been making for years. Bellanaboy as a development was never only about Corrib but it is clearly going to be about the development of further gas fields in the north east Atlantic. The reason Shell and the Corrib developers were so keen on a land base for a refinery site was for the expansion of a development of a future well and it accounts for the reason for a high pressure pipeline. We always argued that this was not just about Corrib, and what’s really the real issue here is the development of a site with the capacity for expansion,” said Mark Garavan.
A spokesperson for Shell to Sea, John Monaghan told The Mayo News that at all the planning stages they have always tried to highlight the issue of expansion at Bellanaboy, but this was refuted by the developers, who said it was a once-off. He said the news that Statoil would look to use the site is confirmation that the site will not just be about Corrib and will lead to the increase in the industrialisation of a rural area.
“This is confirms the statement of the Department of the Marine, Communications and Natural Resources who have been promoting new licences to explore in Atlantic waters and have advertised the Corrib infrastructure as potentially reducing the development costs of any other find. The developers were never pushed on the future expansion of the site and it seems our fears are coming true and are well-founded,” he said.
In light of the new exploration of the gas field, Independent TD, Dr Jerry Cowley called for the re-negotiation of the gas exploration deals to ensure that Ireland benefits from the new finds. He said that at present the Norwegian Government will be the beneficiaries of the Corrib gas find while Ireland will receive nothing from the riches of the gas coming ashore.
Efforts to contact a Shell representative on Monday failed.
Anton McNulty
Mayo News
An Taisce appeals Tara motorway order
An Taisce appeals Tara motorway order
An Taisce has brought an appeal to the Supreme Court against the High Court's refusal to permit it to challenge the legality of the development of the M3 Clonee to Kells motorway near the Hill of Tara, Co Meath.
The High Court refused leave earlier this month to bring the action, which could have major implications not just for the M3 but other proposed road schemes.
John Rogers SC, for An Taisce, yesterday told the Chief Justice, Mr Justice John Murray, that an appeal was being brought against that refusal. He would also be seeking an early hearing of that appeal, which he estimated would take two hours.
The Chief Justice said the Supreme Court would fix a date for hearing at a later stage and suggested that counsel consider whether submissions should be filed.
In its action, An Taisce contends the National Roads Authority unlawfully approved on March 13th last its own tolling scheme for the motorway and now proposed to enter into a public-private partnership to that effect without having met necessary statutory requirements under the Roads Act 1993.
The proposed tolling scheme was prepared despite the express opposition of Meath County Council which must, under law, be consulted about any such
plan, it also claims. In promoting and pursuing the construction of the M3 motorway scheme in the absence of the necessary approved plan, the Minister for Transport, it is contended, has also acted unlawfully, unreasonably and in excess of his powers.
If An Taisce succeeds in its Supreme Court appeal and gets leave to bring the challenge, it will have significant implications, not just for the M3 but for other road schemes as it is claimed the NRA has breached its statutory duty under section 18 of the Roads Act to prepare and adopt, once every five years, a draft plan for the construction and maintenance of national roads.
Among the reliefs sought in the proposed action is an order that the NRA cannot take any steps for the implementation of a tolling scheme intended to finance the M3 until the draft plan has been prepared and adopted under section 18.
In an affidavit, Ian Lumley, national heritage officer with An Taisce, said that of all the developments currently contemplated, the M3 Clonee to Kells motorway was "probably the most significant in terms of its likely adverse effects".
The motorway was likely to have a significant adverse impact on a great range of different environmental issues, in particular the national monument on the Hill of Tara and the Tara/Skryne valley, which is of international and worldwide importance, the River Boyne, expressly designated as being of European importance, and a series of landscapes classified as high amenity.
© 2007 The Irish Times
An Taisce has brought an appeal to the Supreme Court against the High Court's refusal to permit it to challenge the legality of the development of the M3 Clonee to Kells motorway near the Hill of Tara, Co Meath.
The High Court refused leave earlier this month to bring the action, which could have major implications not just for the M3 but other proposed road schemes.
John Rogers SC, for An Taisce, yesterday told the Chief Justice, Mr Justice John Murray, that an appeal was being brought against that refusal. He would also be seeking an early hearing of that appeal, which he estimated would take two hours.
The Chief Justice said the Supreme Court would fix a date for hearing at a later stage and suggested that counsel consider whether submissions should be filed.
In its action, An Taisce contends the National Roads Authority unlawfully approved on March 13th last its own tolling scheme for the motorway and now proposed to enter into a public-private partnership to that effect without having met necessary statutory requirements under the Roads Act 1993.
The proposed tolling scheme was prepared despite the express opposition of Meath County Council which must, under law, be consulted about any such
plan, it also claims. In promoting and pursuing the construction of the M3 motorway scheme in the absence of the necessary approved plan, the Minister for Transport, it is contended, has also acted unlawfully, unreasonably and in excess of his powers.
If An Taisce succeeds in its Supreme Court appeal and gets leave to bring the challenge, it will have significant implications, not just for the M3 but for other road schemes as it is claimed the NRA has breached its statutory duty under section 18 of the Roads Act to prepare and adopt, once every five years, a draft plan for the construction and maintenance of national roads.
Among the reliefs sought in the proposed action is an order that the NRA cannot take any steps for the implementation of a tolling scheme intended to finance the M3 until the draft plan has been prepared and adopted under section 18.
In an affidavit, Ian Lumley, national heritage officer with An Taisce, said that of all the developments currently contemplated, the M3 Clonee to Kells motorway was "probably the most significant in terms of its likely adverse effects".
The motorway was likely to have a significant adverse impact on a great range of different environmental issues, in particular the national monument on the Hill of Tara and the Tara/Skryne valley, which is of international and worldwide importance, the River Boyne, expressly designated as being of European importance, and a series of landscapes classified as high amenity.
© 2007 The Irish Times
Put people first by design, says civic leader
ARCHITECTS must strive for higher standards and place people at the centre of their work, a leading civic figure said at the weekend.
John X Miller, the head of Cork’s Civic Trust, a non-profit voluntary organisation dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of the city’s architectural heritage and environment, made the comments at the launch of his new book Emerging Cork on Friday night.
It captures in photographs the cutting-edge architecture which has changed the face of the city.
It highlights the impact of many of the newest buildings — some up to seven years old but others which have yet to be opened.
It features striking images from some of the city’s top professional photographers, including Janice O’Connell, Kevin Dwyer and Tony O’Connell, who also acted as photographic adviser.
It also includes artists’ impressions of projects under construction.
The images focus mainly on the outside of the buildings, highlighting their architectural impact. However, interior elements, which Mr Miller said were crucial in many ways to achieving work-life balance, have also been included.
He described the book as an extended snapshot and record of the swift pace of unprecedented development in the city in recent years
“It dawned on me that no one seemed to be keeping a visual record of how these changes were impacting on the city and its existing built heritage,” he said.
“Even as we speak, the city is still developing and changing, a fact which makes keeping a visual record of these changes all the more important.”
Mr Miller said the rising architectural standards must rise further.
“All involved in creating a vibrant living city need to aspire to the highest of standards, be it in planning, construction and aesthetics. Most of all, people and their needs must be placed at the very centre of this creative process,” he said.
The book, funded by the Civic Trust and Cork City Council, includes a foreword by Irish Examiner property editor, Tommy Barker. The book was launched by Enterprise Minister Micheál Martin.
It is on sale at Cork Vision Centre, North Main Street, and bookstores, at €25. A companion DVD is being made for pupil education.
Irish Examiner
John X Miller, the head of Cork’s Civic Trust, a non-profit voluntary organisation dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of the city’s architectural heritage and environment, made the comments at the launch of his new book Emerging Cork on Friday night.
It captures in photographs the cutting-edge architecture which has changed the face of the city.
It highlights the impact of many of the newest buildings — some up to seven years old but others which have yet to be opened.
It features striking images from some of the city’s top professional photographers, including Janice O’Connell, Kevin Dwyer and Tony O’Connell, who also acted as photographic adviser.
It also includes artists’ impressions of projects under construction.
The images focus mainly on the outside of the buildings, highlighting their architectural impact. However, interior elements, which Mr Miller said were crucial in many ways to achieving work-life balance, have also been included.
He described the book as an extended snapshot and record of the swift pace of unprecedented development in the city in recent years
“It dawned on me that no one seemed to be keeping a visual record of how these changes were impacting on the city and its existing built heritage,” he said.
“Even as we speak, the city is still developing and changing, a fact which makes keeping a visual record of these changes all the more important.”
Mr Miller said the rising architectural standards must rise further.
“All involved in creating a vibrant living city need to aspire to the highest of standards, be it in planning, construction and aesthetics. Most of all, people and their needs must be placed at the very centre of this creative process,” he said.
The book, funded by the Civic Trust and Cork City Council, includes a foreword by Irish Examiner property editor, Tommy Barker. The book was launched by Enterprise Minister Micheál Martin.
It is on sale at Cork Vision Centre, North Main Street, and bookstores, at €25. A companion DVD is being made for pupil education.
Irish Examiner
Council plan to bulldoze gangs out of city estate
Radical move to make way for urban centre
AN estate of almost 500 houses which is home to the country's most dangerous criminal gangs could soon be completely levelled to make way for an ultra-modern development.
St Mary's Park in the heart of Limerick city, known locally as the Island Field, is the heartland of the Keane and Collopy gangs who are central to the drugs trade and criminality in the city.
Limerick City Council plans to put radical proposals for the demolition and regeneration of the area before the local authority members by the end of the year. If agreed, all 480 homes in the area could soon be demolished to make way for a new urban centre in Limerick, including around 30 owned by members of the gangs. The demolition proposal follows a recent report into social problems in Limerick by former Dublin city manager John Fitzgerald, which proposed the demolition of another 1,000 houses in Southill and Moyross.
Representatives from the Department of the Environment and the city council have already met on several occasions to discuss regeneration of the St Mary's Park area and the plans are at an advanced stage.
Limerick City Council owns the vast majority of the houses in the area, but residents who have bought their own homes will be forced to sell up under a compulsory purchase order.
Senior council official Paul Foley said: "We have engaged the services of Ennis-based Tom McNamara & Partners as consultants to work with Limerick City Council and the department to draft a strategy for the regeneration of St Mary's Park.
Strategy
"It is expected the strategy will be put before the council at the beginning of the autumn and it is envisaged it will be the first of the regeneration schemes to be rolled out in the city," said Mr Foley.
St Mary's Park was built in the 1930s and is surrounded on three sides by water. In recent years, the area has suffered from anti-social behavior, criminal elements and a lack of government funding and state initiatives.
It is understood the consultants will meet with the four local councillors early next month, to gauge their views and to share ideas. Also next month there will be a walkabout with city officials and local residents.
Reports advocating the demolition of the estate and arguing for renovation have in the past been knocked by the Government. However, finance is now available for a massive regeneration of the area.
Barry Duggan
Sunday Independent
AN estate of almost 500 houses which is home to the country's most dangerous criminal gangs could soon be completely levelled to make way for an ultra-modern development.
St Mary's Park in the heart of Limerick city, known locally as the Island Field, is the heartland of the Keane and Collopy gangs who are central to the drugs trade and criminality in the city.
Limerick City Council plans to put radical proposals for the demolition and regeneration of the area before the local authority members by the end of the year. If agreed, all 480 homes in the area could soon be demolished to make way for a new urban centre in Limerick, including around 30 owned by members of the gangs. The demolition proposal follows a recent report into social problems in Limerick by former Dublin city manager John Fitzgerald, which proposed the demolition of another 1,000 houses in Southill and Moyross.
Representatives from the Department of the Environment and the city council have already met on several occasions to discuss regeneration of the St Mary's Park area and the plans are at an advanced stage.
Limerick City Council owns the vast majority of the houses in the area, but residents who have bought their own homes will be forced to sell up under a compulsory purchase order.
Senior council official Paul Foley said: "We have engaged the services of Ennis-based Tom McNamara & Partners as consultants to work with Limerick City Council and the department to draft a strategy for the regeneration of St Mary's Park.
Strategy
"It is expected the strategy will be put before the council at the beginning of the autumn and it is envisaged it will be the first of the regeneration schemes to be rolled out in the city," said Mr Foley.
St Mary's Park was built in the 1930s and is surrounded on three sides by water. In recent years, the area has suffered from anti-social behavior, criminal elements and a lack of government funding and state initiatives.
It is understood the consultants will meet with the four local councillors early next month, to gauge their views and to share ideas. Also next month there will be a walkabout with city officials and local residents.
Reports advocating the demolition of the estate and arguing for renovation have in the past been knocked by the Government. However, finance is now available for a massive regeneration of the area.
Barry Duggan
Sunday Independent
Scammers beat new CIE ticket gates
THEY cost more than €9m to install, but Irish Rail's new electronic ticket checkers have been hit by a "Noah's Ark" scam with fraudsters beating the system by going in "two by two". The new validation machines for Dart and commuter rail services are being effortlessly outsmarted by those who want to get away without purchasing a ticket.
The problem is the time lag of two seconds when the doors are left open after a paying customer walks through. Others can then take advantage by rushing through the still-open turnstile without having to insert a valid ticket.
Security at the station have confirmed that commuters of all ages, including groups of friends and even entire families are trying to outsmart the newly installed devices.
One security man at a city station said "I'm seeing dozens of people trying to do it every day, families and everything, all types of people. But we catch them once they're on the platform because we have two or three people waiting there to check that everyone has their tickets. And when we do, we send them straight over to the desk where they get fined €50."
Although a number of security staff have been posted to keep an eye on commuters as they use the machines, he admitted peak times are proving to be the most difficult period to spot scammers among the crowds.
"At rush hour it's harder to see them doing it. Some of them are a lot cleverer than you'd think but others don't even know where to put the ticket."
Another staff member said that clever commuters are also wising up to another way of dodging the machines.
"Quite a lot of people have copped on to the fact that if you block the beam [which controls the gates], the doors stay open, so you sometimes catch two or three people trying to come through at a time, while their friend stands in front of the beam. You could stand there for ages and let loads of people through."
But Jane Cregan, a spokeswoman for Iarnrod Eireann, denied that the company has been experiencing significant problems with people taking advantage of the expensive new machines.
"We have a person assigned to each validation area so it is not a problem that we are experiencing and, although tailgating is hard to quantify, there has been a noted reduction since the machines were first introduced," she said.
Irish Independent
The problem is the time lag of two seconds when the doors are left open after a paying customer walks through. Others can then take advantage by rushing through the still-open turnstile without having to insert a valid ticket.
Security at the station have confirmed that commuters of all ages, including groups of friends and even entire families are trying to outsmart the newly installed devices.
One security man at a city station said "I'm seeing dozens of people trying to do it every day, families and everything, all types of people. But we catch them once they're on the platform because we have two or three people waiting there to check that everyone has their tickets. And when we do, we send them straight over to the desk where they get fined €50."
Although a number of security staff have been posted to keep an eye on commuters as they use the machines, he admitted peak times are proving to be the most difficult period to spot scammers among the crowds.
"At rush hour it's harder to see them doing it. Some of them are a lot cleverer than you'd think but others don't even know where to put the ticket."
Another staff member said that clever commuters are also wising up to another way of dodging the machines.
"Quite a lot of people have copped on to the fact that if you block the beam [which controls the gates], the doors stay open, so you sometimes catch two or three people trying to come through at a time, while their friend stands in front of the beam. You could stand there for ages and let loads of people through."
But Jane Cregan, a spokeswoman for Iarnrod Eireann, denied that the company has been experiencing significant problems with people taking advantage of the expensive new machines.
"We have a person assigned to each validation area so it is not a problem that we are experiencing and, although tailgating is hard to quantify, there has been a noted reduction since the machines were first introduced," she said.
Irish Independent
Lawlor widow fails to block probe
Tribunal's public hearings on Quarryvale to go ahead after 18-month delay
THE public hearings of the Quarryvale Two module of the Mahon Tribunal got the green light yesterday after Liam Lawlor's widow failed in her bid to stop it.
Mr Justice Iarfhlaith O'Neill in the High Court refused to put a stay on the tribunal module hearings and said the delay of 18 months in bringing such an application was "unacceptable".
However, the judge ruled that Hazel Lawlor could continue with her legal challenge to the module, but on certain grounds only.
The judge said that Mrs Lawlor, whose husband died in a Moscow car crash two years ago, was not the only person to be interested in the proceedings of the tribunal.
Many others, he said, were affected by the proceedings and wanted an opportunity to deal with allegations against them.
The Quarryvale Two module into the rezoning of lands at Carrickmines has not gone into public hearings since the initial opening statement in November 2005 because of a court challenge by developer Owen O Callaghan - which was unsuccessful before the Supreme Court last month.
The module is due to begin on Monday with a new opening statement and developer Tom Gilmartin will take the stand the next day. More than 130 witnesses have been listed for the public hearings, including Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, who is due to give evidence at the end of May.
Delivering his judgment on an application by Mrs Lawlor for a stay on the public hearings of the module pending the hearing of her legal challenge before the High Court, Mr Justice O'Neill said there was a great public interest in having the tribunal inquiries in the Quarryvale module completed expeditiously.
The Oireachtas, he said, and more importantly the public were entitled to know that the inquiry could be brought to a conclusion.
The longer the delay in concluding the inquiries, the more the quality of the inquiry work would be susceptible to hazard, he said.
The delay had not been explained to his satisfaction and was unacceptable, Mr Justice O'Neill said.
Ann O'Loughlin
Irish Independent
THE public hearings of the Quarryvale Two module of the Mahon Tribunal got the green light yesterday after Liam Lawlor's widow failed in her bid to stop it.
Mr Justice Iarfhlaith O'Neill in the High Court refused to put a stay on the tribunal module hearings and said the delay of 18 months in bringing such an application was "unacceptable".
However, the judge ruled that Hazel Lawlor could continue with her legal challenge to the module, but on certain grounds only.
The judge said that Mrs Lawlor, whose husband died in a Moscow car crash two years ago, was not the only person to be interested in the proceedings of the tribunal.
Many others, he said, were affected by the proceedings and wanted an opportunity to deal with allegations against them.
The Quarryvale Two module into the rezoning of lands at Carrickmines has not gone into public hearings since the initial opening statement in November 2005 because of a court challenge by developer Owen O Callaghan - which was unsuccessful before the Supreme Court last month.
The module is due to begin on Monday with a new opening statement and developer Tom Gilmartin will take the stand the next day. More than 130 witnesses have been listed for the public hearings, including Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, who is due to give evidence at the end of May.
Delivering his judgment on an application by Mrs Lawlor for a stay on the public hearings of the module pending the hearing of her legal challenge before the High Court, Mr Justice O'Neill said there was a great public interest in having the tribunal inquiries in the Quarryvale module completed expeditiously.
The Oireachtas, he said, and more importantly the public were entitled to know that the inquiry could be brought to a conclusion.
The longer the delay in concluding the inquiries, the more the quality of the inquiry work would be susceptible to hazard, he said.
The delay had not been explained to his satisfaction and was unacceptable, Mr Justice O'Neill said.
Ann O'Loughlin
Irish Independent
One of Rossport Five quits Corrib hearing
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One of Rossport Five quits Corrib hearing
ADVERTISEMENT
BRENDAN Philbin, one of the Rossport Five, withdrew in protest yesterday from an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) hearing into an operating licence for the Corrib Gas project.
Mr Philbin told the hearing in Mayo into the granting of a licence for the refinery that there was not yet a pipeline. "There's a gas field, there's a site for a refinery, but there's a big blank in between . . . You cannot deal with an license when there's a vital piece of infrastructure missing."
He said that the pollution prevention control licence should not be issued until ongoing court proceedings were concluded, and asked how the EPA could reach valid conclusions by calculating imaginary figures - the new pipeline could be 5km or 50km long, he said.
Chairman Frank Clinton said his legal advice was "to press on", and that the company had informed the agency it was not yet in a position to clarify matters.
Mr Clinton agreed he would have to consider such problems in his report. "You are absolutely right; the changing situation in the background has a bearing."
He added that the new pipeline could change the inventory of what was needed for the project.
The hearing reconvenes next Tuesday.
Irish Independent
One of Rossport Five quits Corrib hearing
ADVERTISEMENT
BRENDAN Philbin, one of the Rossport Five, withdrew in protest yesterday from an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) hearing into an operating licence for the Corrib Gas project.
Mr Philbin told the hearing in Mayo into the granting of a licence for the refinery that there was not yet a pipeline. "There's a gas field, there's a site for a refinery, but there's a big blank in between . . . You cannot deal with an license when there's a vital piece of infrastructure missing."
He said that the pollution prevention control licence should not be issued until ongoing court proceedings were concluded, and asked how the EPA could reach valid conclusions by calculating imaginary figures - the new pipeline could be 5km or 50km long, he said.
Chairman Frank Clinton said his legal advice was "to press on", and that the company had informed the agency it was not yet in a position to clarify matters.
Mr Clinton agreed he would have to consider such problems in his report. "You are absolutely right; the changing situation in the background has a bearing."
He added that the new pipeline could change the inventory of what was needed for the project.
The hearing reconvenes next Tuesday.
Irish Independent
Friday, 27 April 2007
1,400 acres on Dingle peninsula for over €5m
Landholdings: A large landholding along the Conor Pass, including a lake
featured in the film of The Field, will interest wealthy individuals and the State,
given its potential as a park, writes Jack Fagan .
One of the most spectacular mountain ranges in Ireland with 1,400 acres
along the Conor Pass on the Dingle peninsula in Co Kerry is to be offered for
sale on the international market.
It is one of the largest land holdings to go for sale in recent years and includes
400 acres of mature forest. The remaining 1,000 acres are mainly located in a
valley though there is also mountain grazing lands.
Joint selling agents DTZ Sherry FitzGerald in Limerick and Jim O'Shea
Auctioneers will today begin marketing what they describe as "one of the most
unique properties in Ireland". It is being sold for an American owner and is
expected to fetch over €5 million.
With the general election in the offing, local politicians are likely to come
under pressure to persuade the Government to acquire the land for the
purposes of setting up a national park.
The Conor Pass is known to millions of tourists as one of the most beautiful
and panoramic driving routes in the south of Ireland.
It is the second highest pass in Ireland and adjoins the village of Cloghane
which has a population of about 300. Driving over the pass, there are
magnificent views over Brandon Bay and the Atlantic ocean as well as over
Dingle town. The lands are largely at the foot of Mount Brandon, running all
the way to the Owenmore fishery which forms the western boundary.
The Conor Pass acts as a stunning southern boundary while Sliabh Mhacha
Re marks the eastern boundary. The extensive holding includes three lakes:
Lough Atlea; Lough Clogharee; and the famous Pedlar's Lake which was
used as the backdrop in the filming of The Field. The property has a wide
range of flora and fauna and, as well as the established forestry, the lands
sustain a herd of Connemara ponies and a diversity of wildlife.
There are various ruins scattered about the land, possibly opening the way for
a house to be built at one of the access points from the Conor Pass road.
Forestry land in the area is valued at between €5,000 and €6,000 an acre
and, according to the selling agents, there is scope to increase the acreage of
land under forestry. About a year ago, the six-mile long Owenmore river and
the adjoining 300 acres are believed to have been sold to the Roche family for
over €2.5 million.
John Buckley, director of DTZ Sherry Fitz-Gerald, said a property of such
outstanding natural beauty rarely comes to the market. "Without doubt, this
holding is a world heritage site and will generate phenomenal national and
international interest."
Jim O'Shea, a specialist in forestry and development land, said the potential
for this landholding was endless. It could be acquired by the private sector for
an eco-tourism-based venture, as a private nature reserve or as an estate. In
addition, the State may well consider the acquisition of the land for a national
park.
© 2007 The Irish Times
featured in the film of The Field, will interest wealthy individuals and the State,
given its potential as a park, writes Jack Fagan .
One of the most spectacular mountain ranges in Ireland with 1,400 acres
along the Conor Pass on the Dingle peninsula in Co Kerry is to be offered for
sale on the international market.
It is one of the largest land holdings to go for sale in recent years and includes
400 acres of mature forest. The remaining 1,000 acres are mainly located in a
valley though there is also mountain grazing lands.
Joint selling agents DTZ Sherry FitzGerald in Limerick and Jim O'Shea
Auctioneers will today begin marketing what they describe as "one of the most
unique properties in Ireland". It is being sold for an American owner and is
expected to fetch over €5 million.
With the general election in the offing, local politicians are likely to come
under pressure to persuade the Government to acquire the land for the
purposes of setting up a national park.
The Conor Pass is known to millions of tourists as one of the most beautiful
and panoramic driving routes in the south of Ireland.
It is the second highest pass in Ireland and adjoins the village of Cloghane
which has a population of about 300. Driving over the pass, there are
magnificent views over Brandon Bay and the Atlantic ocean as well as over
Dingle town. The lands are largely at the foot of Mount Brandon, running all
the way to the Owenmore fishery which forms the western boundary.
The Conor Pass acts as a stunning southern boundary while Sliabh Mhacha
Re marks the eastern boundary. The extensive holding includes three lakes:
Lough Atlea; Lough Clogharee; and the famous Pedlar's Lake which was
used as the backdrop in the filming of The Field. The property has a wide
range of flora and fauna and, as well as the established forestry, the lands
sustain a herd of Connemara ponies and a diversity of wildlife.
There are various ruins scattered about the land, possibly opening the way for
a house to be built at one of the access points from the Conor Pass road.
Forestry land in the area is valued at between €5,000 and €6,000 an acre
and, according to the selling agents, there is scope to increase the acreage of
land under forestry. About a year ago, the six-mile long Owenmore river and
the adjoining 300 acres are believed to have been sold to the Roche family for
over €2.5 million.
John Buckley, director of DTZ Sherry Fitz-Gerald, said a property of such
outstanding natural beauty rarely comes to the market. "Without doubt, this
holding is a world heritage site and will generate phenomenal national and
international interest."
Jim O'Shea, a specialist in forestry and development land, said the potential
for this landholding was endless. It could be acquired by the private sector for
an eco-tourism-based venture, as a private nature reserve or as an estate. In
addition, the State may well consider the acquisition of the land for a national
park.
© 2007 The Irish Times
Corranure Landfill smell unacceptable – Manager
Major works are currently in train to control the foul smell of gas from the
Corranure Landfill site, adjacant to the Cootehill road but the County Manager
Jack Keyes points out that the total elimination of all odour from current
landfills is an impossibility.
The Manager told a meeting of Cavan County Council this week that he
wished to acknowledge the presence of foul odours in the area surrounding
Coranure landfill. The situation has been unacceptable for some time.
Significant resources have been inputted to find a solution. Expert companies
from Ireland and the UK have played roles. There have been a noticeable
improvement in recent weeks.
Cavan County Council has recently undertaken significant works at Corranure
Landfill to address landfill gas odour emanating from the facility and intends
shortly to provide a permanent capping system to the current active cell which
will significantly reduce gas emissions.
Specialist landfill gas management companies have been employed in the
upgrading and monitoring of the gas collection and flaring systems. To
improve the efficiency of the gas collection system and reduce odour
emissions, the Council has recently provided a 0.5m clay capping layer to the
active cell on all areas except the working face, which has resulted in a
noticeable reduction in gas emissions at the facility.
"I would like to thank all those who have made submissions or expressed
opinions and assure them that progress is being made. The fact that the
situation has existed in many other landfills across the country is of little
comfort to those whose quality of life has been affected. The focus is now on
the future", stated the Co. Manager.
Mr. Keyes pointed out that the kernal of the problem is the use of the landfill to
dispose of ever increasing quantities of waste. The decomposition of waste
leads to the production of methane gas which causes smell. The
accompanying technical statement gives details of some of the measures
used to deal with same.
"The medium term solution we are developing is to cease the landfilling of
composable material and to develop alternative technology to deal with waste.
I am happy to confirm that the planning for this is advanced".
"Corranure now needs to re-establish itself as a landfill/waste disposal facility
of the highest reputation. The civic amenity site, used by many members of
the public, is an example of the quality Cavan County Council provides. It is
my intention, working with my professional and willing staff and the elected
members, to bring forward a solution for the people residing adjacant to
Corranure, and the county at large", stated the Co. Manager.
Sean McMahon
© Anglo-Celt
Corranure Landfill site, adjacant to the Cootehill road but the County Manager
Jack Keyes points out that the total elimination of all odour from current
landfills is an impossibility.
The Manager told a meeting of Cavan County Council this week that he
wished to acknowledge the presence of foul odours in the area surrounding
Coranure landfill. The situation has been unacceptable for some time.
Significant resources have been inputted to find a solution. Expert companies
from Ireland and the UK have played roles. There have been a noticeable
improvement in recent weeks.
Cavan County Council has recently undertaken significant works at Corranure
Landfill to address landfill gas odour emanating from the facility and intends
shortly to provide a permanent capping system to the current active cell which
will significantly reduce gas emissions.
Specialist landfill gas management companies have been employed in the
upgrading and monitoring of the gas collection and flaring systems. To
improve the efficiency of the gas collection system and reduce odour
emissions, the Council has recently provided a 0.5m clay capping layer to the
active cell on all areas except the working face, which has resulted in a
noticeable reduction in gas emissions at the facility.
"I would like to thank all those who have made submissions or expressed
opinions and assure them that progress is being made. The fact that the
situation has existed in many other landfills across the country is of little
comfort to those whose quality of life has been affected. The focus is now on
the future", stated the Co. Manager.
Mr. Keyes pointed out that the kernal of the problem is the use of the landfill to
dispose of ever increasing quantities of waste. The decomposition of waste
leads to the production of methane gas which causes smell. The
accompanying technical statement gives details of some of the measures
used to deal with same.
"The medium term solution we are developing is to cease the landfilling of
composable material and to develop alternative technology to deal with waste.
I am happy to confirm that the planning for this is advanced".
"Corranure now needs to re-establish itself as a landfill/waste disposal facility
of the highest reputation. The civic amenity site, used by many members of
the public, is an example of the quality Cavan County Council provides. It is
my intention, working with my professional and willing staff and the elected
members, to bring forward a solution for the people residing adjacant to
Corranure, and the county at large", stated the Co. Manager.
Sean McMahon
© Anglo-Celt
Mansfield scales back plans for conference centre
Jim Mansfield has scaled back his plans to build a large convention centre at
his Citywest hotel complex in the hope of getting the green light from
planners.
The businessman has applied to South Dublin County Council for permission
to build a 4,000-capacity centre at Citywest, at a cost of €70-€90 million. The
facility will cover 7,500sq ft with a ceiling rising to 13m or more in height to
allow for big stage sets that are required for major conferences.
Mr Mansfield's latest application comes less than a year after An Bord
Pleanála refused him permission to build a significantly larger, 6,000-capacity
conference facility at Citywest. This followed appeals by An Taisce, the
heritage body, and businessman Harry Crosbie, who runs the Point.
Mr Mansfield, whose property portfolio is valued at €1.4 billion, had earlier
built a steel-frame structure for the building without permission and was
ordered to take it down by the council. The structure remains in place.
Ciarán Hancock
© Irish Times 2007
his Citywest hotel complex in the hope of getting the green light from
planners.
The businessman has applied to South Dublin County Council for permission
to build a 4,000-capacity centre at Citywest, at a cost of €70-€90 million. The
facility will cover 7,500sq ft with a ceiling rising to 13m or more in height to
allow for big stage sets that are required for major conferences.
Mr Mansfield's latest application comes less than a year after An Bord
Pleanála refused him permission to build a significantly larger, 6,000-capacity
conference facility at Citywest. This followed appeals by An Taisce, the
heritage body, and businessman Harry Crosbie, who runs the Point.
Mr Mansfield, whose property portfolio is valued at €1.4 billion, had earlier
built a steel-frame structure for the building without permission and was
ordered to take it down by the council. The structure remains in place.
Ciarán Hancock
© Irish Times 2007
Statoil to discuss Corrib gas project concerns with TDs
Norwegian company Statoil is due to meet a delegation of nine TDs in Dublin
today in relation to concerns about the Corrib gas project. Helge Hatlestad,
senior vice-president of international development and production at Statoil,
will travel to Dublin at the invitation of Mayo TD Dr Jerry Cowley (Ind).
Statoil is a partner with Shell E&P Ireland and Marathon in the project,
currently the subject of an Environmental Protection Agency hearing.
Three Labour Party deputies - party president Michael D Higgins, marine
spokesman Tommy Broughan and Joe Costello - will attend, along with the
Green Party marine spokesman Eamon Ryan, Socialist Party TD Joe Higgins
and Independent TDs Tony Gregory, Catherine Murphy, Finian McGrath and
Dr Cowley.
Dr Cowley, who had planned to bring a cross-party group to Norway late last
year, said the meeting was requested in relation to his concerns about the
project and its impact on his constituents.
Dr Cowley's proposal, supported by NUI Seanad candidate Dr Mark Garavan,
for an independent commission to examine the entire project as a "means to a
permanent solution", would also be discussed, he said. Such a solution would
have to have "community consent", he added.
"The fact that Statoil is exploring two areas adjoining the Corrib field, and that
finds from same may feed into the Corrib gas network, makes it all the more
important to find a solution that is safe and that has the support of the local
north Mayo community," Dr Cowley said yesterday. "Nobody is against
bringing gas ashore if it can be done safely."
Last year, Statoil said it was committed to the project, and halting work on the
terminal was "not an option". However, it was critical of a failure by the original
developer to "communicate with residents in north Mayo".
Terje Nustad, head of the Norwegian energy workers' union, SAFE, has
pledged support for the Shell to Sea campaign, following a visit to north Mayo
last year, and called on Statoil to withdraw its involvement in the project.
SAFE represents 7,000 workers in the Norwegian energy industry, mainly
employed with Statoil, but also some with Shell.
Lorna Siggins
© 2007 The Irish Times
today in relation to concerns about the Corrib gas project. Helge Hatlestad,
senior vice-president of international development and production at Statoil,
will travel to Dublin at the invitation of Mayo TD Dr Jerry Cowley (Ind).
Statoil is a partner with Shell E&P Ireland and Marathon in the project,
currently the subject of an Environmental Protection Agency hearing.
Three Labour Party deputies - party president Michael D Higgins, marine
spokesman Tommy Broughan and Joe Costello - will attend, along with the
Green Party marine spokesman Eamon Ryan, Socialist Party TD Joe Higgins
and Independent TDs Tony Gregory, Catherine Murphy, Finian McGrath and
Dr Cowley.
Dr Cowley, who had planned to bring a cross-party group to Norway late last
year, said the meeting was requested in relation to his concerns about the
project and its impact on his constituents.
Dr Cowley's proposal, supported by NUI Seanad candidate Dr Mark Garavan,
for an independent commission to examine the entire project as a "means to a
permanent solution", would also be discussed, he said. Such a solution would
have to have "community consent", he added.
"The fact that Statoil is exploring two areas adjoining the Corrib field, and that
finds from same may feed into the Corrib gas network, makes it all the more
important to find a solution that is safe and that has the support of the local
north Mayo community," Dr Cowley said yesterday. "Nobody is against
bringing gas ashore if it can be done safely."
Last year, Statoil said it was committed to the project, and halting work on the
terminal was "not an option". However, it was critical of a failure by the original
developer to "communicate with residents in north Mayo".
Terje Nustad, head of the Norwegian energy workers' union, SAFE, has
pledged support for the Shell to Sea campaign, following a visit to north Mayo
last year, and called on Statoil to withdraw its involvement in the project.
SAFE represents 7,000 workers in the Norwegian energy industry, mainly
employed with Statoil, but also some with Shell.
Lorna Siggins
© 2007 The Irish Times
New technology 'not for Corrib'
A new gas-processing technology, used by Shell offshore in Malaysia, was
debated at the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) hearing into the
issuing of an integrated pollution prevention control licence.
An expert witness for Shell E&P Ireland argued that the innovative Twister
technology, which condenses and separates water from hydrocarbons and
natural gas, was not suitable for the remote Corrib field and would not reduce
the overall "footprint" of the project.
Shell senior process engineer, James McBrien, said that Corrib's hostile
conditions, coupled with drilling requirements, made it impractical to use the
technology on an unmanned field.
"Given the gas composition, and when environmental and safety impacts are
considered, a subsea tieback to an onshore gas processing facility is the best
available technique for developing the Corrib field," said Mr McBrien in his
submission.
He was responding to an objection which argued that Shell had a
responsibility to inform the EPA of Twister and as to "why it had not been
considered" for Corrib.
Micheál Ó Seighín, one of the Rossport Five, asked Mr McBrien if he would
accept that this alternative was best for the community.
"I'm not in a position to comment on your valid concerns," said Mr McBrien.
Shell to Sea campaigner John Monaghan asked Corrib project manager Gerry
Costello had Shell ever considered offshore, unmanned platforms at the
concept stage and their positive impact on levels of emissions.
Mr Costello said it would have been discussed but the consideration was not
mentioned in the environmental impact statement, which outlined the
suitability of the onshore option.
He also said that "emissions from a shallow-water platform were considered
to be considerably higher than from an onshore platform".
Aspects of Shell's security of supply of Corrib gas were also challenged.
Áine Ryan
© The Irish Times
debated at the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) hearing into the
issuing of an integrated pollution prevention control licence.
An expert witness for Shell E&P Ireland argued that the innovative Twister
technology, which condenses and separates water from hydrocarbons and
natural gas, was not suitable for the remote Corrib field and would not reduce
the overall "footprint" of the project.
Shell senior process engineer, James McBrien, said that Corrib's hostile
conditions, coupled with drilling requirements, made it impractical to use the
technology on an unmanned field.
"Given the gas composition, and when environmental and safety impacts are
considered, a subsea tieback to an onshore gas processing facility is the best
available technique for developing the Corrib field," said Mr McBrien in his
submission.
He was responding to an objection which argued that Shell had a
responsibility to inform the EPA of Twister and as to "why it had not been
considered" for Corrib.
Micheál Ó Seighín, one of the Rossport Five, asked Mr McBrien if he would
accept that this alternative was best for the community.
"I'm not in a position to comment on your valid concerns," said Mr McBrien.
Shell to Sea campaigner John Monaghan asked Corrib project manager Gerry
Costello had Shell ever considered offshore, unmanned platforms at the
concept stage and their positive impact on levels of emissions.
Mr Costello said it would have been discussed but the consideration was not
mentioned in the environmental impact statement, which outlined the
suitability of the onshore option.
He also said that "emissions from a shallow-water platform were considered
to be considerably higher than from an onshore platform".
Aspects of Shell's security of supply of Corrib gas were also challenged.
Áine Ryan
© The Irish Times
Corrib gas hearing warned on bias
The "demonisation and vilification" of the people of Erris, along with the
continued large presence of gardaí, militated against the Environmental
Protection Agency's oral hearing forming an objective decision, the hearing
was told yesterday.
On the seventh day of the hearing into the issuing of an integrated pollution
prevention licence for the Corrib gas refinery, Seán Harrington - who is
objecting to the licence - suggested to the chairman, Frank Clinton, that since
he was "only human", he was bound to be influenced by such factors.
"In certain sections of the press we have been demonised and called such
pejorative names as aboriginals, pseudo-intellectuals and druids. Last week's
High Court decision [ in which Shell was ordered to pay costs of about €1
million] and the environmental award received by Willie Corduff have totally
exonerated the Rossport Five," said Mr Harrington. He said local people were
intimidated by the large Garda presence in the mornings and by the fact that
two plain-clothes gardaí attended the hearing.
"This is no longer an engineering problem, this is an international human
rights issue," he added.
Mr Clinton said that since, as far as he was aware, the gardaí were clients of
the hotel, he would not wish to deprive them of their breakfasts.
"I will not seek to bring any influence to bear on the Garda presence here," he
said. However, he did say that he had conveyed an earlier complaint to an onduty
garda.
Mr Harrington also asked if Shell could confirm that there was any quarrying
activity at Bellanaboy; if so, had it the necessary consents, and did it intend
depositing the material that it is at present depositing in a Bord na Móna
cutaway bog, 11 kilometres from Bellanaboy, on site. He was alluding to the
site's location in a drinking-water catchment for 10,000 people and the
increased potential for run-off.
In reply, senior counsel for Shell Esmonde Keane said "the development was
proceeding according to the planning permission obtained", which did include
the movement of material around the site. Mr Keane also confirmed no
concrete was being manufactured on site and it was being supplied by a local
supplier.
Mr Keane strongly challenged a contention by Dr Dave Aldridge, a military
systems engineer and an expert witness for the Friends of Rossport, that "the
proposal to store 3,627 tons of methanol at Bellanaboy in close proximity to
houses and release upwards of 1,800 tons per year into the environment
could lead to another Bhopal here in Co Mayo". He argued that Dr Aldridge
had made "an incredible quantum leap" in his assumption that under certain
temperatures and conditions, such as a breach of pipes, the liquid methanol
would transform into a toxic and potentially fatal vapour cloud.
Dr Aldridge said he was referring to "the worst-case scenario". The chairman
said "major accident scenarios" were outside the hearing's parameters.
Áine Ryan
© Irish Times
continued large presence of gardaí, militated against the Environmental
Protection Agency's oral hearing forming an objective decision, the hearing
was told yesterday.
On the seventh day of the hearing into the issuing of an integrated pollution
prevention licence for the Corrib gas refinery, Seán Harrington - who is
objecting to the licence - suggested to the chairman, Frank Clinton, that since
he was "only human", he was bound to be influenced by such factors.
"In certain sections of the press we have been demonised and called such
pejorative names as aboriginals, pseudo-intellectuals and druids. Last week's
High Court decision [ in which Shell was ordered to pay costs of about €1
million] and the environmental award received by Willie Corduff have totally
exonerated the Rossport Five," said Mr Harrington. He said local people were
intimidated by the large Garda presence in the mornings and by the fact that
two plain-clothes gardaí attended the hearing.
"This is no longer an engineering problem, this is an international human
rights issue," he added.
Mr Clinton said that since, as far as he was aware, the gardaí were clients of
the hotel, he would not wish to deprive them of their breakfasts.
"I will not seek to bring any influence to bear on the Garda presence here," he
said. However, he did say that he had conveyed an earlier complaint to an onduty
garda.
Mr Harrington also asked if Shell could confirm that there was any quarrying
activity at Bellanaboy; if so, had it the necessary consents, and did it intend
depositing the material that it is at present depositing in a Bord na Móna
cutaway bog, 11 kilometres from Bellanaboy, on site. He was alluding to the
site's location in a drinking-water catchment for 10,000 people and the
increased potential for run-off.
In reply, senior counsel for Shell Esmonde Keane said "the development was
proceeding according to the planning permission obtained", which did include
the movement of material around the site. Mr Keane also confirmed no
concrete was being manufactured on site and it was being supplied by a local
supplier.
Mr Keane strongly challenged a contention by Dr Dave Aldridge, a military
systems engineer and an expert witness for the Friends of Rossport, that "the
proposal to store 3,627 tons of methanol at Bellanaboy in close proximity to
houses and release upwards of 1,800 tons per year into the environment
could lead to another Bhopal here in Co Mayo". He argued that Dr Aldridge
had made "an incredible quantum leap" in his assumption that under certain
temperatures and conditions, such as a breach of pipes, the liquid methanol
would transform into a toxic and potentially fatal vapour cloud.
Dr Aldridge said he was referring to "the worst-case scenario". The chairman
said "major accident scenarios" were outside the hearing's parameters.
Áine Ryan
© Irish Times
Cullen accused of borrowed bus 'confidence trick'
YOU wait and wait for a bus and when one finally arrives you discover it has been borrowed!
Yesterday Transport Minister Martin Cullen was accused of taking part in a "crude attempt at a confidence trick" on the public after Bus Eireann unveiled plans to extend its fleet.
For the double-decker used in the publicity photo-shoot to launch the campaign in Dublin was borrowed from Northern bus company Translink.
Labour's transport spokesperson Roisin Shortall said the coach was covered in Bus Eireann stickers just for the occasion.
"Not since Ray Burke famously had trees planted in a housing estate prior to polling day - only to have them removed once the votes had been cast - has their been such an attempt at a crude confidence trick," she said.
But the claim was strongly rejected by Mr Cullen's department which described the suggestion of an attempt to dupe the public as "ridiculous".
Bus Eireann confirmed the bus had been borrowed from Translink for the occasion but also pointed out the coach had signs on both sides saying "Coach provided by Translink".
The company was tendering for 32 similar vehicles each costing around €460,000.
"The idea was to show the public the new type of coach we will be using," said a spokesperson.
Fergus Black
Irish Independent
Yesterday Transport Minister Martin Cullen was accused of taking part in a "crude attempt at a confidence trick" on the public after Bus Eireann unveiled plans to extend its fleet.
For the double-decker used in the publicity photo-shoot to launch the campaign in Dublin was borrowed from Northern bus company Translink.
Labour's transport spokesperson Roisin Shortall said the coach was covered in Bus Eireann stickers just for the occasion.
"Not since Ray Burke famously had trees planted in a housing estate prior to polling day - only to have them removed once the votes had been cast - has their been such an attempt at a crude confidence trick," she said.
But the claim was strongly rejected by Mr Cullen's department which described the suggestion of an attempt to dupe the public as "ridiculous".
Bus Eireann confirmed the bus had been borrowed from Translink for the occasion but also pointed out the coach had signs on both sides saying "Coach provided by Translink".
The company was tendering for 32 similar vehicles each costing around €460,000.
"The idea was to show the public the new type of coach we will be using," said a spokesperson.
Fergus Black
Irish Independent
Commuter belts expand
POPULATION growth has shot through the roof in the ever-widening commuter belts of Ireland's biggest cities.
New Census 2006 figures show that people are moving out of cities and into smaller towns.
And these are groaning under the pressure of seeing their numbers double or even treble in just a few years.
The five cities of Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford have lost population share compared to the rest of the country with a total growth of just 4pc that is half the rate of the country as a whole.
Galway was the exception to this as its population has grown by 10pc since 2002. It now stands at 72,720 and could hit 100,000 by 2020 if growth continues at this rate.
But the number of large towns has increased from 28 to 34, with Mallow, Wicklow, Arklow, Cobh, Midleton, and Ballina the new arrivals on a list dominated by Leinster with 22 towns inhabited by over 10,000 people.
Balbriggan was the fastest growing big town. Its population soared by 51pc to 15,559, while, also in north Dublin, Swords saw its population soar to 34,000.
Drogheda narrowly pipped Dundalk to become the largest town in Louth, and with a population of 35,090 is now Ireland's biggest urban centre outside the main cities.
Towns near Cork city such as Carrigaline, Midleton and Mallow also saw massive increases, most notably in Carrigtwohill which saw its population double to 2,782.
Towns near Galway such as Athenry also boomed, while the population of Oranmore doubled to 3,500.
Near Dublin, the population of Stamullen in Co Meath trebled to 2,500 in just four years.
Other commuter-belt towns around the capital such as Lusk, Rathcoole, Blessington, Kilcock, Kilcullen and Duleek also witnessed population explosions, with the phenomenon reaching out as far as Portarlington in Co Laois, Enfield in Co Meath and beyond.
Overall, the Irish population has grown by 322,645 since 2002, but most of these live outside the big cities.
This means that the city share of the population fell from 35.5pc to 34.2pc, the census figures just published by the Central Statistics Office show.
The biggest population increases were in villages with a population of between 50 and 1,500 people in Dublin, Meath, Kildare and Wicklow which grew by over a third, twice as fast as villages elsewhere.
Irish Independent
New Census 2006 figures show that people are moving out of cities and into smaller towns.
And these are groaning under the pressure of seeing their numbers double or even treble in just a few years.
The five cities of Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford have lost population share compared to the rest of the country with a total growth of just 4pc that is half the rate of the country as a whole.
Galway was the exception to this as its population has grown by 10pc since 2002. It now stands at 72,720 and could hit 100,000 by 2020 if growth continues at this rate.
But the number of large towns has increased from 28 to 34, with Mallow, Wicklow, Arklow, Cobh, Midleton, and Ballina the new arrivals on a list dominated by Leinster with 22 towns inhabited by over 10,000 people.
Balbriggan was the fastest growing big town. Its population soared by 51pc to 15,559, while, also in north Dublin, Swords saw its population soar to 34,000.
Drogheda narrowly pipped Dundalk to become the largest town in Louth, and with a population of 35,090 is now Ireland's biggest urban centre outside the main cities.
Towns near Cork city such as Carrigaline, Midleton and Mallow also saw massive increases, most notably in Carrigtwohill which saw its population double to 2,782.
Towns near Galway such as Athenry also boomed, while the population of Oranmore doubled to 3,500.
Near Dublin, the population of Stamullen in Co Meath trebled to 2,500 in just four years.
Other commuter-belt towns around the capital such as Lusk, Rathcoole, Blessington, Kilcock, Kilcullen and Duleek also witnessed population explosions, with the phenomenon reaching out as far as Portarlington in Co Laois, Enfield in Co Meath and beyond.
Overall, the Irish population has grown by 322,645 since 2002, but most of these live outside the big cities.
This means that the city share of the population fell from 35.5pc to 34.2pc, the census figures just published by the Central Statistics Office show.
The biggest population increases were in villages with a population of between 50 and 1,500 people in Dublin, Meath, Kildare and Wicklow which grew by over a third, twice as fast as villages elsewhere.
Irish Independent
TD says minister must publish spur rail link feasibility study
THE Minister for Transport has been called on to publicise a feasibility study carried out on a spur rail link connecting Shannon to the Limerick-Ennis line.
Labour education spokeswoman Jan O’Sullivan, TD said the report has been lying on the minister’s desk.
Ms O’Sullivan said: “The Minister for Transport told me in a parliamentary reply on February 20 that the draft final report was completed at that stage and that the final report would be available shortly. It’s now more than two months later and there’s no sign of it. It should be published without further delay.”
She said there is no commitment to funding the line in the Government’s proposals under Transport 21.
Ms O’Sullivan said it was vital for Shannon’s future that it is easy to get to by public transport and rail is the best option.
She said: “The Limerick-Ennis line has already proved to be a great success. I have no doubt that a link to Shannon be equally successful for visitors and locals alike.”
Deputy O’Sullivan also accused Minister Martin Cullen of reneging on his promise to implement an Economic and Tourism Development Plan to prepare the region for the consequences of Open Skies which will end Shannon’s right to an equal number of transatlantic flights with Dublin.
She said: “There is a real threat to jobs and prosperity in the Mid-West. We will lose business to Dublin if nothing is done to market and support Shannon. Open Skies is upon us and the Government is still sitting on its hands.”
Ms O’Sullivan expressed great disappointment at the minister’s response to the debate. She said: “He was flippant and dismissive and gave no date for the publication of either the rail study or the plan. Mr Cullen is coming to the Mid-West this weekend and I’m calling on him to give us positive news on these issues.”
Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has publicly come out against a rail spur into Shannon saying it is not necessary. He told a meeting in Limerick recently that the roads into Shannon were good.
Irish Examiner
Labour education spokeswoman Jan O’Sullivan, TD said the report has been lying on the minister’s desk.
Ms O’Sullivan said: “The Minister for Transport told me in a parliamentary reply on February 20 that the draft final report was completed at that stage and that the final report would be available shortly. It’s now more than two months later and there’s no sign of it. It should be published without further delay.”
She said there is no commitment to funding the line in the Government’s proposals under Transport 21.
Ms O’Sullivan said it was vital for Shannon’s future that it is easy to get to by public transport and rail is the best option.
She said: “The Limerick-Ennis line has already proved to be a great success. I have no doubt that a link to Shannon be equally successful for visitors and locals alike.”
Deputy O’Sullivan also accused Minister Martin Cullen of reneging on his promise to implement an Economic and Tourism Development Plan to prepare the region for the consequences of Open Skies which will end Shannon’s right to an equal number of transatlantic flights with Dublin.
She said: “There is a real threat to jobs and prosperity in the Mid-West. We will lose business to Dublin if nothing is done to market and support Shannon. Open Skies is upon us and the Government is still sitting on its hands.”
Ms O’Sullivan expressed great disappointment at the minister’s response to the debate. She said: “He was flippant and dismissive and gave no date for the publication of either the rail study or the plan. Mr Cullen is coming to the Mid-West this weekend and I’m calling on him to give us positive news on these issues.”
Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has publicly come out against a rail spur into Shannon saying it is not necessary. He told a meeting in Limerick recently that the roads into Shannon were good.
Irish Examiner
Retirement village plans rejected by An Bord Pleanála as unsustainable
PLANS for one of Ireland’s largest retirement villages have been overturned.
An Bord Pleanála yesterday refused planning permission for a multi-million euro convalescence centre near Conna, east Cork.
A number of local objectors, including Séamus and Helen Hogan from Belvedere House, Templevalley, were joined by An Taisce in opposing the project promoted by west Cork businessman Danny Lordan.
Mr Lordan is the founder and director of a nursing homes’ company, Golden Meadows, which currently provides amenities in counties Cork and Waterford.
Cork Co Council previously granted planning permission for the 181-unit retirement village at Templevalley, Curraglass.
But An Bord Pleanála ruled the proposed development would be unsustainable and contrary to the local development plan.
Mr Lordan planned to construct a 64-bed single-storey nursing home along with 33 apartments, 36 cottages and a 48-suite convalescence centre at Templevalley.
The greenfield site, on a regional road between Midleton and Tallow, is 3.5 kilometres south-east of Curraglass, straddling the Cork-Waterford border.
Mr Lordan’s proposal also envisaged the development of a six-hole golf course, a 217-space car park and an effluent treatment centre.
In his report, An Bord Pleanála inspector Bryan Ward said the development, in a remote rural area zoned for agricultural use with poor existing services, was unsustainable and contrary to the local development plan settlement strategy.
He added the development would appear prominent and obtrusive in the surrounding landscape and would seriously detract from the visual amenities of this scenic rural area. Furthermore, it would give rise to significant traffic and potentially endanger public safety.
The inspector added he was not satisfied waste water discharges from the planned effluent plant would not damage the nearby salmon-breeding Glenaboy River.
Meanwhile, the leaseholds for two of Mr Lordan’s retirement homes — in Clonakilty and Dungarvan — are on the market with a combined asking price of €4.5 million. Both, up and running facilities, are being sold as a turnkey operation.
Mr Lordan built the Clonakilty facility in 2001. The lease for the 46-bed home expires in December 2011, and the purchaser of the leasehold will then have the option of purchasing it outright for an agreed fixed price. The guide price for the leasehold is €2m.
The leasehold for the 64-bed Dungarvan facility is also for sale, with a guide price of €2.5m.
Irish Examiner
An Bord Pleanála yesterday refused planning permission for a multi-million euro convalescence centre near Conna, east Cork.
A number of local objectors, including Séamus and Helen Hogan from Belvedere House, Templevalley, were joined by An Taisce in opposing the project promoted by west Cork businessman Danny Lordan.
Mr Lordan is the founder and director of a nursing homes’ company, Golden Meadows, which currently provides amenities in counties Cork and Waterford.
Cork Co Council previously granted planning permission for the 181-unit retirement village at Templevalley, Curraglass.
But An Bord Pleanála ruled the proposed development would be unsustainable and contrary to the local development plan.
Mr Lordan planned to construct a 64-bed single-storey nursing home along with 33 apartments, 36 cottages and a 48-suite convalescence centre at Templevalley.
The greenfield site, on a regional road between Midleton and Tallow, is 3.5 kilometres south-east of Curraglass, straddling the Cork-Waterford border.
Mr Lordan’s proposal also envisaged the development of a six-hole golf course, a 217-space car park and an effluent treatment centre.
In his report, An Bord Pleanála inspector Bryan Ward said the development, in a remote rural area zoned for agricultural use with poor existing services, was unsustainable and contrary to the local development plan settlement strategy.
He added the development would appear prominent and obtrusive in the surrounding landscape and would seriously detract from the visual amenities of this scenic rural area. Furthermore, it would give rise to significant traffic and potentially endanger public safety.
The inspector added he was not satisfied waste water discharges from the planned effluent plant would not damage the nearby salmon-breeding Glenaboy River.
Meanwhile, the leaseholds for two of Mr Lordan’s retirement homes — in Clonakilty and Dungarvan — are on the market with a combined asking price of €4.5 million. Both, up and running facilities, are being sold as a turnkey operation.
Mr Lordan built the Clonakilty facility in 2001. The lease for the 46-bed home expires in December 2011, and the purchaser of the leasehold will then have the option of purchasing it outright for an agreed fixed price. The guide price for the leasehold is €2m.
The leasehold for the 64-bed Dungarvan facility is also for sale, with a guide price of €2.5m.
Irish Examiner
Thursday, 26 April 2007
Planning stories
I've had a few emails in the last two weeks asking me my opinion on a range of planning stories in the media and made available on my site. I'd love to have time to spend responding to each story; to get involved in chatrooms, filling the Internet with new material, but I don't have time. I am also interested in reading planning stories myself and to read and then to write would take considerable time. Most people assume that to be interested in a subject, one should show this by writing about it. However, what such people forget is how those we know who write about their interests are most often paid to do so. These people are our journalists, novelists and website content providers. The link between being interested in a subject and needing to write about it is mistaken. I work in the area in which I am interested; I am involved in day to day planning stories which are sometimes interesting and sometimes less so, but I don't need to write about it. From time to time I read or see something worth writing about, but most of the time I'd have to try hard to find stories worth my attention. I leave the writing to the professionals; I enjoy it and collect the stories for others to share. For those who appreciate this, enjoy.
Brendan Buck
Brendan Buck
Commuters can look forward to buses every 12 minutes in 2008
Commuters can look forward to buses every 12 minutes in 2008
SUPER-BUSES every 12 minutes are promised for tens of thousands of car-dependent commuters living in Dublin's expanding satellite towns.
But don't stand at the bus stop waiting just yet - the new services will not start until early next year.
The long arm of Dublin continues to reach up to 100km into the countryside.
A major expansion plan unveiled yesterday will transform public transportation for commuters in booming towns in Meath, Kildare and Wicklow, Bus Eireann pledged.
Services from areas such as Navan, Naas and Ashbourne to the capital will take place with "city-style service frequency" every 12 minutes.
The new services will be introduced early next year with the addition of 70 new big double-deck buses and coaches.
Key improvements include:
* A new "city-style service frequency" on all major commuter routes into Dublin city, with buses running as regularly as every 12 minutes throughout the day.
* On the busy Ashbourne/Dublin there will be a bus every 12 minutes all day, while commuters on the equally busy Navan/Dublin and Naaa/Dublin routes buses will run every 15 minutes also throughout the day.
* Mullingar/Enfield/Kilcock/ Dublin will run every 30 minutes.
* Rathoath/Dublin buses every 30 minutes.
A range of new services including direct hourly bus services from Dublin Airport to locations such as Mullingar/Enfield, Wicklow/Bray and Newbridge/Naas on a dusk-till-dawn basis are also being introduced.
Dr John Lynch, CIE chairman, said the new buses would enable them to deliver in a very short timeframe significant and tangible improvements to the transport service in the expanding commuter belt.
"The implementation of these plans is vital - not only if we want to provide for the needs of the next generation of commuters but also if we want to reduce congestion car usage, traffic volumes and ultimately carbon emissions in the greater Dublin area," he added.
Treacy Hogan
Irish Independent
SUPER-BUSES every 12 minutes are promised for tens of thousands of car-dependent commuters living in Dublin's expanding satellite towns.
But don't stand at the bus stop waiting just yet - the new services will not start until early next year.
The long arm of Dublin continues to reach up to 100km into the countryside.
A major expansion plan unveiled yesterday will transform public transportation for commuters in booming towns in Meath, Kildare and Wicklow, Bus Eireann pledged.
Services from areas such as Navan, Naas and Ashbourne to the capital will take place with "city-style service frequency" every 12 minutes.
The new services will be introduced early next year with the addition of 70 new big double-deck buses and coaches.
Key improvements include:
* A new "city-style service frequency" on all major commuter routes into Dublin city, with buses running as regularly as every 12 minutes throughout the day.
* On the busy Ashbourne/Dublin there will be a bus every 12 minutes all day, while commuters on the equally busy Navan/Dublin and Naaa/Dublin routes buses will run every 15 minutes also throughout the day.
* Mullingar/Enfield/Kilcock/ Dublin will run every 30 minutes.
* Rathoath/Dublin buses every 30 minutes.
A range of new services including direct hourly bus services from Dublin Airport to locations such as Mullingar/Enfield, Wicklow/Bray and Newbridge/Naas on a dusk-till-dawn basis are also being introduced.
Dr John Lynch, CIE chairman, said the new buses would enable them to deliver in a very short timeframe significant and tangible improvements to the transport service in the expanding commuter belt.
"The implementation of these plans is vital - not only if we want to provide for the needs of the next generation of commuters but also if we want to reduce congestion car usage, traffic volumes and ultimately carbon emissions in the greater Dublin area," he added.
Treacy Hogan
Irish Independent
School to house €50m social plan campus
ONE of Ireland's most famous hurling schools and seminaries is to be transformed into a €50m education campus to tackle social disadvantage.
The ambitious redevelopment blueprint for St Finbarr's-Farranferris College in Cork was unveiled yesterday by the Bishop of Cork, Dr John Buckley.
The plan was drawn up by multi-millionaire developer and St Finbarr's past pupil, Michael O'Flynn, who described the project as one of the most exciting he was ever involved with.
Under his proposal, the 22-acre St Finbarr site will be developed to include:
* A total refurbishment of the main building.
* Construction of six new high-tech office buildings.
* Sell-off of a 13-acre site for the development of 108 private residential units.
The buildings will house services by Cork VEC, FAS, Cope Foundation, Rehab, Cabas and Northside Community Enterprises, UCC and CIT.
RALPH RIEGEL
Irish Independent
The ambitious redevelopment blueprint for St Finbarr's-Farranferris College in Cork was unveiled yesterday by the Bishop of Cork, Dr John Buckley.
The plan was drawn up by multi-millionaire developer and St Finbarr's past pupil, Michael O'Flynn, who described the project as one of the most exciting he was ever involved with.
Under his proposal, the 22-acre St Finbarr site will be developed to include:
* A total refurbishment of the main building.
* Construction of six new high-tech office buildings.
* Sell-off of a 13-acre site for the development of 108 private residential units.
The buildings will house services by Cork VEC, FAS, Cope Foundation, Rehab, Cabas and Northside Community Enterprises, UCC and CIT.
RALPH RIEGEL
Irish Independent
Here's one €350,000 property you'll need to get on the ladder to acquire
A RENOWNED architect has put an unusual site on the market in a leafy Dublin surburb with an asking price of €350,000.
The catch?
The "site" is in fact a tract of air between two existing houses, which overhangs the current "owner's" access road.
"This is an unusual opportunity to acquire a very well located property which has potential subject to planning permission to enhance and further develop," the property's brochure boasts, adding that the opportunity "should be of interest to a shrewd investor/developer with the resources to undergo the planning process and create an innovative and cutting edge property of striking appeal."
"It's a very competitive price," insisted Tom O'Higgins of Remax's Dun Laoghaire branch, who is selling the property on behalf of architect Alfred E Jones. "It's an excellent location, you'd get €700,000 if the site already had planning," he added.
The private access road to the Summerhill Court development was acquired by the architect in December 2005 for €20,000.
Mr O'Higgins said he had already had "more than 60" calls about the site in Sandycove in south Dublin. "There have been a number of offers conditional on planning permission, but that's not the way we're selling it," he said.
Mr Jones said that a buyer would be able to get 1,500 sq ft of accommodation on the site.
Mr Jones himself is an architect of considerable expertise, so would he not seize the "opportunity" himself? "I put it on the market because I would like to see what the market would hold at this stage," he said.
"Developing it myself, that's not where I'm going with it at the moment."
The site's value to any prospective owner hinges entirely on the success of planning permission. Planning permission for "unusual" residential developments in south Dublin is notoriously hard to come by these days, and Mr Jones himself fell foul of local opposition last year when he tried to change the use of his own premises on the same terrace.
Laura Noonan
Irish Independent
Follow up:
IN APRIL 2006, Alfred E Jones secured planning permission for a "change of use" and extension to a property he owns to the rear of 20 Summerhill Road.
The permission allowed Mr Jones to change the property's use from a studio to a residential unit, and to add an extension.
However, his joy was shortlived when several neighbours lodged complaints with An Bord Pleanála later that month.
The neighbours complained that the development would "seriously injure the amenities of the area" and "would depreciate the value of residential property at Summerhill Court [behind Summerhill Road]".
In August an Bord Pleanála overturned the local authority's decision noting that "the Board considered that the proposed development would constitute disorderly backland development".
However, Mr Jones remains optimistic. "I wouldn't say it didn't work out," he said. "It's not never over. You just keep at them."
Irish Independent
The catch?
The "site" is in fact a tract of air between two existing houses, which overhangs the current "owner's" access road.
"This is an unusual opportunity to acquire a very well located property which has potential subject to planning permission to enhance and further develop," the property's brochure boasts, adding that the opportunity "should be of interest to a shrewd investor/developer with the resources to undergo the planning process and create an innovative and cutting edge property of striking appeal."
"It's a very competitive price," insisted Tom O'Higgins of Remax's Dun Laoghaire branch, who is selling the property on behalf of architect Alfred E Jones. "It's an excellent location, you'd get €700,000 if the site already had planning," he added.
The private access road to the Summerhill Court development was acquired by the architect in December 2005 for €20,000.
Mr O'Higgins said he had already had "more than 60" calls about the site in Sandycove in south Dublin. "There have been a number of offers conditional on planning permission, but that's not the way we're selling it," he said.
Mr Jones said that a buyer would be able to get 1,500 sq ft of accommodation on the site.
Mr Jones himself is an architect of considerable expertise, so would he not seize the "opportunity" himself? "I put it on the market because I would like to see what the market would hold at this stage," he said.
"Developing it myself, that's not where I'm going with it at the moment."
The site's value to any prospective owner hinges entirely on the success of planning permission. Planning permission for "unusual" residential developments in south Dublin is notoriously hard to come by these days, and Mr Jones himself fell foul of local opposition last year when he tried to change the use of his own premises on the same terrace.
Laura Noonan
Irish Independent
Follow up:
IN APRIL 2006, Alfred E Jones secured planning permission for a "change of use" and extension to a property he owns to the rear of 20 Summerhill Road.
The permission allowed Mr Jones to change the property's use from a studio to a residential unit, and to add an extension.
However, his joy was shortlived when several neighbours lodged complaints with An Bord Pleanála later that month.
The neighbours complained that the development would "seriously injure the amenities of the area" and "would depreciate the value of residential property at Summerhill Court [behind Summerhill Road]".
In August an Bord Pleanála overturned the local authority's decision noting that "the Board considered that the proposed development would constitute disorderly backland development".
However, Mr Jones remains optimistic. "I wouldn't say it didn't work out," he said. "It's not never over. You just keep at them."
Irish Independent
Wednesday, 25 April 2007
Launch Of Campaign to Save Tara
An Bord Pleanála gave permission for the four lane, twice-tolled M3 Through The Gabhra(TaraSkyrne) Valley in 2003 and since then there has been a huge campaign to have that section of the road re-routed.
The Campaign to save Tara is an alliance of voluntary groups involved in this lobbying. The Campaign was officially launched on Tuesday the 24th of April 2007 at an event in the Cultivate Centre, Temple Bar beginning at 1pm. The campaign also announced their electoral strategy and approach to the upcoming general election.
The electoral strategy was outlined by Michael Canney who said that they are asking for a re-route of the section of the M3 that runs through the Gabhra Valley. He said
"We are asking people to consider each candidates and party's position on the route at the ballot box. We will encourage people to vote for the candidates who provide written commitments that they will support a review of the route, if they are elected to government."
Dr Muireann Ni Bhrolcháin, senior lecturer in the School of Celtic Studies, National
University of Ireland in Maynooth and long term campaigner on the issue, said 'The Tara issue is the line in the sand. If the Gabhra Valley is not safe- nowhere in Ireland is safe from future development in the spurious name of progress. It is physically distressing to see huge sites being excavated in such haste".
She quoted Duncan Stewart's evaluation of the proposed road, 'The M3 is the worst example of unsustainable development- this artery will encourage more sprawl and development in Meath. The developers will be the only ones to benefit and it will delay, if not prevent the re-opening of the more desirable railway line'
Professor Daithí Ó hÓgáin of the Dept of Folklore, National University of Ireland, Dublin who has a long standing concern regarding the project has said of the area: " Tara is the focal centre of Irish Heritage and culture- there is an extraordinary rich complex of myth and symbolism associated with the site"
The bardic poet from Cork, Diarmuid Ó Dálaigh, summed up the significance of the Tara
Valley for the majority of people in Ireland with a recitation of his poem 'Tara'.
The Campaign also launched their literature for the election that will be distributed in the Meath constituencies and other target areas. A 16-page newspaper has also been
produced and will be sold for €2 as a fund raising project. It includes a number of pages on archaeology and photographs of the sites.
Muireann Ní Bhrolcháin 087-9249510
Campaign to Save Tara
http://www.savetara.com / photographs at
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/82160&comment_limit=0&condense_comments=false#comment191179
The Campaign to save Tara is an alliance of voluntary groups involved in this lobbying. The Campaign was officially launched on Tuesday the 24th of April 2007 at an event in the Cultivate Centre, Temple Bar beginning at 1pm. The campaign also announced their electoral strategy and approach to the upcoming general election.
The electoral strategy was outlined by Michael Canney who said that they are asking for a re-route of the section of the M3 that runs through the Gabhra Valley. He said
"We are asking people to consider each candidates and party's position on the route at the ballot box. We will encourage people to vote for the candidates who provide written commitments that they will support a review of the route, if they are elected to government."
Dr Muireann Ni Bhrolcháin, senior lecturer in the School of Celtic Studies, National
University of Ireland in Maynooth and long term campaigner on the issue, said 'The Tara issue is the line in the sand. If the Gabhra Valley is not safe- nowhere in Ireland is safe from future development in the spurious name of progress. It is physically distressing to see huge sites being excavated in such haste".
She quoted Duncan Stewart's evaluation of the proposed road, 'The M3 is the worst example of unsustainable development- this artery will encourage more sprawl and development in Meath. The developers will be the only ones to benefit and it will delay, if not prevent the re-opening of the more desirable railway line'
Professor Daithí Ó hÓgáin of the Dept of Folklore, National University of Ireland, Dublin who has a long standing concern regarding the project has said of the area: " Tara is the focal centre of Irish Heritage and culture- there is an extraordinary rich complex of myth and symbolism associated with the site"
The bardic poet from Cork, Diarmuid Ó Dálaigh, summed up the significance of the Tara
Valley for the majority of people in Ireland with a recitation of his poem 'Tara'.
The Campaign also launched their literature for the election that will be distributed in the Meath constituencies and other target areas. A 16-page newspaper has also been
produced and will be sold for €2 as a fund raising project. It includes a number of pages on archaeology and photographs of the sites.
Muireann Ní Bhrolcháin 087-9249510
Campaign to Save Tara
http://www.savetara.com / photographs at
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/82160&comment_limit=0&condense_comments=false#comment191179
City manager defends land sale
CORK’S city manager has defended the contract governing the multi-million euro sale of 111 acres of public land to a top developer almost five years ago.
Following probing questions from two city councillors, Joe Gavin issued a detailed two-page report this week outlining the issues surrounding the sale of city-owned land at Mahon to developer Owen O’Callaghan.
In 1999, the then Cork Corporation advertised the sale of the land-bank in Mahon.
O’Callaghan Properties bid €44 million and won the tender with ambitious plans for the development of Mahon Point shopping centre.
Although it was not the highest bidder, the company’s offer to build a trade centre on a portion of the site helped clinched the deal.
Under the terms of the sale, which was finally signed off in 2002, Mr O’Callaghan entered in to a trade centre agreement which would see him build a trade centre, or in default of this, pay €6,094,742 to the council.
But a trade centre was subsequently deemed unsuitable at this location as the council earmarked a CIE-owned site near Kent Station as its preferred location.
As efforts to secure the centre on that site dragged on, Mr Gavin announced two weeks ago his intention to call in the O’Callaghan bond to help fund the construction of a conference centre elsewhere in the city.
He invited proposals from the private sector to build the facility within two kilometres of the city and said the council was prepared to invest up to €12m in the project to demonstrate its commitment.
But Fine Gael Cllr Patricia Gosch and Socialist Party Cllr Mick Barry asked Mr Gavin why the €6m O’Callaghan bond was not index-linked to take into account rocketing land values.
The site could now be worth up to €8m.
They also asked why he was not being forced to hand back to the city the prime site which was originally earmarked for the trade centre.
Mr Gavin confirmed that the amount agreed was not subject to indexation and that there was no provision for the return of lands to the city council.
“The payment of €6,094,742 which was the money to be expended on the trade centre by purchasers was the agreed default situation,” he said.
He said formal negotiations between the council and O’Callaghan Properties will take place on the terms of the trade centre agreement.
But a spokesman for O’Callaghan Properties said the company has always been, and still is willing to build the trade centre in Mahon.
He said once a decision is finally and officially taken to not proceed with the Mahon Point option, it will honour in full the terms of the bond.
Cork City Council
Following probing questions from two city councillors, Joe Gavin issued a detailed two-page report this week outlining the issues surrounding the sale of city-owned land at Mahon to developer Owen O’Callaghan.
In 1999, the then Cork Corporation advertised the sale of the land-bank in Mahon.
O’Callaghan Properties bid €44 million and won the tender with ambitious plans for the development of Mahon Point shopping centre.
Although it was not the highest bidder, the company’s offer to build a trade centre on a portion of the site helped clinched the deal.
Under the terms of the sale, which was finally signed off in 2002, Mr O’Callaghan entered in to a trade centre agreement which would see him build a trade centre, or in default of this, pay €6,094,742 to the council.
But a trade centre was subsequently deemed unsuitable at this location as the council earmarked a CIE-owned site near Kent Station as its preferred location.
As efforts to secure the centre on that site dragged on, Mr Gavin announced two weeks ago his intention to call in the O’Callaghan bond to help fund the construction of a conference centre elsewhere in the city.
He invited proposals from the private sector to build the facility within two kilometres of the city and said the council was prepared to invest up to €12m in the project to demonstrate its commitment.
But Fine Gael Cllr Patricia Gosch and Socialist Party Cllr Mick Barry asked Mr Gavin why the €6m O’Callaghan bond was not index-linked to take into account rocketing land values.
The site could now be worth up to €8m.
They also asked why he was not being forced to hand back to the city the prime site which was originally earmarked for the trade centre.
Mr Gavin confirmed that the amount agreed was not subject to indexation and that there was no provision for the return of lands to the city council.
“The payment of €6,094,742 which was the money to be expended on the trade centre by purchasers was the agreed default situation,” he said.
He said formal negotiations between the council and O’Callaghan Properties will take place on the terms of the trade centre agreement.
But a spokesman for O’Callaghan Properties said the company has always been, and still is willing to build the trade centre in Mahon.
He said once a decision is finally and officially taken to not proceed with the Mahon Point option, it will honour in full the terms of the bond.
Cork City Council
Raw sewage pumped into river
RAW sewage is being pumped daily into a scenic river which has been designated a 'special area of conservation'.
Independent tests show that the River Barrow contains a very high count of cryptosporidium - the same bug that has contaminated Galway's drinking water supply and left hundreds of people sick.
The untreated sewage, which contains used condoms, tampons, lumps of human excrement and shredded toilet paper, is being pumped into the river through two pipes in the heart of Portarlington, beside a park where children play.
The source of the sewage has been identified as a block of apartments and a number of houses and businesses in the town. These premises were incorrectly connected to the water surface system meaning untreated sewage was being channeled directly into the river.
Local anglers, angered at the number of fish kills along the river, began independent tests of the water three years ago. The tests, which are carried out fortnightly, show that the Barrow is a 'moderately polluted river' with a high level of cryptosporidium. Laois County Council has consistently rejected claims that it is behind the pollution but was forced yesterday to admit that untreated effluent is regularly pumped into the river because of "misconnections" in the sewage system.
Last night Kildare County Council stressed the town's drinking water is safe. It does not come from the Barrow but from the Poulaphoca Reservoir and wells at Hybla and Rathangan.
Breda Heffernan
Irish Independent
Independent tests show that the River Barrow contains a very high count of cryptosporidium - the same bug that has contaminated Galway's drinking water supply and left hundreds of people sick.
The untreated sewage, which contains used condoms, tampons, lumps of human excrement and shredded toilet paper, is being pumped into the river through two pipes in the heart of Portarlington, beside a park where children play.
The source of the sewage has been identified as a block of apartments and a number of houses and businesses in the town. These premises were incorrectly connected to the water surface system meaning untreated sewage was being channeled directly into the river.
Local anglers, angered at the number of fish kills along the river, began independent tests of the water three years ago. The tests, which are carried out fortnightly, show that the Barrow is a 'moderately polluted river' with a high level of cryptosporidium. Laois County Council has consistently rejected claims that it is behind the pollution but was forced yesterday to admit that untreated effluent is regularly pumped into the river because of "misconnections" in the sewage system.
Last night Kildare County Council stressed the town's drinking water is safe. It does not come from the Barrow but from the Poulaphoca Reservoir and wells at Hybla and Rathangan.
Breda Heffernan
Irish Independent
Landowner rights 'can't be ignored'
THE rights of landowners cannot be ignored just to give walkers greater access to the countryside, said Minister Eamon O Cuiv.
With regard to the debate around charging for entry to land, the minister told Green Party TD Dan Boyle there was a charge for entry to the zoo and to golf courses which were owned by somebody.
The best way forward was through a community-based approach, he said.
Irish Independent
With regard to the debate around charging for entry to land, the minister told Green Party TD Dan Boyle there was a charge for entry to the zoo and to golf courses which were owned by somebody.
The best way forward was through a community-based approach, he said.
Irish Independent
Tuesday, 24 April 2007
€1.2 billion record housing allocations for 2007
Mr. Noel Ahern, T.D., Minister for Housing and Urban Renewal has notified housing authorities of their financial allocations for their local authority housing programmes in 2007.
The 2007 exchequer allocations total almost €1.2 billion and will fund the following programmes -
* Provision of local authority housing - €1,013.000
* Improvement Works Programme - including Ballymun - €127.000
* Central Heating - €33.000
* Total - €1,173,000.
The allocation of over €1 billion for the provision of local authority housing provides for work in progress on over 8,300 housing units and for authorities to complete construction and acquire 5,500 houses this year - including new dwellings completed under regeneration projects.
Minister Ahern said - "The funding of €1 billion I am providing today to local authorities is the highest ever allocated for the main local authority housing construction and acquisition programme. Total funding is almost €1.2 billion when one includes the improvement works programme and central heating."
The Minister continued - "Local authorities are already aware of the substantial funding available for this and future years, for social housing and have been urged to press ahead with implementation of their programmes in order to commence as many projects as possible in the current year. I would anticipate that some 7,000 housing units should be started or acquired by local authorities in 2007 - including new units provided in regeneration projects such as Ballymun."
Record funding of €127 million is being provided to local authorities for improvement works relating to Regeneration projects and Remedial Works Schemes. The Minister said that the improvement works allocations include an amount of €65 million to fund the continued regeneration of Ballymun.
The Minister continued - "Substantial progress is now being achieved in the regeneration of Ballymun. It is anticipated that a further 400 houses will be completed this year and 300 new houses will be started. I am pleased that a total of over 1,000 new social housing units were completed up to the end of 2006 and that another 560 were under construction."
An amount of €37 million is being provided for refurbishment work under the Remedial Works Scheme. In addition, the Minister said - "I am making specific funding available of €25 million to seven urban authorities to undertake major regeneration work to a number of estates in their areas. I believe it is essential that local authorities tackle the problems in these estates and the funding I am making available is a testament of my commitment to improving the lives of the people in these estates."
These seven authorities are - Cork, Dublin, Limerick and Waterford City Councils, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, Dundalk Town Council and Sligo Borough Council.
Finally, the Minister concluded by saying that, in addition to the €127 million provided for improvement works, local authorities now have delegated authority from this year to the use of proceeds from the sale of their dwellings under the Tenant Purchase Scheme, to fund planned programmes of improvement works to dwellings in their stock.
The Minister commented - "I anticipate that some €100 million will be expended nationally, this year, on improvement works programmes for local authority social housing from internal capital receipts. This represents additional expenditure over and above the allocations I have announced, which will go towards improving local authority housing stock."
The 2007 exchequer allocations total almost €1.2 billion and will fund the following programmes -
* Provision of local authority housing - €1,013.000
* Improvement Works Programme - including Ballymun - €127.000
* Central Heating - €33.000
* Total - €1,173,000.
The allocation of over €1 billion for the provision of local authority housing provides for work in progress on over 8,300 housing units and for authorities to complete construction and acquire 5,500 houses this year - including new dwellings completed under regeneration projects.
Minister Ahern said - "The funding of €1 billion I am providing today to local authorities is the highest ever allocated for the main local authority housing construction and acquisition programme. Total funding is almost €1.2 billion when one includes the improvement works programme and central heating."
The Minister continued - "Local authorities are already aware of the substantial funding available for this and future years, for social housing and have been urged to press ahead with implementation of their programmes in order to commence as many projects as possible in the current year. I would anticipate that some 7,000 housing units should be started or acquired by local authorities in 2007 - including new units provided in regeneration projects such as Ballymun."
Record funding of €127 million is being provided to local authorities for improvement works relating to Regeneration projects and Remedial Works Schemes. The Minister said that the improvement works allocations include an amount of €65 million to fund the continued regeneration of Ballymun.
The Minister continued - "Substantial progress is now being achieved in the regeneration of Ballymun. It is anticipated that a further 400 houses will be completed this year and 300 new houses will be started. I am pleased that a total of over 1,000 new social housing units were completed up to the end of 2006 and that another 560 were under construction."
An amount of €37 million is being provided for refurbishment work under the Remedial Works Scheme. In addition, the Minister said - "I am making specific funding available of €25 million to seven urban authorities to undertake major regeneration work to a number of estates in their areas. I believe it is essential that local authorities tackle the problems in these estates and the funding I am making available is a testament of my commitment to improving the lives of the people in these estates."
These seven authorities are - Cork, Dublin, Limerick and Waterford City Councils, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, Dundalk Town Council and Sligo Borough Council.
Finally, the Minister concluded by saying that, in addition to the €127 million provided for improvement works, local authorities now have delegated authority from this year to the use of proceeds from the sale of their dwellings under the Tenant Purchase Scheme, to fund planned programmes of improvement works to dwellings in their stock.
The Minister commented - "I anticipate that some €100 million will be expended nationally, this year, on improvement works programmes for local authority social housing from internal capital receipts. This represents additional expenditure over and above the allocations I have announced, which will go towards improving local authority housing stock."
AHERN ANNOUNCES SOCIAL and AFFORDABLE HOUSING NUMBERS for 2006
The Quarter 4 2006 Housing Statistics Bulletin, on the number of social and affordable houses delivered in 2006 is published. It tells us how 2,198 units of social and affordable housing were provided under Part V of the Planning and Development Acts 2000 – 2006 in 2006. This represents a 60% increase on 2005. A further 3,845 units were in progress at the end of 2006.
€100m jail to be built on Army land
A €100m-plus 'super-prison' to house 600 male and female inmates will be built on Army lands in Cork.
Justice Minister Michael McDowell revealed that the Cabinet has agreed in principle to the Kilworth location for the new jail over the long-favoured site on Spike Island. The Cork harbour island is expected to be developed as a multi-million euro tourism, leisure and heritage site.
Mr McDowell - who toured the Lynch Camp site in Kilworth last January - confirmed that he now expects work to begin shortly on the project. "The Cabinet has approved it in principle and we have had a survey of the land which has been adopted as suitable," he said.
The Kilworth 'super-prison' will eventually result in the shutdown of the ageing Cork Prison on Rathmore Rd and the transformation of Limerick Prison into a dedicated remand/short-term facility.
The proposed prison would be the largest new jail in the State.
"Cork Prison is overcrowded and conditions there, while it is a well-kept prison, are not up to modern standards and there is still slopping out taking place there," he added.
Mr McDowell said he had been impressed by the Kilworth site both in terms of the available land, access to the site and the local infrastructure.
Ralph Riegel
Irish Independent
Justice Minister Michael McDowell revealed that the Cabinet has agreed in principle to the Kilworth location for the new jail over the long-favoured site on Spike Island. The Cork harbour island is expected to be developed as a multi-million euro tourism, leisure and heritage site.
Mr McDowell - who toured the Lynch Camp site in Kilworth last January - confirmed that he now expects work to begin shortly on the project. "The Cabinet has approved it in principle and we have had a survey of the land which has been adopted as suitable," he said.
The Kilworth 'super-prison' will eventually result in the shutdown of the ageing Cork Prison on Rathmore Rd and the transformation of Limerick Prison into a dedicated remand/short-term facility.
The proposed prison would be the largest new jail in the State.
"Cork Prison is overcrowded and conditions there, while it is a well-kept prison, are not up to modern standards and there is still slopping out taking place there," he added.
Mr McDowell said he had been impressed by the Kilworth site both in terms of the available land, access to the site and the local infrastructure.
Ralph Riegel
Irish Independent
Monday, 23 April 2007
Irish Times writer fights club licence
'IRISH Times' environment editor Frank McDonald has objected to a night spot close to where he lives getting a song and dance licence.
In October last year, he was refused leave by a judge to object at District Court level to the licence being granted to the Peig Sayers Hotel Partnership, which trades as The Mezz, The Hub and The River House in Temple Bar, Dublin.
Mr McDonald, whose address was given in the Circuit Court yesterday as The Granary, Temple Lane South, has appealed to the Circuit Court on his own behalf and that of Granary Management, which manages The Granary.
© Irish Independent
In October last year, he was refused leave by a judge to object at District Court level to the licence being granted to the Peig Sayers Hotel Partnership, which trades as The Mezz, The Hub and The River House in Temple Bar, Dublin.
Mr McDonald, whose address was given in the Circuit Court yesterday as The Granary, Temple Lane South, has appealed to the Circuit Court on his own behalf and that of Granary Management, which manages The Granary.
© Irish Independent
Tesco fails in rezone bid for new store
RETAIL giant Tesco Ireland has failed in its bid to open a store in the only county currently without one of its outlets.
Frustrated county councillors have voted against rezoning a plot of land in Kilkenny which would have given Tesco a presence in every county in the State.
A number of councillors voted against a material contravention to their county development plan in protest after officials refused to allow a debate on the issue at a recent council meeting.
A planning application by Tesco Ireland for a large store outside Callan, Co Kilkenny, which would have created 100 jobs, has now been withdrawn and the company says it is reviewing its options with regard to Kilkenny.
The vote, which was expected to be carried unanimously, was rejected after councillors failed to return a three-quarters majority in favour of rezoning for the store.
Disarray
The process was thrown into further disarray after three councillors went missing from the meeting as the vote was being held.
Two councillors abstained after Green Party councillor Malcolm Noonan was refused an open debate on the Tesco proposal.
Mr Noonan claimed he was not allowed to give his opinion on the issue and voted against rezoning the land at Callan on "ideological grounds".
"'This is about protecting the core of rural communities," said Mr Noonan.
wA spokesperson for Tesco Ireland told the Irish Independent: "We are reviewing our options with regard to Callan and Kilkenny".
It is expected that a fresh application by Tesco Ireland will come before the council in the coming months.
Dara deFaoite
© Irish Independent
Frustrated county councillors have voted against rezoning a plot of land in Kilkenny which would have given Tesco a presence in every county in the State.
A number of councillors voted against a material contravention to their county development plan in protest after officials refused to allow a debate on the issue at a recent council meeting.
A planning application by Tesco Ireland for a large store outside Callan, Co Kilkenny, which would have created 100 jobs, has now been withdrawn and the company says it is reviewing its options with regard to Kilkenny.
The vote, which was expected to be carried unanimously, was rejected after councillors failed to return a three-quarters majority in favour of rezoning for the store.
Disarray
The process was thrown into further disarray after three councillors went missing from the meeting as the vote was being held.
Two councillors abstained after Green Party councillor Malcolm Noonan was refused an open debate on the Tesco proposal.
Mr Noonan claimed he was not allowed to give his opinion on the issue and voted against rezoning the land at Callan on "ideological grounds".
"'This is about protecting the core of rural communities," said Mr Noonan.
wA spokesperson for Tesco Ireland told the Irish Independent: "We are reviewing our options with regard to Callan and Kilkenny".
It is expected that a fresh application by Tesco Ireland will come before the council in the coming months.
Dara deFaoite
© Irish Independent
Dingle sewage treatment plant may not be able cope with tourist influx
THERE are fears that An Daingean sewage treatment plant may not be able to cope with demands when the population grows hugely during the tourist season.
The plant is designed for a population equivalent of 8,600 people but, according to a Kerry County Council development plan for An Daingean, the peak load in July 2005 was 13,209 people. Also, because of the growth in housing and holiday homes, the plan says the treatment capacity of the plant could be “a constraint on new development in the short term”.
A local development group has written to the Environment Minister Dick Roche and EU Commissioner Stavros Dimas about the matter. In spite of the council’s concerns, no constraints are being applied to development in Dingle, according to Sean Brosnan, of Dingle Sustainable Development Group.
“For instance, planning permission has recently been granted for 76 housing units in the Grove. Planning permission had of course already been granted to scores of holiday homes now coming on stream, such as those on Greenmount, above the town,” he said in the letter. “We are concerned that the Dingle Wastewater Treatment Plant cannot cope in the summer and we have brought this concern to the attention of the Kerry County Council on a number of occasions.”
A report on the issue from the EPA is awaited.
The group has also called for a moratorium on the building of holiday homes in An Daingean until the sewage treatment plant issue is addressed.
“There are also other issues, such as the effects of holiday home developments on the price of general housing and on the landscape,” Mr Brosnan said.
A situation has been reached where some local people can no longer afford to build, or buy, houses in the area.
Councillors have rezoned a large amount of land for housing and holiday homes, against the advice of the county manager and planners. “They have gone so far as to move the town boundary for the sole purpose of encircling fields a mile away from town,” Mr Brosnan said. He has urged Mr Roche to “dezone” some of the land which has been rezoned in An Daingean.
Meanwhile, an excess of holiday homes is having a negative impact on the character of Gaeltacht villages west of An Daingean.
This is according to a new draft development plan for the West Kerry Gaeltacht which highlights an imbalance between a large number of holiday homes and houses occupied all year round by local people.
Senior planning engineer Tom Sheehy said holiday homes which were unoccupied for most of the year were a deterrent to locals wishing to live in villages. He also maintained enough land had been zoned for holiday homes in An Daingean to cater for the needs of the general area (58 acres with potential to provide for about 600 houses).
“This provision will satisfy the demand for holiday homes and maintain the economic benefits from tourism accommodation.”
Donal Hickey
© Irish Independent
The plant is designed for a population equivalent of 8,600 people but, according to a Kerry County Council development plan for An Daingean, the peak load in July 2005 was 13,209 people. Also, because of the growth in housing and holiday homes, the plan says the treatment capacity of the plant could be “a constraint on new development in the short term”.
A local development group has written to the Environment Minister Dick Roche and EU Commissioner Stavros Dimas about the matter. In spite of the council’s concerns, no constraints are being applied to development in Dingle, according to Sean Brosnan, of Dingle Sustainable Development Group.
“For instance, planning permission has recently been granted for 76 housing units in the Grove. Planning permission had of course already been granted to scores of holiday homes now coming on stream, such as those on Greenmount, above the town,” he said in the letter. “We are concerned that the Dingle Wastewater Treatment Plant cannot cope in the summer and we have brought this concern to the attention of the Kerry County Council on a number of occasions.”
A report on the issue from the EPA is awaited.
The group has also called for a moratorium on the building of holiday homes in An Daingean until the sewage treatment plant issue is addressed.
“There are also other issues, such as the effects of holiday home developments on the price of general housing and on the landscape,” Mr Brosnan said.
A situation has been reached where some local people can no longer afford to build, or buy, houses in the area.
Councillors have rezoned a large amount of land for housing and holiday homes, against the advice of the county manager and planners. “They have gone so far as to move the town boundary for the sole purpose of encircling fields a mile away from town,” Mr Brosnan said. He has urged Mr Roche to “dezone” some of the land which has been rezoned in An Daingean.
Meanwhile, an excess of holiday homes is having a negative impact on the character of Gaeltacht villages west of An Daingean.
This is according to a new draft development plan for the West Kerry Gaeltacht which highlights an imbalance between a large number of holiday homes and houses occupied all year round by local people.
Senior planning engineer Tom Sheehy said holiday homes which were unoccupied for most of the year were a deterrent to locals wishing to live in villages. He also maintained enough land had been zoned for holiday homes in An Daingean to cater for the needs of the general area (58 acres with potential to provide for about 600 houses).
“This provision will satisfy the demand for holiday homes and maintain the economic benefits from tourism accommodation.”
Donal Hickey
© Irish Independent
EPA Hearing: Shell Mayo Terminal
Blame for the Corrib gas controversy was firmly laid on the doorstep of Minister for the Marine Noel Dempsey and former minister Frank Fahey by an An Taisce member at thee Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) oral hearing into the issuing of an integrated pollution prevention licence (IPPC).
Leo Corcoran, a former Bord Gáis engineer, argued that the issuing of "dodgy consents" was the biggest mistake, and that the manner in which the project has been handled would never have been countenanced by Bord Gáis.
His claim that Shell was in breach of codes of practice adhered to throughout Europe was vigorously challenged by Shell's senior counsel, Esmonde Keane, who was accused by appellant Ed Moran of "using and abusing" court-room techniques in his cross-examination.
Mr Corcoran said there were significant differences between the Bellanaboy refinery and one at St Fergus, in Scotland, which was used as an evaluation basis by the EPA inspector who granted the conditional IPPC licence last January. The St Fergus refinery is located exactly on the coastline, has a short production pipe, is not adjacent to a water catchment area and is located in a specially designated area for oil development, he said.
He said the fact that a Shell expert witness, Dr Nigel Peters, a health, safety and environment consultant with the company, had refused to answer a key question was telling. Mr Corcoran had asked whether it would be acceptable
practice in Scotland to have instead located St Fergus adjacent to the nearby town of Peterhead, which, like Bellanaboy, is within a catchment area of drinking water for 10,000 people.
In his submission, Leo Corcoran said the Scottish Environment Protection Authority - "an organisation with considerable experience in licensing such facilities"- agreed the terminal should not be located within a drinking water catchment.
He quoted its head of water policy, Martin Marsden: "When consulted on the location of major industrial facilities, SEPA would normally recommend against placing such facilities at locations which could affect public drinking water."
Concerns about excessive aluminium levels in Carrowmore lake, the main drinking water supply for the Erris area, have been ongoing.
John Monaghan, a Shell to Sea campaigner, asked the hearing's chairman, Frank Clinton, if he was aware the company was regularly breaching its own limits on the site since October 2005.
Cross-examining Dr Peters, Micheál Ó Seighin revealed the company may have used a questionable statistic to gauge run-off impact from extreme rainfall within a 24-hour period.
"How could you base your figures on a catastrophic event [ the Pollathomas landslide in September 2003] from the Belmullet weather station. There was no rain in Belmullet that day; it was a spatially limited catastrophe," said Mr Ó Seighin. He added the statistic used was from Inver national school, which was not monitored properly.
He observed that while experts concerned themselves with possible failure, a community concerned itself with possible consequences.
Bríd McGarry, a landowner involved in Wednesday's High Court proceedings, claimed the vacating of the compulsory acquisition orders for the original pipeline route may have a legal bearing on the IPPC, since there is a conduit pipe which will now take a new route into the refinery.
Suggestions that Shell E&P Ireland held a series of formal consultation meetings with residents living near the Bellanaboy site regarding the decision to cold-vent the gas rather than flare it have been described as an "insult to the intelligence of the people".
Agnes McLaverty, of Shell, said there had been a series of public exhibitions in Rossport, Belmullet, Ballina and other areas where the issue of cold-venting and flaring was raised.
She was responding to the chairman of the hearing, Frank Clinton, who asked Shell representatives to provide detailed documentation of a consultation process it said it carried out with Mayo County Council and the community. She said they chose cold-venting to ease residents' concerns over the visual impact.
Cold-venting of gas, usually methane, entails its release directly into the environment without being burned.
However, appellants said that cold-venting was rarely mentioned at meetings and the majority of the people did not know what it was. One appellant, Anthony Irwin, claimed that the documentation cited by Shell as proof that it had conducted a consultation process was an "insult to the intelligence of the people". In his opinion, the main document issued for planning approval was incomplete and flawed.
The hearing resumes on Tuesday.
Áine Ryan, Anton McNulty & Lorna Siggins [Edited]
© 2007 The Irish Times
Leo Corcoran, a former Bord Gáis engineer, argued that the issuing of "dodgy consents" was the biggest mistake, and that the manner in which the project has been handled would never have been countenanced by Bord Gáis.
His claim that Shell was in breach of codes of practice adhered to throughout Europe was vigorously challenged by Shell's senior counsel, Esmonde Keane, who was accused by appellant Ed Moran of "using and abusing" court-room techniques in his cross-examination.
Mr Corcoran said there were significant differences between the Bellanaboy refinery and one at St Fergus, in Scotland, which was used as an evaluation basis by the EPA inspector who granted the conditional IPPC licence last January. The St Fergus refinery is located exactly on the coastline, has a short production pipe, is not adjacent to a water catchment area and is located in a specially designated area for oil development, he said.
He said the fact that a Shell expert witness, Dr Nigel Peters, a health, safety and environment consultant with the company, had refused to answer a key question was telling. Mr Corcoran had asked whether it would be acceptable
practice in Scotland to have instead located St Fergus adjacent to the nearby town of Peterhead, which, like Bellanaboy, is within a catchment area of drinking water for 10,000 people.
In his submission, Leo Corcoran said the Scottish Environment Protection Authority - "an organisation with considerable experience in licensing such facilities"- agreed the terminal should not be located within a drinking water catchment.
He quoted its head of water policy, Martin Marsden: "When consulted on the location of major industrial facilities, SEPA would normally recommend against placing such facilities at locations which could affect public drinking water."
Concerns about excessive aluminium levels in Carrowmore lake, the main drinking water supply for the Erris area, have been ongoing.
John Monaghan, a Shell to Sea campaigner, asked the hearing's chairman, Frank Clinton, if he was aware the company was regularly breaching its own limits on the site since October 2005.
Cross-examining Dr Peters, Micheál Ó Seighin revealed the company may have used a questionable statistic to gauge run-off impact from extreme rainfall within a 24-hour period.
"How could you base your figures on a catastrophic event [ the Pollathomas landslide in September 2003] from the Belmullet weather station. There was no rain in Belmullet that day; it was a spatially limited catastrophe," said Mr Ó Seighin. He added the statistic used was from Inver national school, which was not monitored properly.
He observed that while experts concerned themselves with possible failure, a community concerned itself with possible consequences.
Bríd McGarry, a landowner involved in Wednesday's High Court proceedings, claimed the vacating of the compulsory acquisition orders for the original pipeline route may have a legal bearing on the IPPC, since there is a conduit pipe which will now take a new route into the refinery.
Suggestions that Shell E&P Ireland held a series of formal consultation meetings with residents living near the Bellanaboy site regarding the decision to cold-vent the gas rather than flare it have been described as an "insult to the intelligence of the people".
Agnes McLaverty, of Shell, said there had been a series of public exhibitions in Rossport, Belmullet, Ballina and other areas where the issue of cold-venting and flaring was raised.
She was responding to the chairman of the hearing, Frank Clinton, who asked Shell representatives to provide detailed documentation of a consultation process it said it carried out with Mayo County Council and the community. She said they chose cold-venting to ease residents' concerns over the visual impact.
Cold-venting of gas, usually methane, entails its release directly into the environment without being burned.
However, appellants said that cold-venting was rarely mentioned at meetings and the majority of the people did not know what it was. One appellant, Anthony Irwin, claimed that the documentation cited by Shell as proof that it had conducted a consultation process was an "insult to the intelligence of the people". In his opinion, the main document issued for planning approval was incomplete and flawed.
The hearing resumes on Tuesday.
Áine Ryan, Anton McNulty & Lorna Siggins [Edited]
© 2007 The Irish Times
Rossport five man wins 'Nobel' prize for environment
A north Mayo farmer who was jailed over his opposition to the Corrib gas pipeline and an Icelandic businessman who lobbied the Government to implement the new ban on driftnetting for salmon are among six winners of the Goldman Environmental Prize.
Willie Corduff, one of the "Rossport five", and Orri Vigfusson of the North Atlantic Salmon Fund have been selected for Europe and for the islands and island nations respectively - the first time that the award has gone to Ireland, or an Irish-related campaign.
Along with winners from Peru, Mongolia, Zambia and Canada, they will be celebrated in San Francisco Opera House on Monday and will meet US congressional leaders as part of a series of functions in Washington DC next week.
Each winner of the prize, known as the "Nobel" of the environment, is awarded $125,000 (€92,000). It is endorsed by more than 100 heads of state and eight previous winners have been appointed to or elected to national office in their countries. The 1991 winner for Africa, Wangari Maathai, was also awarded the Nobel peace prize in 2004, and the late Nigerian writer, Ken Saro-Wiwa, who was executed with compatriots over his opposition to Shell's activities in Ogoniland in the Niger delta, received the award in 1995.
Mr Corduff said he did not start objecting to the Corrib gas pipeline to win prizes.
"It isn't about the money, it is about our health and safety and that of our children," the father of six, who is being accompanied by his wife, Mary, said.
He added that he hoped to use the money to help further the campaign, while acknowledging that his family had undergone considerable hardship since the Corrib gas developers - Shell, Statoil and Marathon - sought access to the couple's land.
Mr Corduff, and fellow landowners Philip McGrath, Bríd McGarry and Brendan Philbin were permitted by the High Court earlier this week to continue their counter-claims against Shell E&P Ireland, and the consents held by the project for the existing pipeline route must now be dropped.
The company, which says it is working on a modified pipeline route, must also pay legal costs associated with the injunctions which led to Mr Corduff's jailings.
Shell says it is studying the judgment.
Lorna Siggins
© The Irish Times
Willie Corduff, one of the "Rossport five", and Orri Vigfusson of the North Atlantic Salmon Fund have been selected for Europe and for the islands and island nations respectively - the first time that the award has gone to Ireland, or an Irish-related campaign.
Along with winners from Peru, Mongolia, Zambia and Canada, they will be celebrated in San Francisco Opera House on Monday and will meet US congressional leaders as part of a series of functions in Washington DC next week.
Each winner of the prize, known as the "Nobel" of the environment, is awarded $125,000 (€92,000). It is endorsed by more than 100 heads of state and eight previous winners have been appointed to or elected to national office in their countries. The 1991 winner for Africa, Wangari Maathai, was also awarded the Nobel peace prize in 2004, and the late Nigerian writer, Ken Saro-Wiwa, who was executed with compatriots over his opposition to Shell's activities in Ogoniland in the Niger delta, received the award in 1995.
Mr Corduff said he did not start objecting to the Corrib gas pipeline to win prizes.
"It isn't about the money, it is about our health and safety and that of our children," the father of six, who is being accompanied by his wife, Mary, said.
He added that he hoped to use the money to help further the campaign, while acknowledging that his family had undergone considerable hardship since the Corrib gas developers - Shell, Statoil and Marathon - sought access to the couple's land.
Mr Corduff, and fellow landowners Philip McGrath, Bríd McGarry and Brendan Philbin were permitted by the High Court earlier this week to continue their counter-claims against Shell E&P Ireland, and the consents held by the project for the existing pipeline route must now be dropped.
The company, which says it is working on a modified pipeline route, must also pay legal costs associated with the injunctions which led to Mr Corduff's jailings.
Shell says it is studying the judgment.
Lorna Siggins
© The Irish Times
revor Sargent addresses Terminal 2 oral hearing.
Green Party Leader, Trevor Sargent, made an oral observation at the An Bord Pleanála oral hearing into Terminal 2 at the Radisson SAS Hotel (former Great Southern) at Dublin Airport on Friday 20 April 2007.
Mr Sargent said that as Leader of the Green Party and a Dáil representative for DublinNorth he was most concerned about the proper development of the area. He wanted to put his observations on the record because some important issues were not been given the consideration they deserved. He feared the airport decision was being made without a full knowledge and appreciation of the all the issues.
He felt, for example, that the Strategic Environmental Assessment that had been made of the development plans of Dublin Airport had not adequately addressed the issue of climate change, which was now an undeniable fact. "The best way that plan could contribute to reducing climate change would be to put a hold on the development of Dublin Airport. If there is an optimum size for Dublin Airport, what is it? As far as the people of St Margaret's and Portmarnock are concerned, we are already near that optimum," he said.
According to Mr Sargent, it was important for the country to meet its future needs to be carbon neutral. We had international responsibilities in that regard. This was no longer just a matter of the Kyoto protocol where aviation had managed to stay beneath the radar, but of the upcoming post-Kyoto agreement. This agreement will be more rigorous as far as aviation is concerned. He pointed out that: "we have only ten years in which to act to prevent the earth's temperature rising by 2 degrees Centigrade above pre-industrial levels."
He said that no proper consideration was being given to unbalanced regional development. He noted that the proper development of Fingal should take account of the state of underdevelopment of the Western Seaboard as compared to the Eastern Seaboard. This should be done before proceeding with the further development of the Dublin area in a laissez-faire manner and exacerbating its many problems, including congestion and pollution.
He noted that: "there had been no Cost Benefit justification for these proposals. In
terms of 'Value for Money', it is not just an issue of government funds but of land and other resources that are in the custodianship of Dublin Airport. It should not be assumed that the land involved is a given, and is therefore free. Obviously we know that would not be so, if it were sold, given the price of land in the area."
Contacted later Mr Sargent said he believed that, on the evidence, the planned expansion of Dublin Airport was socially, economically and environmentally unsustainable. He also agreed with Professor Stern that climate change was the greatest market failure the world had seen, and that unless the costs of climate change were included in our assessment of development projects, this market failure would persist to the detriment of the humanity.
Mr Sargent said that as Leader of the Green Party and a Dáil representative for DublinNorth he was most concerned about the proper development of the area. He wanted to put his observations on the record because some important issues were not been given the consideration they deserved. He feared the airport decision was being made without a full knowledge and appreciation of the all the issues.
He felt, for example, that the Strategic Environmental Assessment that had been made of the development plans of Dublin Airport had not adequately addressed the issue of climate change, which was now an undeniable fact. "The best way that plan could contribute to reducing climate change would be to put a hold on the development of Dublin Airport. If there is an optimum size for Dublin Airport, what is it? As far as the people of St Margaret's and Portmarnock are concerned, we are already near that optimum," he said.
According to Mr Sargent, it was important for the country to meet its future needs to be carbon neutral. We had international responsibilities in that regard. This was no longer just a matter of the Kyoto protocol where aviation had managed to stay beneath the radar, but of the upcoming post-Kyoto agreement. This agreement will be more rigorous as far as aviation is concerned. He pointed out that: "we have only ten years in which to act to prevent the earth's temperature rising by 2 degrees Centigrade above pre-industrial levels."
He said that no proper consideration was being given to unbalanced regional development. He noted that the proper development of Fingal should take account of the state of underdevelopment of the Western Seaboard as compared to the Eastern Seaboard. This should be done before proceeding with the further development of the Dublin area in a laissez-faire manner and exacerbating its many problems, including congestion and pollution.
He noted that: "there had been no Cost Benefit justification for these proposals. In
terms of 'Value for Money', it is not just an issue of government funds but of land and other resources that are in the custodianship of Dublin Airport. It should not be assumed that the land involved is a given, and is therefore free. Obviously we know that would not be so, if it were sold, given the price of land in the area."
Contacted later Mr Sargent said he believed that, on the evidence, the planned expansion of Dublin Airport was socially, economically and environmentally unsustainable. He also agreed with Professor Stern that climate change was the greatest market failure the world had seen, and that unless the costs of climate change were included in our assessment of development projects, this market failure would persist to the detriment of the humanity.
O'Leary and DAA in war of words over new terminal
RYANAIR chief executive Michael O'Leary has claimed that the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) effectively tried to "buy our silence" during the planning process for Dublin Airport's proposed second terminal by offering talks on building a third one for the airline.
The DAA has confirmed that high-level meetings regarding a third terminal took place between it and Ryanair last August.
However, it said that it strongly refuted O'Leary's allegation.
O'Leary claimed to the Sunday Tribune that, during these meetings, the DAA proposed to set up a working group examining the possibility of building a third terminal on the condition that Ryanair didn't lodge a planning objection against its Terminal 2 plans.
He said that the airline immediately rejected the proposal.
"It is a bit like getting involved in a hospital study group. You'd be sitting there studying it for the next 25 years with the DAA while they build a second terminal that costs four times what it should and doubles passenger charges."
The airline subsequently lodged an objection with Fingal County Council, which granted permission for the new terminal last October. Ryanair, An Taisce and local residents later appealed that decision to An Bord Pleanala. An oral hearing into the terminal is currently ongoing.
The airline has argued that the terminal is too expensive, is the wrong design and is in the wrong place. Last week, it threatened to freeze its expansion at the airport if it is approved.
A spokesman for the DAA claimed, however, that Ryanair raised the issue of a third terminal during the talks. He said that it was one of the preconditions that the airline had placed on its support for Terminal 2.
"The DAA agreed to support Ryanair on these issues but stressed that there were many planning and logistical barriers to the construction of a third terminal on the existing airport campus that would, at a minimum, delay its delivery until after 2011, " the spokesman claimed.
He also claimed that the DAA's discussions with the airline were part of an extensive consultation process which it carried out prior to lodging its planning application for Terminal 2.
He claimed that its talks with Ryanair came to an end when the airline "unilaterally terminated these discussions soon after the submission by the DAA of its planning application last August".
Sunday Tribune
The DAA has confirmed that high-level meetings regarding a third terminal took place between it and Ryanair last August.
However, it said that it strongly refuted O'Leary's allegation.
O'Leary claimed to the Sunday Tribune that, during these meetings, the DAA proposed to set up a working group examining the possibility of building a third terminal on the condition that Ryanair didn't lodge a planning objection against its Terminal 2 plans.
He said that the airline immediately rejected the proposal.
"It is a bit like getting involved in a hospital study group. You'd be sitting there studying it for the next 25 years with the DAA while they build a second terminal that costs four times what it should and doubles passenger charges."
The airline subsequently lodged an objection with Fingal County Council, which granted permission for the new terminal last October. Ryanair, An Taisce and local residents later appealed that decision to An Bord Pleanala. An oral hearing into the terminal is currently ongoing.
The airline has argued that the terminal is too expensive, is the wrong design and is in the wrong place. Last week, it threatened to freeze its expansion at the airport if it is approved.
A spokesman for the DAA claimed, however, that Ryanair raised the issue of a third terminal during the talks. He said that it was one of the preconditions that the airline had placed on its support for Terminal 2.
"The DAA agreed to support Ryanair on these issues but stressed that there were many planning and logistical barriers to the construction of a third terminal on the existing airport campus that would, at a minimum, delay its delivery until after 2011, " the spokesman claimed.
He also claimed that the DAA's discussions with the airline were part of an extensive consultation process which it carried out prior to lodging its planning application for Terminal 2.
He claimed that its talks with Ryanair came to an end when the airline "unilaterally terminated these discussions soon after the submission by the DAA of its planning application last August".
Sunday Tribune
Irish wave energy project buoyed by successful trials
AN IRISH company which has developed a revolutionary wave energy device is poised to capture a massive slice of the sector’s €200 billion global market.
Ocean Energy Ltd, based in Cork, is about to ramp up its multi-million euro product development following successful sea trials in Galway Bay of its OE Bouy wave energy convertor.
A quarter-scale model of the device, designed to harness the power of the sea, was moored a mile offshore, near Spiddal, on Christmas Day, and survived some of the roughest storms in almost 20 years.
Designed to cope with swells of five metres, it was battered by regular storm surges with waves measuring up to eight metres.
A force 11 storm on New Year’s Eve swamped the device with waves peaking at 8.2 metres.
Despite the extreme conditions, the scale model remained intact and passed all its tests with flying colours, company director, Mick Whelan said.
“About 2.2 million pieces of data were analysed proving the viability of the device,” he said.
The successful trials mean Ocean Energy can now move on to phase two of the development — installing turbines on the device to generate electricity.
The company was founded in 2002 by Michael Whelan and John McCarthy.
Mr Whelan has over 30 years of experience working in an offshore environment as a commercial diver and salvage expert operating his own towing and salvage company.
Mr McCarthy is an accountant by profession, with previous experience in the field of renewable energy.
“We want to put Ireland on the map for renewable energy. We want to be at the forefront of renewable energy technology,” Mr Whelan said.
“The potential spin-off in terms of jobs and wealth creation is incredible.”
The next phase of testing will begin in the coming weeks. Power output from the turbines will be measured over a period of about four months.
Mr Whelan said he is hopeful that they can move on to the production of a full-scale model before the end of the year.
The concept has been developed over the last two years by Ocean Energy in partnership with the Hydraulics and Maritime Research Centre (HMRC) at University College Cork.
HMRC director, Dr Tony Lewis, praised the company’s slow and steady approach.
“Other companies around the world are engaged in this kind of research,” he said.
“But they are not testing each stage of development properly and now they are encountering problems that cannot be easily resolved.
“This project has completed a painstaking process of research and development to get us to where we are today.”
Mr Whelan said that a full-scale model, measuring 40 metres and weighing 650 tonnes, could generate enough energy to power 500 homes at peak.
How it works
The buoy is moored on the surface of the ocean, in areas where the water is between 30-50 metres deep, with a large horizontal tunnel below the surface.
Water pressure in the tunnel forces a column of water up into a vertical duct.
As the wave motion rocks the device, the water in the duct rises and falls, forcing air at speed out through a turbine.
The air spins the turbine’s fans which in turn generate electricity.
The power is transferred back to shore via underwater cables.
Ocean Energy Ltd, based in Cork, is about to ramp up its multi-million euro product development following successful sea trials in Galway Bay of its OE Bouy wave energy convertor.
A quarter-scale model of the device, designed to harness the power of the sea, was moored a mile offshore, near Spiddal, on Christmas Day, and survived some of the roughest storms in almost 20 years.
Designed to cope with swells of five metres, it was battered by regular storm surges with waves measuring up to eight metres.
A force 11 storm on New Year’s Eve swamped the device with waves peaking at 8.2 metres.
Despite the extreme conditions, the scale model remained intact and passed all its tests with flying colours, company director, Mick Whelan said.
“About 2.2 million pieces of data were analysed proving the viability of the device,” he said.
The successful trials mean Ocean Energy can now move on to phase two of the development — installing turbines on the device to generate electricity.
The company was founded in 2002 by Michael Whelan and John McCarthy.
Mr Whelan has over 30 years of experience working in an offshore environment as a commercial diver and salvage expert operating his own towing and salvage company.
Mr McCarthy is an accountant by profession, with previous experience in the field of renewable energy.
“We want to put Ireland on the map for renewable energy. We want to be at the forefront of renewable energy technology,” Mr Whelan said.
“The potential spin-off in terms of jobs and wealth creation is incredible.”
The next phase of testing will begin in the coming weeks. Power output from the turbines will be measured over a period of about four months.
Mr Whelan said he is hopeful that they can move on to the production of a full-scale model before the end of the year.
The concept has been developed over the last two years by Ocean Energy in partnership with the Hydraulics and Maritime Research Centre (HMRC) at University College Cork.
HMRC director, Dr Tony Lewis, praised the company’s slow and steady approach.
“Other companies around the world are engaged in this kind of research,” he said.
“But they are not testing each stage of development properly and now they are encountering problems that cannot be easily resolved.
“This project has completed a painstaking process of research and development to get us to where we are today.”
Mr Whelan said that a full-scale model, measuring 40 metres and weighing 650 tonnes, could generate enough energy to power 500 homes at peak.
How it works
The buoy is moored on the surface of the ocean, in areas where the water is between 30-50 metres deep, with a large horizontal tunnel below the surface.
Water pressure in the tunnel forces a column of water up into a vertical duct.
As the wave motion rocks the device, the water in the duct rises and falls, forcing air at speed out through a turbine.
The air spins the turbine’s fans which in turn generate electricity.
The power is transferred back to shore via underwater cables.
Dwellings of Ireland’s early settlers found
ARCHAEOLOGISTS may have discovered dwellings belonging to some of the earliest Irish settlers.
The remains of what could be two homes in a settlement, dating back about 6,000 years, have been discovered in north Cork.
A glimpse into the light of other days came during an archaeological study along a corridor earmarked for the new Fermoy-Mitchelstown road.
The likely dwelling sites were among a number of interesting discoveries.
Ken Hanley, an archaeologist with the National Roads Authority, said his team had uncovered evidence of Neolithic houses at Gortore and at Ballinglanna North, near Fermoy.
“While the dates of the rectangular house foundations have yet to be confirmed, it is anticipated that the houses would have been occupied some time between approximately 4000-3500 BC,” he said.
In addition, he said there was some evidence of transient occupation at Gortore, where some stone tools have been uncovered dating to approximately 5000 BC.
Archaeologists believe the site was probably occupied for short stays by a hunting/fishing group in the late Mesolithic period.
The site appears to have been then re-occupied on different occasions through the later prehistoric period.
The teams also found two bathing/cooking sites, pointing to Bronze Age times (2400 to 800 BC) at Kilshanny and Ballinglanna.
“At Ballinacarriga, two ring barrows suspected of being Bronze Age, were discovered. One appears to have contained cremated human bone held within an inverted pottery urn. This was accompanied by a ceramic food vessel,” Mr Hanley said.
“A circular enclosure, with a souterrain (an underground chamber for food storage and/or taking refuge), was also identified at Ballinacarriga. This is speculatively dated to the Early Medieval (approximately 500 to 1000 AD), pending radiocarbon dating.
Another likely Early Medieval site was excavated at Gortnahown. It consisted of an iron working site with accompanying huts,” the senior archaeologist said.
It will require an extensive programme of post-excavation analyses.
Mr Hanley said it was anticipated that the sites will be fully excavated by May or June, well before road construction works begin.
Irish Examiner
The remains of what could be two homes in a settlement, dating back about 6,000 years, have been discovered in north Cork.
A glimpse into the light of other days came during an archaeological study along a corridor earmarked for the new Fermoy-Mitchelstown road.
The likely dwelling sites were among a number of interesting discoveries.
Ken Hanley, an archaeologist with the National Roads Authority, said his team had uncovered evidence of Neolithic houses at Gortore and at Ballinglanna North, near Fermoy.
“While the dates of the rectangular house foundations have yet to be confirmed, it is anticipated that the houses would have been occupied some time between approximately 4000-3500 BC,” he said.
In addition, he said there was some evidence of transient occupation at Gortore, where some stone tools have been uncovered dating to approximately 5000 BC.
Archaeologists believe the site was probably occupied for short stays by a hunting/fishing group in the late Mesolithic period.
The site appears to have been then re-occupied on different occasions through the later prehistoric period.
The teams also found two bathing/cooking sites, pointing to Bronze Age times (2400 to 800 BC) at Kilshanny and Ballinglanna.
“At Ballinacarriga, two ring barrows suspected of being Bronze Age, were discovered. One appears to have contained cremated human bone held within an inverted pottery urn. This was accompanied by a ceramic food vessel,” Mr Hanley said.
“A circular enclosure, with a souterrain (an underground chamber for food storage and/or taking refuge), was also identified at Ballinacarriga. This is speculatively dated to the Early Medieval (approximately 500 to 1000 AD), pending radiocarbon dating.
Another likely Early Medieval site was excavated at Gortnahown. It consisted of an iron working site with accompanying huts,” the senior archaeologist said.
It will require an extensive programme of post-excavation analyses.
Mr Hanley said it was anticipated that the sites will be fully excavated by May or June, well before road construction works begin.
Irish Examiner
Cullen's underground 'u-turn' on Metro rail-line will cost the taxpayer an extra €200m
A NEW plan to make the Metro rail-line run underground at a north Dublin station will cost taxpayers an extra €200m.
Ballymun residents were celebrating last night after the Government abandoned plans to put the line on stilts through their area.
Residents and politicians welcomed the "u-turn" by Transport Minister Martin Cullen and said it was a victory for people power. But officials involved in the Metro construction revealed that the plan to bore a 'cut and cover' opening in the ground will cost around €200m extra. The Railway Procurement Agency (RPA) unveiled the revised plan yesterday following consultation with local people.
The decision to axe the original plan followed local opposition to the agency's proposal to put the rail-line on stilts.
Residents in the area submitted an objection signed by 1,000 local people to the agency and Mr Cullen's office earlier this month.
They claimed the rejuvenated area would suffer traffic congestion if the line went overground and the rail-line would divide the area in two.
The new plan means that the Metro line will run uninterrupted below the ground from a terminus at St Stephen's Green until it emerges at Santry.
A spokesperson for the RPA said yesterday: "The minister indicated yesterday that extra monies were available as part of the Transport 21 plan."
Metro North is scheduled for completion in 2013 and will run from St Stephen's Green to Swords, through Dublin Airport. The city-centre section will be a deep-bore tunnel. It had been planned to run the line overland (on stilts or at ground level) from Dublin City University onwards.
Labour's spokesperson on Transport Roisin Shortall said Mr Cullen had been forced into a "significant volte face" on the issue.
He had repeatedly told her in the Dail, as recently as three weeks ago, that the Metro would not go underground through Ballymun.
Mr Cullen's spokeswoman denied any u-turn. She said the decision had been made by the RPA after an extensive consultation with locals.
Anne-Marie Walsh
Irish Independent
Ballymun residents were celebrating last night after the Government abandoned plans to put the line on stilts through their area.
Residents and politicians welcomed the "u-turn" by Transport Minister Martin Cullen and said it was a victory for people power. But officials involved in the Metro construction revealed that the plan to bore a 'cut and cover' opening in the ground will cost around €200m extra. The Railway Procurement Agency (RPA) unveiled the revised plan yesterday following consultation with local people.
The decision to axe the original plan followed local opposition to the agency's proposal to put the rail-line on stilts.
Residents in the area submitted an objection signed by 1,000 local people to the agency and Mr Cullen's office earlier this month.
They claimed the rejuvenated area would suffer traffic congestion if the line went overground and the rail-line would divide the area in two.
The new plan means that the Metro line will run uninterrupted below the ground from a terminus at St Stephen's Green until it emerges at Santry.
A spokesperson for the RPA said yesterday: "The minister indicated yesterday that extra monies were available as part of the Transport 21 plan."
Metro North is scheduled for completion in 2013 and will run from St Stephen's Green to Swords, through Dublin Airport. The city-centre section will be a deep-bore tunnel. It had been planned to run the line overland (on stilts or at ground level) from Dublin City University onwards.
Labour's spokesperson on Transport Roisin Shortall said Mr Cullen had been forced into a "significant volte face" on the issue.
He had repeatedly told her in the Dail, as recently as three weeks ago, that the Metro would not go underground through Ballymun.
Mr Cullen's spokeswoman denied any u-turn. She said the decision had been made by the RPA after an extensive consultation with locals.
Anne-Marie Walsh
Irish Independent
Regions need more power to govern
THE power to make many decisions about local areas should be taken away from central government, a conference has heard, writes Dara deFaoite.
A conference on the future of regional governance heard that Ireland's towns and cities need to be governed regionally if they are to develop at a meaningful and sustainable level.
It was also suggested that county Dublin and parts of adjoining counties should form a new, pilot regional authority to assess the potential for devolved governance.
"Ireland is traditionally a very centralised country with essential services being maintained locally," said John McAleer director of the South West Regional Authority.
"But when it comes to certain needs such as waste management, economic development and water and sanitary services they are not always best served by individual local county councils," he said.
"Ireland should examine the benefits of granting more powers to regional bodies and perhaps consider having direct elections to these regional bodies," said Mr McAleer.
Mr McAleer was speaking at the eighth annual Conference of the Southern and Eastern Regional Assembly, comprising councillors from 20 local authorities.
Irish Indepependent
A conference on the future of regional governance heard that Ireland's towns and cities need to be governed regionally if they are to develop at a meaningful and sustainable level.
It was also suggested that county Dublin and parts of adjoining counties should form a new, pilot regional authority to assess the potential for devolved governance.
"Ireland is traditionally a very centralised country with essential services being maintained locally," said John McAleer director of the South West Regional Authority.
"But when it comes to certain needs such as waste management, economic development and water and sanitary services they are not always best served by individual local county councils," he said.
"Ireland should examine the benefits of granting more powers to regional bodies and perhaps consider having direct elections to these regional bodies," said Mr McAleer.
Mr McAleer was speaking at the eighth annual Conference of the Southern and Eastern Regional Assembly, comprising councillors from 20 local authorities.
Irish Indepependent
Friday, 20 April 2007
New heritage plan 'for the people'
OUR national heritage needs to become more accessible, allowing people to enjoy it more, it was claimed yesterday.
The Heritage Council launched its new strategic plan which aims to be "people orientated" and guided towards "public participation". It focuses strongly on improving the accessibility and enjoyment of our national heritage over the next four years.
Speaking at the launch of the plan, Dr Tom O'Dwyer, council chairman, said that public inclusion has primarily stemmed from the widespread public participation in the development of the strategy.
Key priorities of the plan include preventative conservation of buildings, museums and archives; further development of the Heritage Council's grant schemes, scientific and economic research in a number of key areas impacting on the national heritage.
The Heritage Council aims to achieve its objectives by working with its extensive network of partnerships with local authorities, community groups, land-owners and heritage enterprises throughout the country.
The council said a budget of about €20m annually until 2011 was needed to implement this plan.
But Environment Minister Dick Roche said he could not commit to that amount but would give €5m to refurbish their new headquarters in the former Church of Ireland Bishop's Palace in Kilkenny city.
Sarah Murphy
Irish Independent
The Heritage Council launched its new strategic plan which aims to be "people orientated" and guided towards "public participation". It focuses strongly on improving the accessibility and enjoyment of our national heritage over the next four years.
Speaking at the launch of the plan, Dr Tom O'Dwyer, council chairman, said that public inclusion has primarily stemmed from the widespread public participation in the development of the strategy.
Key priorities of the plan include preventative conservation of buildings, museums and archives; further development of the Heritage Council's grant schemes, scientific and economic research in a number of key areas impacting on the national heritage.
The Heritage Council aims to achieve its objectives by working with its extensive network of partnerships with local authorities, community groups, land-owners and heritage enterprises throughout the country.
The council said a budget of about €20m annually until 2011 was needed to implement this plan.
But Environment Minister Dick Roche said he could not commit to that amount but would give €5m to refurbish their new headquarters in the former Church of Ireland Bishop's Palace in Kilkenny city.
Sarah Murphy
Irish Independent
90pc of homes are now recycling rubbish
WE'VE finally turned our back on dealing with rubbish in the old way and are now recycling like mad.
Almost 90pc of households now recycle some of their household waste compared to just 48pc in 1999.
New Central Statistics Office figures released yesterday show that we are becoming more green conscious.
And if facilities for recycling were available to everybody then the figures would be even better.
"While 165,200 householders did not recycle any waste items in 2005, 28,600 of these reported that they would recycle if facilities were available," said the CSO.
Dublin proved to have the highest percentage of recycling, due mainly to the widespread availability of facilities including green wheelie bins and Bring Centres.
Almost 94pc of Dublin householders recycle their rubbish, while in the Border regions the figure is as low as 78pc.
Increase
All regions reported a large increase in household recycling levels over the six-year period from 199 to 2005, with the west showing the biggest increase.
Rented or rent-free dwellings reported a recycling rate of almost 82pc, in comparison to just over 90pc for owner-occupier dwellings.
Education also seems to play a part in rising recycling figures, because houses where there was just one adult with no children reported the lowest recycling rate of 76pc, but with two adults and one to three children recycling was 95pc.
Paper was the most commonly recycled household item, at 82pc, while clothing was the least recycled bracket, at almost 63pc. In 1999 clothing was the most recycled item.
In all regions more householders brought glass and clothing to a collection point rather than have the items collected.
Most households used double glazing for energy conservation instead of any other measure. A total of 1.2m homes ( 79.3pc) had double glazing.
Treacy Hogan
Irish Independent
Almost 90pc of households now recycle some of their household waste compared to just 48pc in 1999.
New Central Statistics Office figures released yesterday show that we are becoming more green conscious.
And if facilities for recycling were available to everybody then the figures would be even better.
"While 165,200 householders did not recycle any waste items in 2005, 28,600 of these reported that they would recycle if facilities were available," said the CSO.
Dublin proved to have the highest percentage of recycling, due mainly to the widespread availability of facilities including green wheelie bins and Bring Centres.
Almost 94pc of Dublin householders recycle their rubbish, while in the Border regions the figure is as low as 78pc.
Increase
All regions reported a large increase in household recycling levels over the six-year period from 199 to 2005, with the west showing the biggest increase.
Rented or rent-free dwellings reported a recycling rate of almost 82pc, in comparison to just over 90pc for owner-occupier dwellings.
Education also seems to play a part in rising recycling figures, because houses where there was just one adult with no children reported the lowest recycling rate of 76pc, but with two adults and one to three children recycling was 95pc.
Paper was the most commonly recycled household item, at 82pc, while clothing was the least recycled bracket, at almost 63pc. In 1999 clothing was the most recycled item.
In all regions more householders brought glass and clothing to a collection point rather than have the items collected.
Most households used double glazing for energy conservation instead of any other measure. A total of 1.2m homes ( 79.3pc) had double glazing.
Treacy Hogan
Irish Independent
Communities fear slow death of country life
HURLING and football clubs in neighbouring rural parishes are being forced to amalgamate in order to survive, it was claimed yesterday.
The disclosure came as national planning policies came under attack.
A conference heard families were being forced to live in urban areas as the population in rural areas continued to declined.
Enforced urbanisation was at the core of planning policies and planning applications for one-off houses in rural areas were being refused in order to swell the populations of towns and cities, it was stated at the Irish Rural Dwellers’ Association (IRDA) annual conference, in Killarney.
One delegate had underlined the difficulties facing organisations such as the GAA.
Speaker after speaker voiced dissatisfaction with planning policies which, it had been claimed, were being fully endorsed by the Government.
Most political parties, it was suggested, saw “enforced urbanisation” as a means of saving money.
IRDA acting secretary Jim Connolly said enforced urbanisation was at the core of planning ideology in Ireland.
Prof Seamus Caulfield said CSO figures, due out next week, would show a drop in those living in dispersed settlement patterns in rural areas where, according to the 2002 statistics, 33% of the population lived.
In some parishes in north Mayo, he said, there had been a 42% decline in the last 20 years, which was a startling statistic in less than one generation.
“If the grouse or snipe or salmon declined by over 40% in half a generation, there would be a crisis declared for that species.
“Why isn’t there a crisis declared for homo sapiens,” Prof Caulfield asked.
He said so-called critical mass, to create cities, was one of the more daft ideas of the National Spatial Strategy (NSS). “The idea that rural people should be urban fodder is a daft idea but also an insult to rural people that they should be used as fodder to build up urban populations,” he said.
Independent Offaly Cllr Johnny Butterfield told the conference that Tullamore, Athlone and Mullingar were designated a gateway under the NSS. In Tullamore, the population was set to grow by thousands, but this could only be achieved at the expense of rural areas by restricting planning in those areas.
“Developers in these towns are licking their lips,” Cllr Butterfield said.
Irish Examiner
The disclosure came as national planning policies came under attack.
A conference heard families were being forced to live in urban areas as the population in rural areas continued to declined.
Enforced urbanisation was at the core of planning policies and planning applications for one-off houses in rural areas were being refused in order to swell the populations of towns and cities, it was stated at the Irish Rural Dwellers’ Association (IRDA) annual conference, in Killarney.
One delegate had underlined the difficulties facing organisations such as the GAA.
Speaker after speaker voiced dissatisfaction with planning policies which, it had been claimed, were being fully endorsed by the Government.
Most political parties, it was suggested, saw “enforced urbanisation” as a means of saving money.
IRDA acting secretary Jim Connolly said enforced urbanisation was at the core of planning ideology in Ireland.
Prof Seamus Caulfield said CSO figures, due out next week, would show a drop in those living in dispersed settlement patterns in rural areas where, according to the 2002 statistics, 33% of the population lived.
In some parishes in north Mayo, he said, there had been a 42% decline in the last 20 years, which was a startling statistic in less than one generation.
“If the grouse or snipe or salmon declined by over 40% in half a generation, there would be a crisis declared for that species.
“Why isn’t there a crisis declared for homo sapiens,” Prof Caulfield asked.
He said so-called critical mass, to create cities, was one of the more daft ideas of the National Spatial Strategy (NSS). “The idea that rural people should be urban fodder is a daft idea but also an insult to rural people that they should be used as fodder to build up urban populations,” he said.
Independent Offaly Cllr Johnny Butterfield told the conference that Tullamore, Athlone and Mullingar were designated a gateway under the NSS. In Tullamore, the population was set to grow by thousands, but this could only be achieved at the expense of rural areas by restricting planning in those areas.
“Developers in these towns are licking their lips,” Cllr Butterfield said.
Irish Examiner
More than 2,500 formal objections to incinerator
MORE than 2,500 formal objections to plans by the four local authorities in Dublin to build a large incinerator on a site in Poolbeg at the mouth of the River Liffey have been lodged.
An oral hearing by An Bord Pleanála (ABP), which began in Dublin yesterday, heard that the incinerator was opposed by the elected members of Dublin City Council, despite being promoted by the management of the local authority.
ABP inspector Padraig Thornton said the planning authority had received 165 separate submissions on proposals to build an incinerator at Poolbeg.
An additional 2,591 observations have also been made by individuals, environmental groups, residents associations, State bodies and other parties. The vast majority of observations contained objections to the proposed incinerator.
The Dublin Port Company and two other parties specifically opposed a compulsory purchase order placed on the site of the incinerator by Dublin City Council. The planning inspector said it had appeared on a preliminary reading of all the files that only two parties had come out in support of the incinerator.
Among the various grounds for opposing planning permission for the project are claims that it runs contrary to both EU and national policies on waste management and nature conservation as well as the Dublin City Development Plan. Opponents of the incinerator claim that it poses a threat to public health because of the increased risk of air, water and noise pollution and possible soil contamination. The location of the proposed incinerator on the Poolbeg peninsula near the ESB Pigeon House power plant could also be subject to flooding.
They also argue the transport of large quantities of waste to the incinerator will result in additional traffic problems on an already congested road network in the Ringsend area.
Other complaints relate to the inadequacy of the related Environmental Impact Statement submitted with the planning application for the incinerator.
Many objectors also argued that the site selection process was flawed and out of date. In addition, they claim the incinerator will also damage visual, recreational and residential amenities in the area.
However, representatives of Dublin City Council told the hearing that the incinerator, which they prefer to call “a waste to energy project”, was the right solution for Dublin. The local authority believes the facility which will be located on a 15.4-acre site in Poolbeg can handle up to 600,000 tonnes of household and non-hazardous industrial waste each year. It is estimated that 25% of the city’s refuse will be sent for incineration.
Much of yesterday’s proceedings were dominated by procedural wrangling as various opponents claimed they were being placed at an unfair disadvantage because of the lack of information on the project being provided by Dublin City Council.
A total of 29 witnesses will give evidence on behalf of Dublin City Council over the next few days. TDs and councillors for the area, including Tánaiste Michael McDowell are expected to be called next week.
Irish Examiner
An oral hearing by An Bord Pleanála (ABP), which began in Dublin yesterday, heard that the incinerator was opposed by the elected members of Dublin City Council, despite being promoted by the management of the local authority.
ABP inspector Padraig Thornton said the planning authority had received 165 separate submissions on proposals to build an incinerator at Poolbeg.
An additional 2,591 observations have also been made by individuals, environmental groups, residents associations, State bodies and other parties. The vast majority of observations contained objections to the proposed incinerator.
The Dublin Port Company and two other parties specifically opposed a compulsory purchase order placed on the site of the incinerator by Dublin City Council. The planning inspector said it had appeared on a preliminary reading of all the files that only two parties had come out in support of the incinerator.
Among the various grounds for opposing planning permission for the project are claims that it runs contrary to both EU and national policies on waste management and nature conservation as well as the Dublin City Development Plan. Opponents of the incinerator claim that it poses a threat to public health because of the increased risk of air, water and noise pollution and possible soil contamination. The location of the proposed incinerator on the Poolbeg peninsula near the ESB Pigeon House power plant could also be subject to flooding.
They also argue the transport of large quantities of waste to the incinerator will result in additional traffic problems on an already congested road network in the Ringsend area.
Other complaints relate to the inadequacy of the related Environmental Impact Statement submitted with the planning application for the incinerator.
Many objectors also argued that the site selection process was flawed and out of date. In addition, they claim the incinerator will also damage visual, recreational and residential amenities in the area.
However, representatives of Dublin City Council told the hearing that the incinerator, which they prefer to call “a waste to energy project”, was the right solution for Dublin. The local authority believes the facility which will be located on a 15.4-acre site in Poolbeg can handle up to 600,000 tonnes of household and non-hazardous industrial waste each year. It is estimated that 25% of the city’s refuse will be sent for incineration.
Much of yesterday’s proceedings were dominated by procedural wrangling as various opponents claimed they were being placed at an unfair disadvantage because of the lack of information on the project being provided by Dublin City Council.
A total of 29 witnesses will give evidence on behalf of Dublin City Council over the next few days. TDs and councillors for the area, including Tánaiste Michael McDowell are expected to be called next week.
Irish Examiner
McDowell vows party pullout over incinerator
TÁNAISTE Michael McDowell said the Progressive Democrats (PD) would not go into any Government which supports the building of a controversial waste incinerator in the heart of his Dublin constituency.
The PD leader vowed yesterday to withdraw his party from Government if plans for the large-scale waste- burning facility on the Poolbeg peninsula are not scrapped.
The Tánaiste’s unambiguous opposition to an incinerator in Dublin will raise a doubt about the continuation of the Fianna Fáil-PD coalition if it is returned to Government in the general election.
Speaking in advance of an oral hearing by An Bord Pleanála into the project, Mr McDowell said the PD would not support Government funding for the incinerator even if it was given a green light by the planning authorities.
“We will not be party to a Government that goes ahead with this project,” he said.
Opposition TDs have accused Mr McDowell of “playing politics” by trying to disassociate himself from official Government policy which has supported the development of incinerators to help Ireland meet official EU targets on waste management and reduction.
However, Mr McDowell argued that the choice of Poolbeg as a location for an incinerator was not part of Government policy.
The Tánaiste, who will be called as a witness at the An Bord Pleanála hearing, said the issue of the incinerator’s location had never been discussed by the Cabinet.
“It most certainly has never been the subject of any Government decision and if it had been I would have made it very, very clear that the Progressive Democrats will not stand for it being built and won’t in any circumstance finance it being built,” he said.
Mr McDowell accused Dublin City Council senior management of engaging in “a fairly shabby attempt” to mislead the public on the issue because it had already admitted to the Department of the Environment that Dong Energy was not willing to proceed with the project as agreed by its predecessor, another Danish firm called Elsam.
However, Green Party TD, John Gormley, said he feared the incinerator would go ahead because the planning authorities usually came out in favour of projects that were official Government policy.
His constituency colleague, Labour TD Ruairi Quinn, said the PD leader should have resigned from Government if he was being honourable about his opposition to the incinerator.
Opposition TDs said it was entirely incompatible for the Government to locate an incinerator on the Poolbeg peninsula while it approved the development of a major, new residential quarter in the same area.
Irish Examiner
The PD leader vowed yesterday to withdraw his party from Government if plans for the large-scale waste- burning facility on the Poolbeg peninsula are not scrapped.
The Tánaiste’s unambiguous opposition to an incinerator in Dublin will raise a doubt about the continuation of the Fianna Fáil-PD coalition if it is returned to Government in the general election.
Speaking in advance of an oral hearing by An Bord Pleanála into the project, Mr McDowell said the PD would not support Government funding for the incinerator even if it was given a green light by the planning authorities.
“We will not be party to a Government that goes ahead with this project,” he said.
Opposition TDs have accused Mr McDowell of “playing politics” by trying to disassociate himself from official Government policy which has supported the development of incinerators to help Ireland meet official EU targets on waste management and reduction.
However, Mr McDowell argued that the choice of Poolbeg as a location for an incinerator was not part of Government policy.
The Tánaiste, who will be called as a witness at the An Bord Pleanála hearing, said the issue of the incinerator’s location had never been discussed by the Cabinet.
“It most certainly has never been the subject of any Government decision and if it had been I would have made it very, very clear that the Progressive Democrats will not stand for it being built and won’t in any circumstance finance it being built,” he said.
Mr McDowell accused Dublin City Council senior management of engaging in “a fairly shabby attempt” to mislead the public on the issue because it had already admitted to the Department of the Environment that Dong Energy was not willing to proceed with the project as agreed by its predecessor, another Danish firm called Elsam.
However, Green Party TD, John Gormley, said he feared the incinerator would go ahead because the planning authorities usually came out in favour of projects that were official Government policy.
His constituency colleague, Labour TD Ruairi Quinn, said the PD leader should have resigned from Government if he was being honourable about his opposition to the incinerator.
Opposition TDs said it was entirely incompatible for the Government to locate an incinerator on the Poolbeg peninsula while it approved the development of a major, new residential quarter in the same area.
Irish Examiner
Thursday, 19 April 2007
New group to assess health impact of pylons
Residents in the Boyle and Croghan areas concerned over the possible health implications associated with overhead power lines and pylons are expected to mount a campaign of opposition to the erection of pylons in the north Roscommon area in the coming weeks.
Concerned residents in Boyle and Croghan have been invited to attend a meeting this week to set up a new group to oppose plans to erect overhead power lines in the area, as part of the new ESB power line from Flagford, County Roscommon to Srananagh, County Sligo.
The group is being set up in support of a number of concerned landowners in the Boyle area, who have vigorously resisted the ESB plans for the last seven years and who will not permit pylons to be erected on their land.
Pylons range in height from 78-177 feet and a total of 46 tower bases are proposed along the Croghan to Boyle part of the power line.
“We hope to form a committee to pull together other concerned residents in the Boyle, Croghan and Ballymote areas and it is being set up in support of the landowners who are directly affected, and who are opposed, to the power line,” Mary Horan of Coach Road, Lisserdrea, Boyle explained.
“This new group hopes to highlight the health implications of living close to power lines and pylons and we intend to carry out a survey to find out how many people along this power line will be affected. In particular, we are concerned over the links between power lines and the incidence of Leukaemia and we would hope to do a headcount of all of the children under the age of 10 living along the line, in order to establish the level of risk to children,” Mary added.
Mary explained that health was among the primary concerns of those living in close proximity to the planned power line but that the potential devaluation of property was also very much a live issue.
“A lot of people are getting concerned now that they see the pylons that have been erected in the past six months in areas such as Croghan and Ballinultha. It is only now since these pylons have been erected that people have begun to question the possible impacts on health and on the environment. Health would be our primary concern but there are also issues relating to the potential devaluation of property,” Mary said.
A mother of three, Mary harbours concerns over the possible impact on the health of her children given that some research has shown a strong link between pylons and power lines and the incidence of Leukaemia.
She said that the meeting this week would hope to garner the support of other concerned residents in the area with a view to launching a petition against the power line plans.
Meanwhile in recent weeks, the ESB confirmed to the Roscommon Herald that a “fair amount of progress” had been made on the completion of the power line, which it stated was “vital for the economic development of the region”.
A spokesperson confirmed that over 120 of the 220 Kv tower bases were already erected with 50 remaining to be completed this year.
Another 70 tower bases for the 110 Kv network have been erected with 170 remaining to be complete this year. The transformer station at Srananagh in Sligo has been completed.
“We have made a fair amount of progress on this project and expect to complete it this year and have it in service providing the consequent benefits to domestic, industrial/commercial and agricultural customers,” a spokesperson for ESB said.
The ESB previously dismissed any concerns over the possible impacts on the health of those living in close proximity to power lines.
Maresa Fagan
© Roscommon Herald
Concerned residents in Boyle and Croghan have been invited to attend a meeting this week to set up a new group to oppose plans to erect overhead power lines in the area, as part of the new ESB power line from Flagford, County Roscommon to Srananagh, County Sligo.
The group is being set up in support of a number of concerned landowners in the Boyle area, who have vigorously resisted the ESB plans for the last seven years and who will not permit pylons to be erected on their land.
Pylons range in height from 78-177 feet and a total of 46 tower bases are proposed along the Croghan to Boyle part of the power line.
“We hope to form a committee to pull together other concerned residents in the Boyle, Croghan and Ballymote areas and it is being set up in support of the landowners who are directly affected, and who are opposed, to the power line,” Mary Horan of Coach Road, Lisserdrea, Boyle explained.
“This new group hopes to highlight the health implications of living close to power lines and pylons and we intend to carry out a survey to find out how many people along this power line will be affected. In particular, we are concerned over the links between power lines and the incidence of Leukaemia and we would hope to do a headcount of all of the children under the age of 10 living along the line, in order to establish the level of risk to children,” Mary added.
Mary explained that health was among the primary concerns of those living in close proximity to the planned power line but that the potential devaluation of property was also very much a live issue.
“A lot of people are getting concerned now that they see the pylons that have been erected in the past six months in areas such as Croghan and Ballinultha. It is only now since these pylons have been erected that people have begun to question the possible impacts on health and on the environment. Health would be our primary concern but there are also issues relating to the potential devaluation of property,” Mary said.
A mother of three, Mary harbours concerns over the possible impact on the health of her children given that some research has shown a strong link between pylons and power lines and the incidence of Leukaemia.
She said that the meeting this week would hope to garner the support of other concerned residents in the area with a view to launching a petition against the power line plans.
Meanwhile in recent weeks, the ESB confirmed to the Roscommon Herald that a “fair amount of progress” had been made on the completion of the power line, which it stated was “vital for the economic development of the region”.
A spokesperson confirmed that over 120 of the 220 Kv tower bases were already erected with 50 remaining to be completed this year.
Another 70 tower bases for the 110 Kv network have been erected with 170 remaining to be complete this year. The transformer station at Srananagh in Sligo has been completed.
“We have made a fair amount of progress on this project and expect to complete it this year and have it in service providing the consequent benefits to domestic, industrial/commercial and agricultural customers,” a spokesperson for ESB said.
The ESB previously dismissed any concerns over the possible impacts on the health of those living in close proximity to power lines.
Maresa Fagan
© Roscommon Herald
Warning over Kildare quarry effluent
A major quarry operation in Kildare has been ordered to stop pumping huge quantities of water into a local river after complaints from locals that excavations had polluted water supplies.
Officials at Kildare County Council responded to complaints yesterday that effluent was originating from a quarry near Monasterevin. In a statement, the council said that a notice under section 12 of the Local Government Water Pollution Act 1977 would be served to cease any discharge immediately.
The move is part of a major council investigation launched this week following complaints by locals over the discharge of water from two quarries. People living along the banks of the Grand Canal in the Ballykelly area of Monasterevin told the Leinster Express that they had experienced a decline in their water supply. The residents rely on private wells, but supplies to homes have begun to run dry.
While private wells have been affected, the council is understood to be checking wells which supply public mains. Reports emerged yesterday that the council was extending its investigation because of the scale of the discharge.
Residents in Ballykelly say that the quarrying has led to a significant build-up of spring water in the quarries. Locals claimed continuous blasting at one of the quarries had resulted in irreversible damage to supplies.
One of the quarries is unused but had filled with water until pumping began before Easter. Locals claim workers installed equipment to empty water from the site in anticipation of permission to restart quarrying.
Residents say that industrial-sized pipes have pumped water from the quarries into a ditch which runs parallel to the Grand Canal. This has been confirmed by the council.
Waterways Ireland also moved this week to investigate the complaints. A spokeswoman confirmed that it had not licensed work on land beside the canal. She said that the agency would be writing to the site operators.
Conor Ganly
© 2007 The Irish Times
Officials at Kildare County Council responded to complaints yesterday that effluent was originating from a quarry near Monasterevin. In a statement, the council said that a notice under section 12 of the Local Government Water Pollution Act 1977 would be served to cease any discharge immediately.
The move is part of a major council investigation launched this week following complaints by locals over the discharge of water from two quarries. People living along the banks of the Grand Canal in the Ballykelly area of Monasterevin told the Leinster Express that they had experienced a decline in their water supply. The residents rely on private wells, but supplies to homes have begun to run dry.
While private wells have been affected, the council is understood to be checking wells which supply public mains. Reports emerged yesterday that the council was extending its investigation because of the scale of the discharge.
Residents in Ballykelly say that the quarrying has led to a significant build-up of spring water in the quarries. Locals claimed continuous blasting at one of the quarries had resulted in irreversible damage to supplies.
One of the quarries is unused but had filled with water until pumping began before Easter. Locals claim workers installed equipment to empty water from the site in anticipation of permission to restart quarrying.
Residents say that industrial-sized pipes have pumped water from the quarries into a ditch which runs parallel to the Grand Canal. This has been confirmed by the council.
Waterways Ireland also moved this week to investigate the complaints. A spokeswoman confirmed that it had not licensed work on land beside the canal. She said that the agency would be writing to the site operators.
Conor Ganly
© 2007 The Irish Times
Residents object to new lakeside village plan
Several residents in Terryglass have lodged objections to the multi-million euro plan to develop an entire new village on a lakeshore site close to the existing village.
One of the objections submitted is in the names of thirteen local people who say the application is not compatible with the policies of the North Tipperary County Development Plan and should be refused.
The council, which is considering two separate applications in relation to the development, has sought further information from the developers on its plans prior to making a decision on the matter.
A Coolbawn based firm of planning consultants, Gerrard and Associates, in a submission on behalf of thirteen named residents of the area says the council failed to make documents in relation to the planning application available to the public for a full three weeks after they were received from the developers.
Because of this the firm submits that the council is in breach of the Planning and Development Act 2000. The firm asserts that the act states that the application must be available for inspection or purchase at the council offices during the prescribed time, which the local authority failed to do.
“The community in Terryglass had two weeks instead of the statutory five weeks to make their observations and submissions to the planning authority.”
Gerrard and Associates go on to accuse the council of putting the community of Terryglass at a disadvantage by not keeping its side of the contract.
The firm states that the community is further disadvantaged by the “unacceptable splitting” of the application. One planning application for the site has been submitted by a company called Gladedale Limited, while a second has been submitted by Gladedale Limited and CastleCourt Developments Ltd.
The proposed development is 1.5km from the core of Terryglass village. The new development was too far away to exist as an integral part of the existing village, residents contend.
The residents through Gerrard and Associates argue that the proposed development is not sustainable and is not an integrated tourism proposal. “...it is a proposal for a high density residential estate more suited to an urban setting in a town...there is no local demand for this type of residential development.”
The objection submitted on behalf of the residents goes on to state that Terryglass Castle, built in 1219, is on the proposed site.
They argue that it is unnecessary to accede to the developers’ plans to demolish buildings previously used for tourism purposes on the site.
The site also included a Special Area of Conservation and a Special Protection Area for Birds. The area was also a Natural Heritage Area.
The residents contend that the proposed development, which includes 60 residential units, is not in accordance with the Guidelines on Residential Density.
“The proposal in its present form is unsuitable for a small village such as Terryglass... The densities as proposed indicate holiday home investment development which will remain empty in winter or a residential development for commuters. Neither is sustainable in the context of lack of infrastructure and damage to the existing village, to the amenities of the nearby dwellings and damage to the natural environment.”
The objection prepared by Gerrard and Associates goes on to state that “the quality of design and layout is poor” and not in accordance with the Development Plan.
“Grafting the new to the old is a skill, which calls for greater integrity of purpose than we can observe here...None of the houses have satisfactory private space. The retail element of the proposal is unsustainable in this location and is incompatible with the retail strategy for County Tipperary.”
Peter Gleeson
© Nenagh Guardian
One of the objections submitted is in the names of thirteen local people who say the application is not compatible with the policies of the North Tipperary County Development Plan and should be refused.
The council, which is considering two separate applications in relation to the development, has sought further information from the developers on its plans prior to making a decision on the matter.
A Coolbawn based firm of planning consultants, Gerrard and Associates, in a submission on behalf of thirteen named residents of the area says the council failed to make documents in relation to the planning application available to the public for a full three weeks after they were received from the developers.
Because of this the firm submits that the council is in breach of the Planning and Development Act 2000. The firm asserts that the act states that the application must be available for inspection or purchase at the council offices during the prescribed time, which the local authority failed to do.
“The community in Terryglass had two weeks instead of the statutory five weeks to make their observations and submissions to the planning authority.”
Gerrard and Associates go on to accuse the council of putting the community of Terryglass at a disadvantage by not keeping its side of the contract.
The firm states that the community is further disadvantaged by the “unacceptable splitting” of the application. One planning application for the site has been submitted by a company called Gladedale Limited, while a second has been submitted by Gladedale Limited and CastleCourt Developments Ltd.
The proposed development is 1.5km from the core of Terryglass village. The new development was too far away to exist as an integral part of the existing village, residents contend.
The residents through Gerrard and Associates argue that the proposed development is not sustainable and is not an integrated tourism proposal. “...it is a proposal for a high density residential estate more suited to an urban setting in a town...there is no local demand for this type of residential development.”
The objection submitted on behalf of the residents goes on to state that Terryglass Castle, built in 1219, is on the proposed site.
They argue that it is unnecessary to accede to the developers’ plans to demolish buildings previously used for tourism purposes on the site.
The site also included a Special Area of Conservation and a Special Protection Area for Birds. The area was also a Natural Heritage Area.
The residents contend that the proposed development, which includes 60 residential units, is not in accordance with the Guidelines on Residential Density.
“The proposal in its present form is unsuitable for a small village such as Terryglass... The densities as proposed indicate holiday home investment development which will remain empty in winter or a residential development for commuters. Neither is sustainable in the context of lack of infrastructure and damage to the existing village, to the amenities of the nearby dwellings and damage to the natural environment.”
The objection prepared by Gerrard and Associates goes on to state that “the quality of design and layout is poor” and not in accordance with the Development Plan.
“Grafting the new to the old is a skill, which calls for greater integrity of purpose than we can observe here...None of the houses have satisfactory private space. The retail element of the proposal is unsustainable in this location and is incompatible with the retail strategy for County Tipperary.”
Peter Gleeson
© Nenagh Guardian
Bray council changed stance on flooding risk
Bray Town Council changed its view on the flooding risks of a major development in the floodplain of the river Dargle, for which An Bord Pleanála refused permission last week, according to the planning inspector's report.
In May 2006, town manager Des O'Brien said there was "an executable solution to the flooding problem in Bray, and that this is likely to be within the area that the application has shown for flood defences", the report says.
The inspector, Tom Rabbette, noted that this contradicted a letter from the council three months earlier stating that flood levels upstream of the bridge over the Dargle "will be affected by the proposed development, exacerbating flooding in that area".
His report also quoted objectors as saying that the involvement of consulting engineers O'Connor Sutton Cronin as lead consultants for both the river Dargle flood defence study and the proposed development "constitutes a fundamental conflict of interest".
Contacted yesterday, the firm had no comment to make. But a source said that the flood study was being overseen by a steering committee on which the Office of Public Works (OPW) is represented and it was being done by a separate team in the office.
Pizarro Ltd, a consortium led by developer Paddy Kelly, had sought approval for a major shopping centre with 51,925sq m of floor space, 5,771sq m of offices, 929 apartments and parking for 3,710 cars on the former site of Bray Golf Club, beside the river Dargle.
One of the main reasons given by An Bord Pleanála for refusing permission was that the golf club land is at risk of flooding and the proposed development - billed as being worth €2 billion - would be premature pending approval of the Bray Flood Defence Scheme.
Existing flood defences are seriously deficient, and there was extensive flooding in 1905, 1931, 1965 and 1986. Pizarro maintains that its scheme offered an opportunity to provide residents in all low-lying areas of the town with protection from future floods.
Bray Town Council had approved the Pizarro proposal even though its own development plan states that "no development shall be permitted . . . on the golf club lands until the council and the OPW are entirely satisfied" that it would not pose a new or increased flooding risk.
"Before there is any development . . . Bray Town Council shall obtain its own expert advice from a competent hydrologist and other experts and from the OPW and permission on the said site shall not be granted unless all reports indicate that the land is suitable for development."
The OPW, which is responsible for flood defences throughout the State, said in its submission on the Pizarro scheme that it "will create a new risk".
It was anxious to ensure that any development would be properly planned and protected so that it would not lead to flooding.
A spokeswoman for the town council said the flood defences study "would not have been expedited or carried out unless this development had arisen" because Bray was "very far down the pecking order" for such works, compared to Arklow or Clonmel.
She also pointed out that the council had laid down a condition that flood protection works would have to be completed in advance of the proposed
development and said O'Connor Sutton Cronin had been hired because the firm had done "excellent work" for Pizarro.
The spokeswoman added that the consultants would be completing an environmental impact statement and compulsory purchase order for the flood defence scheme within the next few weeks, and these would go directly to An Bord Pleanála for adjudication.
In rejecting the Pizarro scheme, the appeals board also cited traffic considerations, saying that it would have an adverse impact on the capacity of the N11, where traffic levels have risen dramatically since the completion of the last leg of the M50 in June 2005.
Daniel O'Connor, former Fingal county engineer and now a senior planning inspector with An Bord Pleanála, said in his report that the Pizarro development would add 1,600 vehicles per hour at peak times to existing traffic levels on the already overburdened N11.
Frank McDonald
© 2007 The Irish Times
In May 2006, town manager Des O'Brien said there was "an executable solution to the flooding problem in Bray, and that this is likely to be within the area that the application has shown for flood defences", the report says.
The inspector, Tom Rabbette, noted that this contradicted a letter from the council three months earlier stating that flood levels upstream of the bridge over the Dargle "will be affected by the proposed development, exacerbating flooding in that area".
His report also quoted objectors as saying that the involvement of consulting engineers O'Connor Sutton Cronin as lead consultants for both the river Dargle flood defence study and the proposed development "constitutes a fundamental conflict of interest".
Contacted yesterday, the firm had no comment to make. But a source said that the flood study was being overseen by a steering committee on which the Office of Public Works (OPW) is represented and it was being done by a separate team in the office.
Pizarro Ltd, a consortium led by developer Paddy Kelly, had sought approval for a major shopping centre with 51,925sq m of floor space, 5,771sq m of offices, 929 apartments and parking for 3,710 cars on the former site of Bray Golf Club, beside the river Dargle.
One of the main reasons given by An Bord Pleanála for refusing permission was that the golf club land is at risk of flooding and the proposed development - billed as being worth €2 billion - would be premature pending approval of the Bray Flood Defence Scheme.
Existing flood defences are seriously deficient, and there was extensive flooding in 1905, 1931, 1965 and 1986. Pizarro maintains that its scheme offered an opportunity to provide residents in all low-lying areas of the town with protection from future floods.
Bray Town Council had approved the Pizarro proposal even though its own development plan states that "no development shall be permitted . . . on the golf club lands until the council and the OPW are entirely satisfied" that it would not pose a new or increased flooding risk.
"Before there is any development . . . Bray Town Council shall obtain its own expert advice from a competent hydrologist and other experts and from the OPW and permission on the said site shall not be granted unless all reports indicate that the land is suitable for development."
The OPW, which is responsible for flood defences throughout the State, said in its submission on the Pizarro scheme that it "will create a new risk".
It was anxious to ensure that any development would be properly planned and protected so that it would not lead to flooding.
A spokeswoman for the town council said the flood defences study "would not have been expedited or carried out unless this development had arisen" because Bray was "very far down the pecking order" for such works, compared to Arklow or Clonmel.
She also pointed out that the council had laid down a condition that flood protection works would have to be completed in advance of the proposed
development and said O'Connor Sutton Cronin had been hired because the firm had done "excellent work" for Pizarro.
The spokeswoman added that the consultants would be completing an environmental impact statement and compulsory purchase order for the flood defence scheme within the next few weeks, and these would go directly to An Bord Pleanála for adjudication.
In rejecting the Pizarro scheme, the appeals board also cited traffic considerations, saying that it would have an adverse impact on the capacity of the N11, where traffic levels have risen dramatically since the completion of the last leg of the M50 in June 2005.
Daniel O'Connor, former Fingal county engineer and now a senior planning inspector with An Bord Pleanála, said in his report that the Pizarro development would add 1,600 vehicles per hour at peak times to existing traffic levels on the already overburdened N11.
Frank McDonald
© 2007 The Irish Times
Louth planning system flawed - official
A Louth County Council official told public representatives yesterday that the planning system in Co Louth is being "called into disrepute" and "there has to be something fundamentally wrong" because of the number of exceptions being made under so-called section 140 motions.
Senior planning official Gerry Duffy made his comments to the councillors yesterday as they began a debate on one such motion. If passed, the motion would materially contravene the county development plan and allow a couple to build a detached 286sq m (938sq ft) house in Clogherhead. Permission for the house was originally rejected.
The planning system allows for such a decision to be overturned if most councillors support a section 140 motion. Such a motion which directs the county manager to grant permission, must be signed by five councillors and supported by most councillors.
Mr Duffy said he could not accept without any supporting evidence claims by a councillor that some applicants have been advised by planners to sell their homes to get planning permission, as the county development plan states that applicants for one-off dwellings may not be homeowners for five years.
"There has to be something fundamentally wrong if after the county development plan we are still facing section 140 motions . . . it calls the whole planning situation into disrepute," he said.
In relation to the application in question, Mr Duffy said the couple did not have a housing need and are living in a house built on a family farm just 200 metres away. The councillors unanimously voted in favour of the motion and will now grant permission for the house.
Elaine Keogh
© 2007 The Irish Times
Senior planning official Gerry Duffy made his comments to the councillors yesterday as they began a debate on one such motion. If passed, the motion would materially contravene the county development plan and allow a couple to build a detached 286sq m (938sq ft) house in Clogherhead. Permission for the house was originally rejected.
The planning system allows for such a decision to be overturned if most councillors support a section 140 motion. Such a motion which directs the county manager to grant permission, must be signed by five councillors and supported by most councillors.
Mr Duffy said he could not accept without any supporting evidence claims by a councillor that some applicants have been advised by planners to sell their homes to get planning permission, as the county development plan states that applicants for one-off dwellings may not be homeowners for five years.
"There has to be something fundamentally wrong if after the county development plan we are still facing section 140 motions . . . it calls the whole planning situation into disrepute," he said.
In relation to the application in question, Mr Duffy said the couple did not have a housing need and are living in a house built on a family farm just 200 metres away. The councillors unanimously voted in favour of the motion and will now grant permission for the house.
Elaine Keogh
© 2007 The Irish Times
National Development plan 'ignores impact on the environment'
The National Development Plan proposes to spend tens of billions of euro over the next seven years with no analysis of its effect on the environment, a seminar on sustainable development was told yesterday.
The seminar, organised by Comhar, the Sustainable Development Council, was told the national plan represented a missed opportunity to link economic expansion with sustainable development.
Attended by about 50 governmental and non-governmental organisations including the Irish Business and Employers Confederation (Ibec), the seminar was organised to form a contribution to the Government's forthcoming review of the National Sustainable Strategy.
But the seminar was told that through major investment in house and road building much of the development of the last seven years was clearly unsustainable. Many speakers said the National Development Plan had been rushed out as a separate strategy to that on sustainable development, which had been a mistake.
Environmental consultant Jack O'Sullivan said the seminar should pose the question: "why was unsustainable development so systemic in Ireland?"
Mr O'Sullivan said he had attended public meetings where planners had been furiously opposed by landowners over issues relating to planning permission, particularly where landowners simply wanted to sell sites.
He suggested that large-scale profits from property development were indicating to even small-scale landowners that they had a right to planning permission and their ownership of the land was the only criterion that mattered.
Similarly when new roads were planned, land along the route had often been "bought up" by people who were fortunate to know where the route would be, and the profits from this kind of speculation could even top importing drugs.
Vincent Salafia, who has campaigned against some road developments, said the State's previous development strategy had been " most unsustainable".
A number of speakers in the audience maintained the National Development Plan had been prepared without input from the environmental sector, while there was no real analysis of the environmental effects of this investment.
One woman maintained the economic sector was under-represented at yesterday's debates and she said it would have been interesting to hear its contribution. She was told a representative of Ibec was in attendance.
Other suggestions from the floor of the meeting were that the Government develop the forestry and fishery industries which were indigenous and sustainable but which were currently "a disaster".
A spokesman for Comhar said more then 4,000 invitations had gone out to governmental and non-governmental groups.
The conference would provide an opportunity for all groups to get their message to Government in time for the review of the strategy, which the spokesman said would happen in coming months.
Tim O'Brien
© 2007 The Irish Time
The seminar, organised by Comhar, the Sustainable Development Council, was told the national plan represented a missed opportunity to link economic expansion with sustainable development.
Attended by about 50 governmental and non-governmental organisations including the Irish Business and Employers Confederation (Ibec), the seminar was organised to form a contribution to the Government's forthcoming review of the National Sustainable Strategy.
But the seminar was told that through major investment in house and road building much of the development of the last seven years was clearly unsustainable. Many speakers said the National Development Plan had been rushed out as a separate strategy to that on sustainable development, which had been a mistake.
Environmental consultant Jack O'Sullivan said the seminar should pose the question: "why was unsustainable development so systemic in Ireland?"
Mr O'Sullivan said he had attended public meetings where planners had been furiously opposed by landowners over issues relating to planning permission, particularly where landowners simply wanted to sell sites.
He suggested that large-scale profits from property development were indicating to even small-scale landowners that they had a right to planning permission and their ownership of the land was the only criterion that mattered.
Similarly when new roads were planned, land along the route had often been "bought up" by people who were fortunate to know where the route would be, and the profits from this kind of speculation could even top importing drugs.
Vincent Salafia, who has campaigned against some road developments, said the State's previous development strategy had been " most unsustainable".
A number of speakers in the audience maintained the National Development Plan had been prepared without input from the environmental sector, while there was no real analysis of the environmental effects of this investment.
One woman maintained the economic sector was under-represented at yesterday's debates and she said it would have been interesting to hear its contribution. She was told a representative of Ibec was in attendance.
Other suggestions from the floor of the meeting were that the Government develop the forestry and fishery industries which were indigenous and sustainable but which were currently "a disaster".
A spokesman for Comhar said more then 4,000 invitations had gone out to governmental and non-governmental groups.
The conference would provide an opportunity for all groups to get their message to Government in time for the review of the strategy, which the spokesman said would happen in coming months.
Tim O'Brien
© 2007 The Irish Time
Homes for all - water for no one
The Guardian has taken notice!
Poisoned locals, no holy water and worried tourists - Galway pays a high price for the economic boom
It is one of the fastest-growing cities in Europe. Tens of thousands of foreign tourists flock every summer to what has been called the party capital of Ireland. The narrow streets are crammed with visitors in search of traditional bars and music.
Galway is also one of the wettest cities in Europe. Having been founded beside a sheltered harbour on the western coast, it is exposed to drenching downpours that blow in from the Atlantic. But for the past five weeks, however, no one has been able to drink what comes out of the local taps.
Visitors arriving at hotels are being handed bottles of mineral water. Some bars have stopped providing ice with whiskey or vodka, others have shipped in fresh supplies from Donegal. The crisis could last until July and the tourism industry is beginning to grow anxious amid rumours that visitors are cancelling their holidays.
Nearly 200 people have fallen ill after being infected by the cryptosporidium parasite that has contaminated large areas beyond the city and is threatening to spread into neighbouring counties. The city council is advising that tap water should not be used for brushing teeth, gargling, making ice or washing salads. Having a bath in it is, supposedly, less dangerous. The Archbishopric of Tuam has had to find an alternative source of holy water to bless in case it poisons parishioners.
For Ireland, a country covered in bogs and vast lakes, the dismal quality of its water has suddenly become an acute political embarrassment just as a general election is about to be called.
Shortly before Easter the EU Commission sent Dublin two final warnings about poor water standards and inadequate controls over sewage discharges. If there is no dramatic improvement by the summer, the EU could impose daily fines until the necessary infrastructure improvements are completed.
Attempts by the environment department to blame local councils have enabled opposition parties to transform the water crisis into a question of governmental competence. The Green party is expected to make large gains at the polls; it already has five representatives in the Dail.
No one has so far traced the precise source of the Galway infection, but the massive expansion in new housing fuelled by the economic boom and the failure to upgrade sewage treatment facilities is being widely blamed.
Suspicions have focused on a sewage treatment plant at Oughterard, north of Galway, which pumps effluent into Lough Corrib. The Green party mayor of Galway, Niall Ó Brolcháin, claims the plant, built 60 years ago to cater for 250 houses, is unable to cope with the sewage from the now 800 homes in Oughterard that have spread out over the land. "Water services are at capacity and have been for some time," Mr Ó Brolcháin said. "Yet we are still continuing to develop more houses. That's wrong. That's why we are in this mess."
The Fianna Fáil environment minister, Dick Roche, has in turn attacked Galway city council for failing to use €21m (£14.2m) made available to upgrade another plant.
Tony Lowes, who works with the pressure group Friends of the Irish Environment that took the first complaints about water quality to the EU, said yesterday that the pollution problem was extensive because water sources have not been protected as housing and intensive farming methods have spread. There have been recent cryptosporidium outbreaks in Waterford and Monaghan; other towns at other times have had to recommend tap water be boiled.
"We are in a primitive situation," Mr Lowes warned. "The sources of our water and our lakes are getting more and more polluted. It's obvious in the increase in algae blooms.
"Because of the economic boom people have been punching holes in the aquifers and leaving them unprotected. There's been over-development and inadequate sewage infrastructure. Farmers use small watercourses and the slurry flows into water supplies.
"There's no inspection test for new houses and septic tanks. Percolation tests [supposed to show how groundwater drains away] have been provided by the [housing] developers."
Irish landowners believe they are entitled to build wherever they want, Mr Lowes said.
An EU Commission spokesman in Brussels confirmed that "Ireland has one of the worst water qualities in Europe". A case was first taken against the republic in 2002. "The overall level of contaminated supplies has gone down but it's still a high number," he said. "The Irish situation has been pretty bad."
The cryptosporidium parasite can cause severe diarrhoea, fever and vomiting. The Galway Advertiser and other Irish newspapers feature pictures of locals queuing at supermarkets weighed down by heavy flagons of mineral water. This week the city council introduced a buy-one-bottle, get-one-free scheme to help cut costs.
The phrase "water, water everywhere nor any drop to drink" - taken from Coleridge's Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner - has featured in many despairing comments. At least 90,000 homes are affected. But there is also growing anger over the realisation that numerous warnings have been ignored. A group of anglers on Lough Corrib who took their concerns about human and animal sewage damaging fish stocks to the environment department three years ago has claimed they were dismissed as "tree-hugging flat-earthers".
In a letter to The Irish Times this month the Irish environment minister, Dick Roche, declared: "The reality [is] that legal and practical responsibility for delivering a clean water supply to households in Galway lies with Galway city council.
"Funding was made available to Galway city council to replace its old Terryland water plant. The inability of the old plant to produce potable water is a key factor in the current problems in Galway city and the surrounding area."
Ireland's environmental protection agency, which only last month was given powers to prosecute local authorities over poor quality drinking water, said it was working with Galway to solve the infection.
"We will be looking at [prosecution] if needs be," a spokeswoman said.
Explainer: Housing growth
The practice of covering the Irish countryside with new homes was originally derided as 'bungalow blight'.
The long-running property boom associated with the republic's new-found prosperity has added to the pressure on infrastructure.
More than 93,000 homes and apartments were completed last year, double the number than as recently as 1999.
The housing stock has increased by 50% in the past decade.
Developers may be responding to a demand for rural lifestyles, but council officials in Wicklow, immediately south of Dublin, have introduced a ban on building in local towns and villages.
According to Friends of the Earth, when the European environment agency studied satellite images of Ireland, the republic looked like it had 'measles'.
Owen Bowcott
© The Guardian
Poisoned locals, no holy water and worried tourists - Galway pays a high price for the economic boom
It is one of the fastest-growing cities in Europe. Tens of thousands of foreign tourists flock every summer to what has been called the party capital of Ireland. The narrow streets are crammed with visitors in search of traditional bars and music.
Galway is also one of the wettest cities in Europe. Having been founded beside a sheltered harbour on the western coast, it is exposed to drenching downpours that blow in from the Atlantic. But for the past five weeks, however, no one has been able to drink what comes out of the local taps.
Visitors arriving at hotels are being handed bottles of mineral water. Some bars have stopped providing ice with whiskey or vodka, others have shipped in fresh supplies from Donegal. The crisis could last until July and the tourism industry is beginning to grow anxious amid rumours that visitors are cancelling their holidays.
Nearly 200 people have fallen ill after being infected by the cryptosporidium parasite that has contaminated large areas beyond the city and is threatening to spread into neighbouring counties. The city council is advising that tap water should not be used for brushing teeth, gargling, making ice or washing salads. Having a bath in it is, supposedly, less dangerous. The Archbishopric of Tuam has had to find an alternative source of holy water to bless in case it poisons parishioners.
For Ireland, a country covered in bogs and vast lakes, the dismal quality of its water has suddenly become an acute political embarrassment just as a general election is about to be called.
Shortly before Easter the EU Commission sent Dublin two final warnings about poor water standards and inadequate controls over sewage discharges. If there is no dramatic improvement by the summer, the EU could impose daily fines until the necessary infrastructure improvements are completed.
Attempts by the environment department to blame local councils have enabled opposition parties to transform the water crisis into a question of governmental competence. The Green party is expected to make large gains at the polls; it already has five representatives in the Dail.
No one has so far traced the precise source of the Galway infection, but the massive expansion in new housing fuelled by the economic boom and the failure to upgrade sewage treatment facilities is being widely blamed.
Suspicions have focused on a sewage treatment plant at Oughterard, north of Galway, which pumps effluent into Lough Corrib. The Green party mayor of Galway, Niall Ó Brolcháin, claims the plant, built 60 years ago to cater for 250 houses, is unable to cope with the sewage from the now 800 homes in Oughterard that have spread out over the land. "Water services are at capacity and have been for some time," Mr Ó Brolcháin said. "Yet we are still continuing to develop more houses. That's wrong. That's why we are in this mess."
The Fianna Fáil environment minister, Dick Roche, has in turn attacked Galway city council for failing to use €21m (£14.2m) made available to upgrade another plant.
Tony Lowes, who works with the pressure group Friends of the Irish Environment that took the first complaints about water quality to the EU, said yesterday that the pollution problem was extensive because water sources have not been protected as housing and intensive farming methods have spread. There have been recent cryptosporidium outbreaks in Waterford and Monaghan; other towns at other times have had to recommend tap water be boiled.
"We are in a primitive situation," Mr Lowes warned. "The sources of our water and our lakes are getting more and more polluted. It's obvious in the increase in algae blooms.
"Because of the economic boom people have been punching holes in the aquifers and leaving them unprotected. There's been over-development and inadequate sewage infrastructure. Farmers use small watercourses and the slurry flows into water supplies.
"There's no inspection test for new houses and septic tanks. Percolation tests [supposed to show how groundwater drains away] have been provided by the [housing] developers."
Irish landowners believe they are entitled to build wherever they want, Mr Lowes said.
An EU Commission spokesman in Brussels confirmed that "Ireland has one of the worst water qualities in Europe". A case was first taken against the republic in 2002. "The overall level of contaminated supplies has gone down but it's still a high number," he said. "The Irish situation has been pretty bad."
The cryptosporidium parasite can cause severe diarrhoea, fever and vomiting. The Galway Advertiser and other Irish newspapers feature pictures of locals queuing at supermarkets weighed down by heavy flagons of mineral water. This week the city council introduced a buy-one-bottle, get-one-free scheme to help cut costs.
The phrase "water, water everywhere nor any drop to drink" - taken from Coleridge's Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner - has featured in many despairing comments. At least 90,000 homes are affected. But there is also growing anger over the realisation that numerous warnings have been ignored. A group of anglers on Lough Corrib who took their concerns about human and animal sewage damaging fish stocks to the environment department three years ago has claimed they were dismissed as "tree-hugging flat-earthers".
In a letter to The Irish Times this month the Irish environment minister, Dick Roche, declared: "The reality [is] that legal and practical responsibility for delivering a clean water supply to households in Galway lies with Galway city council.
"Funding was made available to Galway city council to replace its old Terryland water plant. The inability of the old plant to produce potable water is a key factor in the current problems in Galway city and the surrounding area."
Ireland's environmental protection agency, which only last month was given powers to prosecute local authorities over poor quality drinking water, said it was working with Galway to solve the infection.
"We will be looking at [prosecution] if needs be," a spokeswoman said.
Explainer: Housing growth
The practice of covering the Irish countryside with new homes was originally derided as 'bungalow blight'.
The long-running property boom associated with the republic's new-found prosperity has added to the pressure on infrastructure.
More than 93,000 homes and apartments were completed last year, double the number than as recently as 1999.
The housing stock has increased by 50% in the past decade.
Developers may be responding to a demand for rural lifestyles, but council officials in Wicklow, immediately south of Dublin, have introduced a ban on building in local towns and villages.
According to Friends of the Earth, when the European environment agency studied satellite images of Ireland, the republic looked like it had 'measles'.
Owen Bowcott
© The Guardian
Building design to reflect our expanding waistlines
NCREASING obesity is going to force changes in the way hospitals and other public buildings are designed.
US engineering expert Doug Wignall said yesterday that major public buildings face major design changes to cater for larger people.
Mr Wignall told delegates to the annual conference of Engineers Ireland that increases in the average weight and height of Irish men and women would have to be considered.
The senior executive of US engineering and architectural firm HDR pointed out that such modifications had already taken place in the design of similar facilities and related equipment in the US.
As three out of every 10 Americans are classified as obese, Mr Wignall said, the average length of hospital beds in the US had increased from 6ft 8in to 7ft 6in.
“The increase in bed length has had a knock-on effect on spatial area in the design of new patient buildings,” he said.
Several reports published in the last few months highlighted a high incidence of obesity among both Irish adults and children.
It is estimated that 13% of Irish adults are obese, with the figure likely to continue to rise over the next few years.
Research published earlier this year by Trinity College Dublin in the British Journal of Sports Medicine showed that 20% of Irish children aged seven to 10 are overweight, while 6% of those studied were clinically obese.
Young males are more likely to be overweight than girls. Researchers blamed a lack of exercise and poor diets for the problem.
Levels of obesity in Ireland are also considerably higher than many other EU countries. Other international research has shown that a common gene variant found in 16% of the population could be largely responsible for rising rates of obesity.
Kevin Kernan, director general of Engineers Ireland, said hospitals of the 1960s would be unrecognisable to many healthcare professionals today.
“What we’ve heard today from our invited speakers would suggest that advances in bio-engineering and technology, combined with the changing population trends, are going to affect our colleagues in construction,” he said.
He claimed such trends demonstrated the need for joined-up planning in the provision of healthcare facilities in the future.
The conference heard that growing levels of obesity could also have important implication for the design of transport vehicles, furniture, clothing and office space.
US engineering expert Doug Wignall said yesterday that major public buildings face major design changes to cater for larger people.
Mr Wignall told delegates to the annual conference of Engineers Ireland that increases in the average weight and height of Irish men and women would have to be considered.
The senior executive of US engineering and architectural firm HDR pointed out that such modifications had already taken place in the design of similar facilities and related equipment in the US.
As three out of every 10 Americans are classified as obese, Mr Wignall said, the average length of hospital beds in the US had increased from 6ft 8in to 7ft 6in.
“The increase in bed length has had a knock-on effect on spatial area in the design of new patient buildings,” he said.
Several reports published in the last few months highlighted a high incidence of obesity among both Irish adults and children.
It is estimated that 13% of Irish adults are obese, with the figure likely to continue to rise over the next few years.
Research published earlier this year by Trinity College Dublin in the British Journal of Sports Medicine showed that 20% of Irish children aged seven to 10 are overweight, while 6% of those studied were clinically obese.
Young males are more likely to be overweight than girls. Researchers blamed a lack of exercise and poor diets for the problem.
Levels of obesity in Ireland are also considerably higher than many other EU countries. Other international research has shown that a common gene variant found in 16% of the population could be largely responsible for rising rates of obesity.
Kevin Kernan, director general of Engineers Ireland, said hospitals of the 1960s would be unrecognisable to many healthcare professionals today.
“What we’ve heard today from our invited speakers would suggest that advances in bio-engineering and technology, combined with the changing population trends, are going to affect our colleagues in construction,” he said.
He claimed such trends demonstrated the need for joined-up planning in the provision of healthcare facilities in the future.
The conference heard that growing levels of obesity could also have important implication for the design of transport vehicles, furniture, clothing and office space.
RTÉ criticises wind farm planning
RTÉ has admitted it was “not making meaningful progress” in dealing with serious TV and radio reception problems caused by wind farms in Cork and Kerry.
Executive director of the RTÉ Transmission Network Mick Kehoe has claimed some wind farm developers were completely ignoring the impact they could have.
Continuing problems with reception are being reported in areas such as Rockchapel, Co Cork, and Kilgarvan, Co Kerry.
Mr Kehoe called for a coordinated approach to the problem by the planning departments of Cork and Kerry county councils.
Siobhan Griffin, of the Kerry County Community and Voluntary Forum, said some of the areas affected by poor reception had large numbers of older people for whom television services were very important.
Executive director of the RTÉ Transmission Network Mick Kehoe has claimed some wind farm developers were completely ignoring the impact they could have.
Continuing problems with reception are being reported in areas such as Rockchapel, Co Cork, and Kilgarvan, Co Kerry.
Mr Kehoe called for a coordinated approach to the problem by the planning departments of Cork and Kerry county councils.
Siobhan Griffin, of the Kerry County Community and Voluntary Forum, said some of the areas affected by poor reception had large numbers of older people for whom television services were very important.
Hundreds expected at oral hearing on incinerator
HUNDREDS of residents opposed to plans for a waste incinerator at Poolbeg are expected to show up at an oral hearing into the controversial project today.
People from Ringsend, Irishtown and Sandymount are worried that the incinerator will be a major health risk as well as adding to traffic congestion.
The Bord Pleanála hearing, which is being held at the Croke Park conference centre in order to accommodate the large numbers expected to attend, is likely to last several weeks.
The proposed incinerator is one of the most controversial developments planned for Dublin in over a decade.
It threatens to become a major election issue in the Dublin South-East constituency which is represented by, among others, the Tánaiste and Progressive Democrats leader, Michael McDowell, and deputy leader of the Green Party, John Gormley.
Although the construction of an incinerator for general waste in the Dublin area is part of official Government policy, all local TDs and councillors are opposed to the proposals for such a facility being located on the Poolbeg peninsula.
Nevertheless, Dublin City Council has vowed to press ahead with the project, despite setbacks.
Earlier this year, Elsam, the Danish company contracted to build the facility was taken over by Danish Oil and Natural Gas, (DONG).
The change of ownership led Mr McDowell to claim plans for the incinerator had collapsed, although Dublin City Council has insisted the project will go ahead as originally planned.
It is expected that the incinerator will be capable of burning up to 600,000 tonnes of waste per year — equivalent to 25% of the city’s household and non-hazardous commercial waste.
In a separate development, the Oireachtas recently fast-tracked the green light for plans for a major, new mixed development on the Poolbeg peninsula which will provide housing for thousands of residents.
Opponents of the incinerator claim this project would be a non-runner if the Government presses ahead with its plans for a major waste treatment facility in the same area.
Meanwhile, some Ringsend residents staged a demonstration outside the council’s offices at Wood Quay yesterday to protest that they had not been informed about today’s oral hearing.
Anti-incinerator campaigner, Rory Hearne, said almost 3,000 people living near the Poolbeg peninsula had lodged individual objections to the incinerator. However, Mr Hearne complained that only a few objectors have received a formal notice of the An Bord Pleanála hearing.
“This is a disgraceful undermining of the democratic process of planning, when thousands of objectors are being silenced because they are not aware that the oral hearing is taking place,” said Mr Hearne.
The protesters called on both the local authority and Environment Minister Dick Roche to postpone the oral hearing until the community were properly informed.
Irish Examiner
People from Ringsend, Irishtown and Sandymount are worried that the incinerator will be a major health risk as well as adding to traffic congestion.
The Bord Pleanála hearing, which is being held at the Croke Park conference centre in order to accommodate the large numbers expected to attend, is likely to last several weeks.
The proposed incinerator is one of the most controversial developments planned for Dublin in over a decade.
It threatens to become a major election issue in the Dublin South-East constituency which is represented by, among others, the Tánaiste and Progressive Democrats leader, Michael McDowell, and deputy leader of the Green Party, John Gormley.
Although the construction of an incinerator for general waste in the Dublin area is part of official Government policy, all local TDs and councillors are opposed to the proposals for such a facility being located on the Poolbeg peninsula.
Nevertheless, Dublin City Council has vowed to press ahead with the project, despite setbacks.
Earlier this year, Elsam, the Danish company contracted to build the facility was taken over by Danish Oil and Natural Gas, (DONG).
The change of ownership led Mr McDowell to claim plans for the incinerator had collapsed, although Dublin City Council has insisted the project will go ahead as originally planned.
It is expected that the incinerator will be capable of burning up to 600,000 tonnes of waste per year — equivalent to 25% of the city’s household and non-hazardous commercial waste.
In a separate development, the Oireachtas recently fast-tracked the green light for plans for a major, new mixed development on the Poolbeg peninsula which will provide housing for thousands of residents.
Opponents of the incinerator claim this project would be a non-runner if the Government presses ahead with its plans for a major waste treatment facility in the same area.
Meanwhile, some Ringsend residents staged a demonstration outside the council’s offices at Wood Quay yesterday to protest that they had not been informed about today’s oral hearing.
Anti-incinerator campaigner, Rory Hearne, said almost 3,000 people living near the Poolbeg peninsula had lodged individual objections to the incinerator. However, Mr Hearne complained that only a few objectors have received a formal notice of the An Bord Pleanála hearing.
“This is a disgraceful undermining of the democratic process of planning, when thousands of objectors are being silenced because they are not aware that the oral hearing is taking place,” said Mr Hearne.
The protesters called on both the local authority and Environment Minister Dick Roche to postpone the oral hearing until the community were properly informed.
Irish Examiner
McDowell to do a u-turn on waste incinerators
TANAISTE Michael McDowell will today do a public u-turn on Government policy to build waste-to-energy incinerators.
The Justice Minister will break ranks with his Cabinet colleagues and personally object to the incinerator at Ringsend at the opening of a Bord Pleanala hearing into the controversial project.
Mr McDowell denied he was engaged in "nimby-ism" the not-in-my-backyard syndrome.
However,the Government has formally backed the construction of incinerators, including the one planned for Ringsend to deal with waste from the Dublin region.
Mr McDowell, a TD for Dublin South East in which the incinerator will be located, has broken ranks at the Cabinet by coming out against the plan.
He has already voiced objections at Cabinet meetings over the proposal even though incinerators have been given the blessing by the Coalition.
Mr McDowell will today attend the hearing in Croke Park at 11am to outline his objections to the incinerator.
Thousands of residents living in Sandymount and Ringsend, along with the Tanaiste, have objected to the plans.
Residents objecting to the incinerator yesterday held a protest to highlight their fears over the planning hearings.
Angry protestors complained they were worried they were being excluded from the process by An Bord Pleanala.
Anti-incinerator campaigner, Rory Hearne, said residents were annoyed they had not been informed by letter over today's (Thurs) hearing at Croke Park conference centre. The open hearings over the controversial project first proposed in 1999 are expected to last several weeks and attract large crowds.
Over a dozen people gathered outside Dublin City Council offices on Wood Quay to call for the hearing to take place in the evening when more people would be free to attend.
"We held a symbolic protest to highlight the fact the community and many residents felt excluded from the process," Mr Hearne said.
"Over 3,000 individual objections were lodged but very few were responded to and informed the oral hearing was taking place."
An Bord Pleanala confirmed it published advertisements in a number of newspapers on two separate days to highlight today's public hearing at Croke Park.
Under the plans, the incinerator would burn 600,000 tonnes of waste, diverting a quarter of Dublin's waste from landfill.
Thousands of residents from Ringsend, Sandymount, Irishtown and other areas lodged objections to the project on health grounds as well as the extra traffic on the busy streets.
A number of TDs, including Tanaiste Michael McDowell, in whose constituency it would be sited, and environmental groups have also opposed the plant.
Mr Hearne said many would not be able to make the hearing as it fell during work time and was not taking place in an area close to Poolbeg.
He said hundreds more people would have been able to attend the meeting if it had taken place in the evening.
Last July Dublin City Council, on behalf of the four local authorities in the capital, applied for planning permission for the incinerator on the Poolbeg peninsula which would burn 600,000 tonnes of waste every year.
More than 2,000 objections were received by Bord Pleanala, including one Mr McDowell.
The minister caused controversy when he announced that the incinerator would not go ahead because the Danish company charged with building and operating it, Elsam, had pulled out of the deal.
He effectively gazumped the city council which said that negotiations were ongoing about changes to the contract.
As part of the planning application, the council was required to submit a report on the risks posed to the public in the event of a serious accident at the plant.
Treacy Hogan
Irish Independent
The Justice Minister will break ranks with his Cabinet colleagues and personally object to the incinerator at Ringsend at the opening of a Bord Pleanala hearing into the controversial project.
Mr McDowell denied he was engaged in "nimby-ism" the not-in-my-backyard syndrome.
However,the Government has formally backed the construction of incinerators, including the one planned for Ringsend to deal with waste from the Dublin region.
Mr McDowell, a TD for Dublin South East in which the incinerator will be located, has broken ranks at the Cabinet by coming out against the plan.
He has already voiced objections at Cabinet meetings over the proposal even though incinerators have been given the blessing by the Coalition.
Mr McDowell will today attend the hearing in Croke Park at 11am to outline his objections to the incinerator.
Thousands of residents living in Sandymount and Ringsend, along with the Tanaiste, have objected to the plans.
Residents objecting to the incinerator yesterday held a protest to highlight their fears over the planning hearings.
Angry protestors complained they were worried they were being excluded from the process by An Bord Pleanala.
Anti-incinerator campaigner, Rory Hearne, said residents were annoyed they had not been informed by letter over today's (Thurs) hearing at Croke Park conference centre. The open hearings over the controversial project first proposed in 1999 are expected to last several weeks and attract large crowds.
Over a dozen people gathered outside Dublin City Council offices on Wood Quay to call for the hearing to take place in the evening when more people would be free to attend.
"We held a symbolic protest to highlight the fact the community and many residents felt excluded from the process," Mr Hearne said.
"Over 3,000 individual objections were lodged but very few were responded to and informed the oral hearing was taking place."
An Bord Pleanala confirmed it published advertisements in a number of newspapers on two separate days to highlight today's public hearing at Croke Park.
Under the plans, the incinerator would burn 600,000 tonnes of waste, diverting a quarter of Dublin's waste from landfill.
Thousands of residents from Ringsend, Sandymount, Irishtown and other areas lodged objections to the project on health grounds as well as the extra traffic on the busy streets.
A number of TDs, including Tanaiste Michael McDowell, in whose constituency it would be sited, and environmental groups have also opposed the plant.
Mr Hearne said many would not be able to make the hearing as it fell during work time and was not taking place in an area close to Poolbeg.
He said hundreds more people would have been able to attend the meeting if it had taken place in the evening.
Last July Dublin City Council, on behalf of the four local authorities in the capital, applied for planning permission for the incinerator on the Poolbeg peninsula which would burn 600,000 tonnes of waste every year.
More than 2,000 objections were received by Bord Pleanala, including one Mr McDowell.
The minister caused controversy when he announced that the incinerator would not go ahead because the Danish company charged with building and operating it, Elsam, had pulled out of the deal.
He effectively gazumped the city council which said that negotiations were ongoing about changes to the contract.
As part of the planning application, the council was required to submit a report on the risks posed to the public in the event of a serious accident at the plant.
Treacy Hogan
Irish Independent
Calls to pull the chain on town's plush loo 'love nest'
I can't help putting this story up ...
PARIS is paseé, Rome is too retro, and Venice is oh soooo last century. No, when it comes to passion there is only one centre truly flush with romance, the superloo in Tuam.
It seems that Cupid has been directing a barrage of arrows at the town's plush WC.
Amorous couples on the way home in the wee small hours have found the commodious surroundings and exceptional taste - not to mention exceptional value - simply irresistible.
The public convenience is just a little too convenient.
Now the town's councillors have assumed the role of passion killers and are out to pull the chain on the cut-price love nest.
Mayor Sally Ann Flanagan said last night she was "horrified" to hear that people are taking advantage of the privacy the WC offers, adding that it was her understanding that there was a sensor on the structure to stop two people entering it at the same time.
"As far as I'm aware that is the situation with superloos in Galway city and if this is not the case in Tuam, then we must demand that such a sensor be put in place to stop this disgraceful carry on," she said.
Disgrace
"I had a fear that this might happen and it is shocking that people would use the loo for this sort of activity. This is inconveniencing others who want to use the loo and it is a disgrace that it should be happening."
Several young people who were waiting to use the town centre loo after leaving a disco at the weekend said they were amazed at how long they had to wait.
But they were doubly amazed when a courting couple emerged arm in arm from the loo.
"We understand that the loo was malfunctioning at the time but this is no excuse for such behaviour at 1.30am as people were queuing up to use the loo," said one young man who observed the incident.
The young man and his girlfriend, as well as several others, were waiting to use the facility at the time.
Tuam gardai said they had not received any complaint about this activity at the town public toilet.
Since it was erected at the aptly-named Shambles Car Park last month, the superloo has been beset with problems.
It has also annoyed many people that it costs 50c to "spend a penny" at the facility.
The new superloo - which has already courted controversy for taking money and then failing to open its doors - was also blamed for destroying one woman's clothes when the water jets went off at the wrong time.
Facility
Earlier this month when Mayor Flanagan, Cllr Imelda Kelly and others tried to use the loo before a council meeting they discovered that while the facility was taking coins in the slot, it was not opening to accept other deposits. Nor was it returning the coins.
Yesterday the loo was again out of order but it was at least returning coins put in the slot.
"The only good thing about the facility isthat the problems wehave highlighted inTuam are mirrored at superloos in othertowns and perhaps this will put pressure on the powers that be to solve the problem," said the Mayor.
The superloo, which is said to cost approximately €500,000 has been acquired on a lease and maintenance deal by Galway Co Council of around €35,000 per year.
Tom Gilmore
Irish Independent
PARIS is paseé, Rome is too retro, and Venice is oh soooo last century. No, when it comes to passion there is only one centre truly flush with romance, the superloo in Tuam.
It seems that Cupid has been directing a barrage of arrows at the town's plush WC.
Amorous couples on the way home in the wee small hours have found the commodious surroundings and exceptional taste - not to mention exceptional value - simply irresistible.
The public convenience is just a little too convenient.
Now the town's councillors have assumed the role of passion killers and are out to pull the chain on the cut-price love nest.
Mayor Sally Ann Flanagan said last night she was "horrified" to hear that people are taking advantage of the privacy the WC offers, adding that it was her understanding that there was a sensor on the structure to stop two people entering it at the same time.
"As far as I'm aware that is the situation with superloos in Galway city and if this is not the case in Tuam, then we must demand that such a sensor be put in place to stop this disgraceful carry on," she said.
Disgrace
"I had a fear that this might happen and it is shocking that people would use the loo for this sort of activity. This is inconveniencing others who want to use the loo and it is a disgrace that it should be happening."
Several young people who were waiting to use the town centre loo after leaving a disco at the weekend said they were amazed at how long they had to wait.
But they were doubly amazed when a courting couple emerged arm in arm from the loo.
"We understand that the loo was malfunctioning at the time but this is no excuse for such behaviour at 1.30am as people were queuing up to use the loo," said one young man who observed the incident.
The young man and his girlfriend, as well as several others, were waiting to use the facility at the time.
Tuam gardai said they had not received any complaint about this activity at the town public toilet.
Since it was erected at the aptly-named Shambles Car Park last month, the superloo has been beset with problems.
It has also annoyed many people that it costs 50c to "spend a penny" at the facility.
The new superloo - which has already courted controversy for taking money and then failing to open its doors - was also blamed for destroying one woman's clothes when the water jets went off at the wrong time.
Facility
Earlier this month when Mayor Flanagan, Cllr Imelda Kelly and others tried to use the loo before a council meeting they discovered that while the facility was taking coins in the slot, it was not opening to accept other deposits. Nor was it returning the coins.
Yesterday the loo was again out of order but it was at least returning coins put in the slot.
"The only good thing about the facility isthat the problems wehave highlighted inTuam are mirrored at superloos in othertowns and perhaps this will put pressure on the powers that be to solve the problem," said the Mayor.
The superloo, which is said to cost approximately €500,000 has been acquired on a lease and maintenance deal by Galway Co Council of around €35,000 per year.
Tom Gilmore
Irish Independent
Shell left with €1m legal bill as gas line battle ends
ENERGY giant Shell E&P Ireland Ltd has been left with a €1m costs bill after one leg of its long-running legal battle over the Corrib gas line came to an end yesterday.
The High Court allowed Shell E&P Ireland to end its legal action against four opponents of the controversial Corrib gas pipeline, but only on certain conditions.
These include that the company pay most of the legal costs of four Rossport residents, estimated at over €1m. However, counterclaims by some residents against the company and the State, which challenge the validity of ministerial consents for the pipeline, are to continue.
The court is also to consider whether the residents are entitled to seek damages against Shell over what they allege was an improperly obtained April 2005 injunction restraining interference with the pipeline route.
Ms Justice Mary Laffoy yesterday delivered her reserved judgment on a number of applications related to the legal row over the pipeline, including an application by Shell to discontinue its action against four Rossport residents - Philip McGrath, James Brendan Philbin, Willie Corduff and Brid McGarry.
Shell had asked that its proceedings be discontinued without having to meet the legal costs of the four residents or, alternatively, that the costs issues be reserved to the trial of the residents' counterclaims.
The judge said she unreservedly condemned the behaviour of Mr McGrath, Mr Philbin and Mr Corduff in refusing to purge their contempt after being jailed for 94 days in 2005 for refusing to obey court orders restraining interference with the pipeline.
However, Shell was effectively asking the court not to grant costs to the residents as punishment for this contempt, she added.
Ann O'Loughlin
Irish Independent
The High Court allowed Shell E&P Ireland to end its legal action against four opponents of the controversial Corrib gas pipeline, but only on certain conditions.
These include that the company pay most of the legal costs of four Rossport residents, estimated at over €1m. However, counterclaims by some residents against the company and the State, which challenge the validity of ministerial consents for the pipeline, are to continue.
The court is also to consider whether the residents are entitled to seek damages against Shell over what they allege was an improperly obtained April 2005 injunction restraining interference with the pipeline route.
Ms Justice Mary Laffoy yesterday delivered her reserved judgment on a number of applications related to the legal row over the pipeline, including an application by Shell to discontinue its action against four Rossport residents - Philip McGrath, James Brendan Philbin, Willie Corduff and Brid McGarry.
Shell had asked that its proceedings be discontinued without having to meet the legal costs of the four residents or, alternatively, that the costs issues be reserved to the trial of the residents' counterclaims.
The judge said she unreservedly condemned the behaviour of Mr McGrath, Mr Philbin and Mr Corduff in refusing to purge their contempt after being jailed for 94 days in 2005 for refusing to obey court orders restraining interference with the pipeline.
However, Shell was effectively asking the court not to grant costs to the residents as punishment for this contempt, she added.
Ann O'Loughlin
Irish Independent
Football star seeks luxury Irish home
FORMER Irish soccer international Gary Kelly has applied for permission to build a state-of-the-art family home in his native Co Louth.
The planning application has strengthened rumours that he may looking towards retiring in the near future.
The 32-year-old Leeds United full back has lodged an application to build a four-bedroom house with a total floor area of 534 square metres - just over 5,700 square feet.
It is proposed for a 3.5 acre field near Clogherhead, some eight miles north of his home town of Drogheda.
The proposed house, which has a large glass atrium at the front, includes four double bedrooms, a large dining room, a sun room and a gym.
The footballer is well known for his charity work and was the moving force behind the Drogheda-based Gary Kelly Cancer Support Centre, which provides free support services to cancer patients.
He also donated part of his testimonial to cancer charity.
However, he may face some obstacles in getting permission because the county council has strict criteria for one-off houses in rural areas.
The site is in the southern part of the county, which the county development plan says has seen an increase in the number of planning applications.
The plan also says that "the scale and size of the dwellings being sought for planning permission has increased also."
Irish Independent
The planning application has strengthened rumours that he may looking towards retiring in the near future.
The 32-year-old Leeds United full back has lodged an application to build a four-bedroom house with a total floor area of 534 square metres - just over 5,700 square feet.
It is proposed for a 3.5 acre field near Clogherhead, some eight miles north of his home town of Drogheda.
The proposed house, which has a large glass atrium at the front, includes four double bedrooms, a large dining room, a sun room and a gym.
The footballer is well known for his charity work and was the moving force behind the Drogheda-based Gary Kelly Cancer Support Centre, which provides free support services to cancer patients.
He also donated part of his testimonial to cancer charity.
However, he may face some obstacles in getting permission because the county council has strict criteria for one-off houses in rural areas.
The site is in the southern part of the county, which the county development plan says has seen an increase in the number of planning applications.
The plan also says that "the scale and size of the dwellings being sought for planning permission has increased also."
Irish Independent
Wednesday, 18 April 2007
Government rejects bid for graveyard in national park
THE Government has turned down a request for land for a graveyard in a specified area of Killarney National Park, it was confirmed yesterday.
However, Junior Environment Minister Batt O’Keeffe invited Killarney Town Council and Kerry County Council to seek land in another section of the park.
But it emerged yesterday that any site for a burial ground in the National Park would have to comply with habitats directives and other environmental regulations.
A site earmarked by the councils in the Muckross area was ruled out on the advice of the Chief State Solicitor’s office. This site was part of land bequeathed to the State under the Bourn Vincent Memorial Park Act 1932, and cannot be leased, or disposed of, according to the act.
However, Kerry South councillor Tom Fleming yesterday said National Park authorities were willing to allow the councils to seek a location in a section of the park unaffected by the 1932 act or other restrictions.
“On his visit to Killarney last week, Mr O’Keeffe informed me of the move which is good news for the town,” he said. “It’s imperative that suitable land be acquired quickly because Killarney’s local authority burial grounds are almost full.”
All three public burial grounds in Killarney are virtually out of space and the councils have been trying unsuccessfully for additional land for several years.
Irish Examiner
However, Junior Environment Minister Batt O’Keeffe invited Killarney Town Council and Kerry County Council to seek land in another section of the park.
But it emerged yesterday that any site for a burial ground in the National Park would have to comply with habitats directives and other environmental regulations.
A site earmarked by the councils in the Muckross area was ruled out on the advice of the Chief State Solicitor’s office. This site was part of land bequeathed to the State under the Bourn Vincent Memorial Park Act 1932, and cannot be leased, or disposed of, according to the act.
However, Kerry South councillor Tom Fleming yesterday said National Park authorities were willing to allow the councils to seek a location in a section of the park unaffected by the 1932 act or other restrictions.
“On his visit to Killarney last week, Mr O’Keeffe informed me of the move which is good news for the town,” he said. “It’s imperative that suitable land be acquired quickly because Killarney’s local authority burial grounds are almost full.”
All three public burial grounds in Killarney are virtually out of space and the councils have been trying unsuccessfully for additional land for several years.
Irish Examiner
Popular city park set to receive €700,000 for major improvements
ALMOST €700,000 is to be ploughed into major upgrades of a popular Cork city public park.
The city council confirmed yesterday that it had secured €669,000 in funding for a range of new improvements at the 40-acre Murphy’s Farm in Bishopstown.
Up to €500,000 alone will be spent on a state-of-the-art playground.
The park, which stretches northwards from the Curraheen Estate along the Curraheen River to the Tennis Village at Model Farm Road, has four sports pitches, an 18-hole pitch and putt course, a scout hall, riverside walks and an informal open area.
Almost €1.3 million is spent on three recreational projects in the park — the development of dressing rooms, a pitch and putt pavilion and a parks depot.
It is hoped work will be completed by early summer.
But the council confirmed yesterday that it also has secured new funding to upgrade and widen the two-mile riverside walk along the Curraheen River, from the Tennis Village to Curraheen Road, to a cycle /walkway. A total of €195,000 has been secured to upgrade the park’s access road and car park and €474,000 will be spent on the construction of a new playground, a multi-user games area (MUGA) and an informal play area.
The works will involve enclosing an open area next to Curraheen Estate and the school, earthworks, provision of pathways, play equipment and MUGA.
Grant aid of €150,000 has been secured for the play equipment and MUGA.
The council is planning to fund the balance of €520,000.
Local Cllr Jerry Buttimer welcomed the news. “This project will give Bishopstown an enhanced amenity area better that any other in the city,” he said.
The city council confirmed yesterday that it had secured €669,000 in funding for a range of new improvements at the 40-acre Murphy’s Farm in Bishopstown.
Up to €500,000 alone will be spent on a state-of-the-art playground.
The park, which stretches northwards from the Curraheen Estate along the Curraheen River to the Tennis Village at Model Farm Road, has four sports pitches, an 18-hole pitch and putt course, a scout hall, riverside walks and an informal open area.
Almost €1.3 million is spent on three recreational projects in the park — the development of dressing rooms, a pitch and putt pavilion and a parks depot.
It is hoped work will be completed by early summer.
But the council confirmed yesterday that it also has secured new funding to upgrade and widen the two-mile riverside walk along the Curraheen River, from the Tennis Village to Curraheen Road, to a cycle /walkway. A total of €195,000 has been secured to upgrade the park’s access road and car park and €474,000 will be spent on the construction of a new playground, a multi-user games area (MUGA) and an informal play area.
The works will involve enclosing an open area next to Curraheen Estate and the school, earthworks, provision of pathways, play equipment and MUGA.
Grant aid of €150,000 has been secured for the play equipment and MUGA.
The council is planning to fund the balance of €520,000.
Local Cllr Jerry Buttimer welcomed the news. “This project will give Bishopstown an enhanced amenity area better that any other in the city,” he said.
Holiday heartbreak as caravan park closes
THE summer holiday plans of hundreds of families were in tatters yesterday following confirmation that a popular caravan park is to be sold after a long-running planning saga.
Management at Power’s Caravan Park in Duffcarrick, Ardmore, Co Waterford, confirmed yesterday they are putting their park on the market tomorrow, with a €7 million price tag, following a decision from An Bord Pleanála.
Owners Thomas and John Power said the park was no longer financially viable and they had no other option but to close.
They have given their 166 clients until June 6 to vacate the premises. Thomas Power declined to comment yesterday.
The decision came despite An Bord Pleanála ruling that the pair did not have to pay a €141,000 development contribution sought by Waterford County Council.
A board inspector said the amount was unreasonable. But the board did suggest that some amount, to be agreed between the Powers and the council, be paid in respect of improvement works to the public water supply and public sewerage systems serving Ardmore.
They also ruled that major landscaping was needed around the park.
The ruling stems from major renewal works carried out on the site in recent years, including the installation of service roads, public lighting, water supply and sewage works. The Powers applied to the council for planning retention for these works, which was granted last April with four conditions.
One of the conditions stipulated they pay a development contribution, understood to be in the region of €141,000, towards the cost of upgrades to public water and sewage treatment plant serving Ardmore.
But the Powers appealed this condition to An Bord Pleanála. The board was due to rule last December, but the decision was deferred a number of times.
The Powers wrote to their clients in January saying they would not be in a position to accept renewals for this year’s holiday season pending the outcome from the board.
Thomas Power said, at the time, he was playing a waiting game and assured clients that closing the caravan park was not being considered.
Despite the reassurance, the Powers said that, following the board decision and having consulted with their tax advisers, legal team, accountants and engineers, it was decided that the costs were prohibitive.
“This decision has not been easy for us to make as our family have been involved in the tourism business in Ardmore for over 40 years,” they said in a letter to clients.
“We hope that you can understand that we had no option in this situation.”
The Ardmore Holiday Home Residents’ Association criticised the decision yesterday and the speed at which residents have been asked to leave.
The holiday home owners said they were never asked to increase their €1,200 annual fee, which could have helped meet the development charges. Neither were they given enough time to consider a buyout of the site, a spokesman said.
He said the park should remain open this year to give residents more time to consider their options.
But the Powers are standing firm on their decision. They took over running the caravan park from their parents, Richard, and the late Brigid, in the late 1990s. A caravan park has operated on the site since the 1950s.
Irish Examiner
Management at Power’s Caravan Park in Duffcarrick, Ardmore, Co Waterford, confirmed yesterday they are putting their park on the market tomorrow, with a €7 million price tag, following a decision from An Bord Pleanála.
Owners Thomas and John Power said the park was no longer financially viable and they had no other option but to close.
They have given their 166 clients until June 6 to vacate the premises. Thomas Power declined to comment yesterday.
The decision came despite An Bord Pleanála ruling that the pair did not have to pay a €141,000 development contribution sought by Waterford County Council.
A board inspector said the amount was unreasonable. But the board did suggest that some amount, to be agreed between the Powers and the council, be paid in respect of improvement works to the public water supply and public sewerage systems serving Ardmore.
They also ruled that major landscaping was needed around the park.
The ruling stems from major renewal works carried out on the site in recent years, including the installation of service roads, public lighting, water supply and sewage works. The Powers applied to the council for planning retention for these works, which was granted last April with four conditions.
One of the conditions stipulated they pay a development contribution, understood to be in the region of €141,000, towards the cost of upgrades to public water and sewage treatment plant serving Ardmore.
But the Powers appealed this condition to An Bord Pleanála. The board was due to rule last December, but the decision was deferred a number of times.
The Powers wrote to their clients in January saying they would not be in a position to accept renewals for this year’s holiday season pending the outcome from the board.
Thomas Power said, at the time, he was playing a waiting game and assured clients that closing the caravan park was not being considered.
Despite the reassurance, the Powers said that, following the board decision and having consulted with their tax advisers, legal team, accountants and engineers, it was decided that the costs were prohibitive.
“This decision has not been easy for us to make as our family have been involved in the tourism business in Ardmore for over 40 years,” they said in a letter to clients.
“We hope that you can understand that we had no option in this situation.”
The Ardmore Holiday Home Residents’ Association criticised the decision yesterday and the speed at which residents have been asked to leave.
The holiday home owners said they were never asked to increase their €1,200 annual fee, which could have helped meet the development charges. Neither were they given enough time to consider a buyout of the site, a spokesman said.
He said the park should remain open this year to give residents more time to consider their options.
But the Powers are standing firm on their decision. They took over running the caravan park from their parents, Richard, and the late Brigid, in the late 1990s. A caravan park has operated on the site since the 1950s.
Irish Examiner
Plan for second terminal 'nonsense'
PLANS by the Dublin Airport Authority to build a second terminal are a "nonsense" and are designed to raise costs and passenger charges, Ryanair said yesterday.
Its history of "bad, excessively expensive development" means the total cost of developing the terminal - known as T2 - and associated works will be €842m, and not €610m as the DAA claims, the airline claimed.
Yesterday Ryanair's Head of Legal and Regulatory Affairs, Jim Callaghan, told a planning hearing that the DAA had failed to include the €150m 'write-off' of the airport's Pier C when arriving at a final cost.
This had resulted in the cost of the terminal quadrupling from €170m-€200m when it was first announced in September 2005, compared with the €840m bill Ryanair expects the DAA to meet. And he said that if T2 is built, passenger charges could almost double because the airport regulator based passenger charges on the value of assets held by the airport.
The high-cost facility would be bad news for consumers, while Pier C would be "wasted", he added.
T2 could accommodate up to 40 million passengers each year which would be a "manifest breach" of the 30 million a year cap envisaged in the Fingal County Council local area plan on numbers going through the airport. Had the DAA decided to build a €200m facility to accommodate 15 million passengers as it first proposed in 2005, Ryanair would support the plans. But the €842m cost - which the DAA has refuted - could not be justified.
"Most cities in Europe have a low-cost airport or terminal which Dublin hasn't. Ryanair offered to build and pay for a second terminal, but the Government decided to go with the Dublin Airport Authority.
No consideration had been given to building a new terminal to the north of the airport, which would have been more convenient to the existing terminal. Louise Congdon, an airport planning specialist appearing on behalf of Ryanair, said: "If Ryanair assumes control of Aer Lingus it will not use T2 and the development will be abortive."
Paul Melia
Irish Independent
Its history of "bad, excessively expensive development" means the total cost of developing the terminal - known as T2 - and associated works will be €842m, and not €610m as the DAA claims, the airline claimed.
Yesterday Ryanair's Head of Legal and Regulatory Affairs, Jim Callaghan, told a planning hearing that the DAA had failed to include the €150m 'write-off' of the airport's Pier C when arriving at a final cost.
This had resulted in the cost of the terminal quadrupling from €170m-€200m when it was first announced in September 2005, compared with the €840m bill Ryanair expects the DAA to meet. And he said that if T2 is built, passenger charges could almost double because the airport regulator based passenger charges on the value of assets held by the airport.
The high-cost facility would be bad news for consumers, while Pier C would be "wasted", he added.
T2 could accommodate up to 40 million passengers each year which would be a "manifest breach" of the 30 million a year cap envisaged in the Fingal County Council local area plan on numbers going through the airport. Had the DAA decided to build a €200m facility to accommodate 15 million passengers as it first proposed in 2005, Ryanair would support the plans. But the €842m cost - which the DAA has refuted - could not be justified.
"Most cities in Europe have a low-cost airport or terminal which Dublin hasn't. Ryanair offered to build and pay for a second terminal, but the Government decided to go with the Dublin Airport Authority.
No consideration had been given to building a new terminal to the north of the airport, which would have been more convenient to the existing terminal. Louise Congdon, an airport planning specialist appearing on behalf of Ryanair, said: "If Ryanair assumes control of Aer Lingus it will not use T2 and the development will be abortive."
Paul Melia
Irish Independent
Longer Luas carriages coming down the track
FIRST we had the 'bendy-bus'.
Now its the turn of the 'telescoped tram'.
Commuters packed onto rush-hour Luas trams are finally getting some relief in the shape of longer trams.
The existing 30m-long trams will be 'stretched' to add on a further 10m in length.
The longer trams, 26 in all, will increase capacity by 40pc.
Yesterday, Transport Minister Martin Cullen met the mechanics involved in extending the fleet of Luas trams on the Tallaght-Connolly Station line.
Mr Cullen was accompanied by Tom Mulcahy, chairman of the Railway Procurement Agency and chief executive designate of the new Dublin Transportation Authority.
The minister was also attending the signing of the contract for 18 extra trams costing €51.2m.
Last year, a total of 26m passengers used the two Luas lines, a 16pc increase on the previous year.
The first of the extended trams are due in service next month.
Mr Cullen said the large number of passengers using Luas was also helping to reduce climate changing emissions.
Treacy Hogan
Irish Independent
Now its the turn of the 'telescoped tram'.
Commuters packed onto rush-hour Luas trams are finally getting some relief in the shape of longer trams.
The existing 30m-long trams will be 'stretched' to add on a further 10m in length.
The longer trams, 26 in all, will increase capacity by 40pc.
Yesterday, Transport Minister Martin Cullen met the mechanics involved in extending the fleet of Luas trams on the Tallaght-Connolly Station line.
Mr Cullen was accompanied by Tom Mulcahy, chairman of the Railway Procurement Agency and chief executive designate of the new Dublin Transportation Authority.
The minister was also attending the signing of the contract for 18 extra trams costing €51.2m.
Last year, a total of 26m passengers used the two Luas lines, a 16pc increase on the previous year.
The first of the extended trams are due in service next month.
Mr Cullen said the large number of passengers using Luas was also helping to reduce climate changing emissions.
Treacy Hogan
Irish Independent
Tuesday, 17 April 2007
Developer accused of ‘irregular’ mapping
A LIMERICK property developer yesterday dismissed claims by Junior Health Minister Tim O’Malley that new apartments built by him do not qualify for tax breaks due to mapping irregularities.
The site on which the apartments were built was at the centre of major controversy and Mr O’Malley had previously demanded an investigation into how the developer, Reidy Civil Engineering Ltd, had acquired it.
The site was part of the People’s Park, and contained maintenance sheds.
Minister O’Malley now claims that zoning maps in the current City Development Plan do not match site maps and maps from Ordnance Survey.
Mr O’Malley said he had also got engineers to scrutinise the maps.
He said: “It was only by blowing up maps that we could find out that there was a problem with the maps that were sent up to the department for tax designation. I pointed out this to the City Council to be told that it was a mapping error. A mapping error of nearly half an acre in the centre of Limerick City is a significant error.”
Mr O’Malley said up to 70% of the 59 apartments are on land zoned as open space.
He said investors bought the €250,000 apartments believing they were eligible for 100% tax relief offset against rental income.
However, John Reidy yesterday hit back saying that Mr O’Malley had waged an ongoing campaign against the development and was now clutching at straws.
Mr Reidy said all maps were correct.
He said: “I can’t understand where he (O’Malley) is coming from. He is just blatantly incorrect. There is no doubt about the integrity of the maps. I am extremely and personally hurt at this attack by Mr O’Malley. He has hurt me and my family and what he says is completely at variance with the facts.”
Following earlier allegations by Mr O’Malley relating to his purchase of the 0.44 acre site from Limerick City Council, Mr Reidy said the Department of the Environment had carried out an investigation and found everything was above board.
Mr Reidy said: “The minister is now bringing up issues about mapping now that all other issues he has raised have been put to bed long ago. He was wrong all along and is wrong now. His statement is irresponsible.”
Lawyers acting for purchasers, he said, had gone through the maps and found them to be in order.
Mr Reidy said he had no problem having an independent engineer inspect the maps.
Prior to the apartments being built, Mr O’Malley had called for an investigation into the manner in which the council sold the site to a developer without putting it out to public tender.
The council acquired the freehold of the 0.44 acre site which houses the park maintenance sheds from Lord Limerick for 150,000 and resold the same plot for €1.57 million to Reidy Civil Engineering.
The land in question was held in trust and covered by a 500-year lease entered by the Earl of Limerick, The People’s Park Trustees and Limerick Corporation in the 19th century.
The sale of the 0.44 acre site to Reidy Civil Engineering was formally completed in early 2005.
Mr Reidy said the entire process was open and transparent.
He said: “The agreement by Limerick City Council to dispose of the portion of the site now already owned by Reidy Civil Engineering to facilitate the development is a matter of public record and the valuation was established by public tender.”
Irish Examiner
The site on which the apartments were built was at the centre of major controversy and Mr O’Malley had previously demanded an investigation into how the developer, Reidy Civil Engineering Ltd, had acquired it.
The site was part of the People’s Park, and contained maintenance sheds.
Minister O’Malley now claims that zoning maps in the current City Development Plan do not match site maps and maps from Ordnance Survey.
Mr O’Malley said he had also got engineers to scrutinise the maps.
He said: “It was only by blowing up maps that we could find out that there was a problem with the maps that were sent up to the department for tax designation. I pointed out this to the City Council to be told that it was a mapping error. A mapping error of nearly half an acre in the centre of Limerick City is a significant error.”
Mr O’Malley said up to 70% of the 59 apartments are on land zoned as open space.
He said investors bought the €250,000 apartments believing they were eligible for 100% tax relief offset against rental income.
However, John Reidy yesterday hit back saying that Mr O’Malley had waged an ongoing campaign against the development and was now clutching at straws.
Mr Reidy said all maps were correct.
He said: “I can’t understand where he (O’Malley) is coming from. He is just blatantly incorrect. There is no doubt about the integrity of the maps. I am extremely and personally hurt at this attack by Mr O’Malley. He has hurt me and my family and what he says is completely at variance with the facts.”
Following earlier allegations by Mr O’Malley relating to his purchase of the 0.44 acre site from Limerick City Council, Mr Reidy said the Department of the Environment had carried out an investigation and found everything was above board.
Mr Reidy said: “The minister is now bringing up issues about mapping now that all other issues he has raised have been put to bed long ago. He was wrong all along and is wrong now. His statement is irresponsible.”
Lawyers acting for purchasers, he said, had gone through the maps and found them to be in order.
Mr Reidy said he had no problem having an independent engineer inspect the maps.
Prior to the apartments being built, Mr O’Malley had called for an investigation into the manner in which the council sold the site to a developer without putting it out to public tender.
The council acquired the freehold of the 0.44 acre site which houses the park maintenance sheds from Lord Limerick for 150,000 and resold the same plot for €1.57 million to Reidy Civil Engineering.
The land in question was held in trust and covered by a 500-year lease entered by the Earl of Limerick, The People’s Park Trustees and Limerick Corporation in the 19th century.
The sale of the 0.44 acre site to Reidy Civil Engineering was formally completed in early 2005.
Mr Reidy said the entire process was open and transparent.
He said: “The agreement by Limerick City Council to dispose of the portion of the site now already owned by Reidy Civil Engineering to facilitate the development is a matter of public record and the valuation was established by public tender.”
Irish Examiner
Second airport terminal most important building in a generation, say authority
THE Dublin Airport Authority has claimed that its proposed second terminal at Dublin Airport is arguably “the most important public building in a generation.”
An oral hearing by An Bord Pleanála into the controversial new terminal — which will be known as T2 — heard yesterday that it will cater for 15 million passengers per annum, bring Dublin Airport’s capacity up to 35 million passengers per year.
Planning permission for the 92,000m² facility was granted by Fingal County Council last October.
However, the decision has been opposed by a number of objectors including local residents groups, An Taisce and Ryanair, which has conducted a high-profile PR campaign against the cost and location of the new terminal.
The DAA claims T2 — which is due to open in 2009 — will cost €610m including a new pier, roads and associated facilities. However, Ryanair maintains that the final total will be in excess of €800m.
An Bord Pleanála inspector, Öznur Yücel-Finn, was told by DAA witnesses that the new three-storey terminal would provide 56 additional check-in desks and 19 extra airbridges.
DAA director of capital programming, Mark Foley, justified the need for T2 on the basis that Dublin was Ireland’s national airport and one of the 10 busiest airports within the EU.
Mr Foley said Dublin Airport was not comparable with Hahn, Beauvais or Luton — airports which Ryanair insist have built suitable terminals at a fraction of the cost of T2.
He told the hearing that Dublin Airport had suffered from under-investment and congestion over the past decade due to exceptional passenger growth which had seen numbers increase from seven million in 1995 to over 21 million last year.
Andrew Evans, an airport design consultant working on behalf of DAA, said a number of alternatives for the expansion of Dublin Airport had been examined before the DAA had decided on building T2 to the east of the existing terminal.
He told the hearing that the DAA had ruled out an increased use of other airports outside Dublin as a study had shown that Dublin Airport was the most convenient facility for 80% of passengers using it.
Baldonnell Airport to the south-west of Dublin was not considered a suitable alternative as it would provide no obvious environmental benefits, said Mr Evans.
He pointed out that Baldonnell, which is used as a military airfield, is also located nearer to densely populated areas than Dublin Airport.
The options of relocating Dublin Airport to a new site was also discounted for economic and environmental reasons, said Mr Evans.
Another engineering consultant, Colm Moran, said the exact location of T2 within Dublin Airport had been chosen after the DAA had carried out a study to evaluate the relative merits of four possible sites.
He claimed the planned location for T2 was the “fastest and least risky” option.
During preliminary exchanges, a number of objectors argued that An Bord Pleanála was not entitled under planning legislation to conduct the current hearing because it was part of a split project by the DAA.
Opponents claim planning permission for T2 should not be treated separately from the DAA’s plans to build a second runway at Dublin Airport.
Irish Examiner
An oral hearing by An Bord Pleanála into the controversial new terminal — which will be known as T2 — heard yesterday that it will cater for 15 million passengers per annum, bring Dublin Airport’s capacity up to 35 million passengers per year.
Planning permission for the 92,000m² facility was granted by Fingal County Council last October.
However, the decision has been opposed by a number of objectors including local residents groups, An Taisce and Ryanair, which has conducted a high-profile PR campaign against the cost and location of the new terminal.
The DAA claims T2 — which is due to open in 2009 — will cost €610m including a new pier, roads and associated facilities. However, Ryanair maintains that the final total will be in excess of €800m.
An Bord Pleanála inspector, Öznur Yücel-Finn, was told by DAA witnesses that the new three-storey terminal would provide 56 additional check-in desks and 19 extra airbridges.
DAA director of capital programming, Mark Foley, justified the need for T2 on the basis that Dublin was Ireland’s national airport and one of the 10 busiest airports within the EU.
Mr Foley said Dublin Airport was not comparable with Hahn, Beauvais or Luton — airports which Ryanair insist have built suitable terminals at a fraction of the cost of T2.
He told the hearing that Dublin Airport had suffered from under-investment and congestion over the past decade due to exceptional passenger growth which had seen numbers increase from seven million in 1995 to over 21 million last year.
Andrew Evans, an airport design consultant working on behalf of DAA, said a number of alternatives for the expansion of Dublin Airport had been examined before the DAA had decided on building T2 to the east of the existing terminal.
He told the hearing that the DAA had ruled out an increased use of other airports outside Dublin as a study had shown that Dublin Airport was the most convenient facility for 80% of passengers using it.
Baldonnell Airport to the south-west of Dublin was not considered a suitable alternative as it would provide no obvious environmental benefits, said Mr Evans.
He pointed out that Baldonnell, which is used as a military airfield, is also located nearer to densely populated areas than Dublin Airport.
The options of relocating Dublin Airport to a new site was also discounted for economic and environmental reasons, said Mr Evans.
Another engineering consultant, Colm Moran, said the exact location of T2 within Dublin Airport had been chosen after the DAA had carried out a study to evaluate the relative merits of four possible sites.
He claimed the planned location for T2 was the “fastest and least risky” option.
During preliminary exchanges, a number of objectors argued that An Bord Pleanála was not entitled under planning legislation to conduct the current hearing because it was part of a split project by the DAA.
Opponents claim planning permission for T2 should not be treated separately from the DAA’s plans to build a second runway at Dublin Airport.
Irish Examiner
Trains on time . . . commuters delayed
TRAINS are pulling into a new €10m railway station in west Dublin but the thousands of commuters are still down the tracks.
The privately-funded Adamstown train station has opened its doors years ahead of the completion of the housing development. The planned community in the strategic development zone near Dublin's Lucan will be home to 30,000 residents and 10,000 houses.
However, as the Taoiseach launched the new station yesterday only 1,300 homes were approved for planning, 900 were under construction and 160 were occupied. Mr Ahern called the opening of the commuting hub a "milestone" for the development of planned urban community of Adamstown.
Transport Minister Martin Cullen said the integrated development approach had ensured the public infrastructure was in place before the residents moved in, giving "great confidence to the development".
Cllr Eamon Tuffy, the deputy mayor of South Dublin County Council, said after the land was zoned for development in 1999 people had been nervous it would follow Lucan's growth pattern, with a lack of schools and transport initiatives.
Louise Hogan
Irish Independent
The privately-funded Adamstown train station has opened its doors years ahead of the completion of the housing development. The planned community in the strategic development zone near Dublin's Lucan will be home to 30,000 residents and 10,000 houses.
However, as the Taoiseach launched the new station yesterday only 1,300 homes were approved for planning, 900 were under construction and 160 were occupied. Mr Ahern called the opening of the commuting hub a "milestone" for the development of planned urban community of Adamstown.
Transport Minister Martin Cullen said the integrated development approach had ensured the public infrastructure was in place before the residents moved in, giving "great confidence to the development".
Cllr Eamon Tuffy, the deputy mayor of South Dublin County Council, said after the land was zoned for development in 1999 people had been nervous it would follow Lucan's growth pattern, with a lack of schools and transport initiatives.
Louise Hogan
Irish Independent
Local resident in legal action to halt works on new prison
A HOUSEHOLDER who lives near the proposed new prison in north Co Dublin is to apply to the High Court tomorrow to stop all works at the site.
Michael Kavanagh's counsel yesterday told the High Court the Government proposed to build a new prison literally on the doorstep of the Mr Kavanagh's family home.
Mr Kavanagh is to seek an order restraining the Government from taking any further steps to construct the development at Thornton Hall, Kilsallaghan, Dublin, including a decision to accept a tender for its construction.
The Government paid almost €30m for the site in 2005.
Mr Kavanagh wants the injuction pending the outcome of his legal challenge.
The move comes after reports last week that a consortium led by Bernard McNamara, one of Ireland's most successful developers, had been chosen to design and construct the new prison complex in a public-private partnership with the State.
In his proceedings Mr Kavanagh is seeking a declaration that the decision to develop the new prison complex and the relocation of the Central Mental Hospital to the site was taken without carrying out an environmental assessment, including an assessment of any altetrnatives in accordance with EU Directives.
Mr Kavanagh is also seeking a declaration that a secondary treatment of waste water is required under EU Directives in relation to the urban waste treatment from the prison where there will be up to 2000 people including staff and inmates.
Mr Kavanagh's lawyers said the matter was urgent as there was building equipment already on the land.
Ms Justice Mary Laffoy adjourned the matter to Wednesday and said the Chief State Solicitor was to be informed.
Irish Independent
Michael Kavanagh's counsel yesterday told the High Court the Government proposed to build a new prison literally on the doorstep of the Mr Kavanagh's family home.
Mr Kavanagh is to seek an order restraining the Government from taking any further steps to construct the development at Thornton Hall, Kilsallaghan, Dublin, including a decision to accept a tender for its construction.
The Government paid almost €30m for the site in 2005.
Mr Kavanagh wants the injuction pending the outcome of his legal challenge.
The move comes after reports last week that a consortium led by Bernard McNamara, one of Ireland's most successful developers, had been chosen to design and construct the new prison complex in a public-private partnership with the State.
In his proceedings Mr Kavanagh is seeking a declaration that the decision to develop the new prison complex and the relocation of the Central Mental Hospital to the site was taken without carrying out an environmental assessment, including an assessment of any altetrnatives in accordance with EU Directives.
Mr Kavanagh is also seeking a declaration that a secondary treatment of waste water is required under EU Directives in relation to the urban waste treatment from the prison where there will be up to 2000 people including staff and inmates.
Mr Kavanagh's lawyers said the matter was urgent as there was building equipment already on the land.
Ms Justice Mary Laffoy adjourned the matter to Wednesday and said the Chief State Solicitor was to be informed.
Irish Independent
Public hearing opens on Shell gas refinery proposals
Environment agency will hear submissions before licence ruling ...
A PUBLIC hearing on the granting of an operating licence for the €200m Corrib Gas refinery opened in Belmullet, Co Mayo got underway yesterday.
The hearing, organised by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), will decide whether the refinery should be granted a pollution control licence.
Submissions will be taken over the next two weeks, from parties including An Taisce, the Erris Inshore Fishermen's Association and members of the Shell to Sea campaign group who are objecting to the terminal on health and safety grounds. The EPA announced in January that it intended to licence the refinery, subject to 85 conditions. The EPA said it believed the terminal would not adversely affect human health or the environment.
The main concern of the Erris Inshore Fishermen‘s Association is the negative impact on the marine environment of the outfall pipe from the refinery, which will release treated chemical and metallic contaminants.
Shell to Sea's John Monaghan told the chairman of the hearing that the large garda presence at the Broadhaven Bay hotel was intimidating and should be reduced in the interest of full public participation.
The Environmental Protection Agency was criticised for not ensuring that officials from a number of State authorities attended the hearing.
Imelda Moran, one of the 13 appellants challenging the licence for the Corrib refinery, said that representatives from Mayo Co Council, the HSA, and An Bord Pleanála should have been mandated to attend.
Processes
Corrib gas environmental advisor Agnes McLaverty, who delivered Shell's initial submission, argued that natural gas operations in general did not pose large risks to the environment or to the public.
The processes and equipment proposed for the Bellanaboy Bridge terminal represented technologies that Shell uses in gas plants in many parts of the world, she said.
One person was arrested for public order offences during a demonstration at the site yesterday.
Aine Ryan
Irish Independent
A PUBLIC hearing on the granting of an operating licence for the €200m Corrib Gas refinery opened in Belmullet, Co Mayo got underway yesterday.
The hearing, organised by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), will decide whether the refinery should be granted a pollution control licence.
Submissions will be taken over the next two weeks, from parties including An Taisce, the Erris Inshore Fishermen's Association and members of the Shell to Sea campaign group who are objecting to the terminal on health and safety grounds. The EPA announced in January that it intended to licence the refinery, subject to 85 conditions. The EPA said it believed the terminal would not adversely affect human health or the environment.
The main concern of the Erris Inshore Fishermen‘s Association is the negative impact on the marine environment of the outfall pipe from the refinery, which will release treated chemical and metallic contaminants.
Shell to Sea's John Monaghan told the chairman of the hearing that the large garda presence at the Broadhaven Bay hotel was intimidating and should be reduced in the interest of full public participation.
The Environmental Protection Agency was criticised for not ensuring that officials from a number of State authorities attended the hearing.
Imelda Moran, one of the 13 appellants challenging the licence for the Corrib refinery, said that representatives from Mayo Co Council, the HSA, and An Bord Pleanála should have been mandated to attend.
Processes
Corrib gas environmental advisor Agnes McLaverty, who delivered Shell's initial submission, argued that natural gas operations in general did not pose large risks to the environment or to the public.
The processes and equipment proposed for the Bellanaboy Bridge terminal represented technologies that Shell uses in gas plants in many parts of the world, she said.
One person was arrested for public order offences during a demonstration at the site yesterday.
Aine Ryan
Irish Independent
Church joins race for rezoned land at bishop's residence
THE Catholic Church has joined the scramble to profit from new land designations in the Ennis area after a review of the local development plan.
Millions of euro could be earned if shops and other business outlets are allowed to develop on the land that currently houses the Ennis residence of the Bishop of Killaloe, Dr Willie Walsh. In a surprise move, the St Flannan's (Killaloe) Diocesan Trust is seeking to allow building on eight acres of prime development land at Bishop Walsh's Westbourne residence.
It is currently zoned as "other settlement land" but the Church wants it rezoned for mixed use development in order to allow residential, commercial and retail activities take place at the site. But planners say that the site is an Architectural Conservation Area (ACA) and that the dwelling, Westbourne House, is a protected structure.
A report points out that the site is within walking distance of community facilities, schools, retail and commercial services.
It goes on: "It should be noted that there is no identified need for additional zoned lands to meet the future needs forecast for the new plan period."
Gordon Deegan
Irish Independent
Millions of euro could be earned if shops and other business outlets are allowed to develop on the land that currently houses the Ennis residence of the Bishop of Killaloe, Dr Willie Walsh. In a surprise move, the St Flannan's (Killaloe) Diocesan Trust is seeking to allow building on eight acres of prime development land at Bishop Walsh's Westbourne residence.
It is currently zoned as "other settlement land" but the Church wants it rezoned for mixed use development in order to allow residential, commercial and retail activities take place at the site. But planners say that the site is an Architectural Conservation Area (ACA) and that the dwelling, Westbourne House, is a protected structure.
A report points out that the site is within walking distance of community facilities, schools, retail and commercial services.
It goes on: "It should be noted that there is no identified need for additional zoned lands to meet the future needs forecast for the new plan period."
Gordon Deegan
Irish Independent
Monday, 16 April 2007
Drilling recommences offshore at Corrib gas field
The Corrib Gas Partners have recommenced drilling activities in the Corrib Gas field, 83km off the west coast of Ireland.
At the end of this season's drilling, the Partners plan to have five wells complete and ready for production. The drilling programme is scheduled to finish by late Autumn 2007.
The Corrib field is in 350m of water, with the gas reservoir a further 3000m below the seabed. The Sedco 711 drilling rig - which is being employed in the Corrib Gas field - is a semi submersible drilling unit capable of operating in harsh environments and water depth of up to 550m.
Remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) - or underwater robots - will be operated from the surface, whilst performing construction and maintenance work in deep water that is beyond the depth of commercial diving.
Construction of the gas processing plant in Bellanaboy is scheduled to commence in October and will employ up to 700 people in Co. Mayo. Once on stream, Corrib gas will provide up to 60% of Ireland's gas needs - thereby reducing dependence on foreign imports.
At the end of this season's drilling, the Partners plan to have five wells complete and ready for production. The drilling programme is scheduled to finish by late Autumn 2007.
The Corrib field is in 350m of water, with the gas reservoir a further 3000m below the seabed. The Sedco 711 drilling rig - which is being employed in the Corrib Gas field - is a semi submersible drilling unit capable of operating in harsh environments and water depth of up to 550m.
Remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) - or underwater robots - will be operated from the surface, whilst performing construction and maintenance work in deep water that is beyond the depth of commercial diving.
Construction of the gas processing plant in Bellanaboy is scheduled to commence in October and will employ up to 700 people in Co. Mayo. Once on stream, Corrib gas will provide up to 60% of Ireland's gas needs - thereby reducing dependence on foreign imports.
Roche Opens €3m extension to St. Joesph's National School, Templerainey, Arklow
This story is of interest to my own County ...
The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and local T.D. Mr. Dick Roche today (16th of April.) opened the extension to St. Joseph's National School, Templerainey.
The Minister officially opened the state of the art extension including nine classrooms, a computer room and resource rooms that have transformed the historic National School of Templerainey. The Minister stressed that this school has served the local community very well since it opened on the present site in 1942.
The Minister said he was delighted to meet pupils, parents and teachers. He congratulated the Chairperson of the Board of Management Mick McEvoy and the other members of the Board of Management on their achievements and dedication. He also praised the work of the Principal and proud Kerryman Mick O' Callaghan and his dedicated staff for their energy, enthusiasm and dynamism.
"The school has strong parental support, in particular, in relation to helping to provide a state of the art and fully equipped computer room and I note that the school was going from strength to strength. This was evident in the fact that the school now has 570 pupils as against 90 when it opened in 1942," Minister Roche said.
"I am particularly pleased to see the Green Flags proudly displayed outside of the school. I am aware that the school were pioneers in this regard," added . Minister Roche. He praised the school's energetic involvement in recycling as well as in water and energy conservation and the development of very well produced and informative websites.
The Minister paid tribute to the Builders and the Architects for combining their skills in order to blend the old and new buildings in such a way as to meet the needs of pupils, parents and teachers now and in to the future.
The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and local T.D. Mr. Dick Roche today (16th of April.) opened the extension to St. Joseph's National School, Templerainey.
The Minister officially opened the state of the art extension including nine classrooms, a computer room and resource rooms that have transformed the historic National School of Templerainey. The Minister stressed that this school has served the local community very well since it opened on the present site in 1942.
The Minister said he was delighted to meet pupils, parents and teachers. He congratulated the Chairperson of the Board of Management Mick McEvoy and the other members of the Board of Management on their achievements and dedication. He also praised the work of the Principal and proud Kerryman Mick O' Callaghan and his dedicated staff for their energy, enthusiasm and dynamism.
"The school has strong parental support, in particular, in relation to helping to provide a state of the art and fully equipped computer room and I note that the school was going from strength to strength. This was evident in the fact that the school now has 570 pupils as against 90 when it opened in 1942," Minister Roche said.
"I am particularly pleased to see the Green Flags proudly displayed outside of the school. I am aware that the school were pioneers in this regard," added . Minister Roche. He praised the school's energetic involvement in recycling as well as in water and energy conservation and the development of very well produced and informative websites.
The Minister paid tribute to the Builders and the Architects for combining their skills in order to blend the old and new buildings in such a way as to meet the needs of pupils, parents and teachers now and in to the future.
An Taisce V John McQuaid
John McQuaid, Goldhawk’s old pal, is still busy smashing up rocks in his illegal quarry in Clontibret, Co Monaghan with that big contract from Gama still bringing in the readies. McQuaid might be in more bother, however, following allegations from An Taisce that John and wife Mary are now operating a second unauthorised quarry less than a mile away. The ever busy Ian Lumley has fired in a letter to Paul Clifford in Monaghan County Council, alleging that he visited the new site himself and found “large scale unauthorised ... removal of shale, which is being carried out by McQuaid Quarries Ltd vehicles”. Clifford, the Council’s director of services, told Goldhawk the matter is “under investigation”. It will be recalled (see The Phoenix 11/3/05) that Monaghan County Council determined two years ago that McQuaid’s quarry was unauthorised. Not that this overly-concerned the infamous Turkish construction firm Gama, which continues to use it to supply the EU-funded N2 Clontibret-Castleblaney bypass – a €56m contract – much to the chagrin of Joe Higgins, the Socialist Party TD. Martin Cullen only turned the sod on this road in November 2005, meaning that the most recent accounts for John McQuaid (Quarries) Ltd don’t show the flow cash from Gama. Nevertheless, the company still had accumulated profits of €170,000 at the end of October 2005 – not bad for an unapproved operation. Despite numerous missives from An Taisce, the Council as yet to make any attempt at nforcing the planning laws. While McQuaid has applied for planning permission, the Council has yet to issue a decision and told Goldhawk that it has received legal advice regarding the quarry.
© The Phoenix Magazine
© The Phoenix Magazine
Phone mast protesters under fire for targeting worshippers
MOBILE phone mast protestors were criticised yesterday for targeting worshippers at a Church of Ireland Sunday service.
Residents holding placards mounted a picket outside the St Mary’s and All Saints Church of Ireland in Glanmire, on the outskirts of Cork city, against plans by Vodafone to locate a mobile phone mast on the church grounds.
Up to 15 people stood outside the building on Church Hill, chanting slogans as worshippers arrived for the 11.30am service.
Revered Daniel Owen declined to comment yesterday. But it is understood worshippers were extremely disappointed that protestors targeted their service.
The church dates from the 1780s and enjoys a beautiful setting perched on a hill overlooking an estuary.
Vodafone applied to Cork County Council earlier this month for permission to erect a large free-standing telecommunications antennae, understood to be up 20 metres high, and equipment cabinets on its grounds.
The mast will be used to provide wireless broadband and boost the mobile phone service in the area.
It will be within 20 metres of the nearest homes, about 100m from Coláiste an Phiarsaigh secondary school, and about 500 from a primary school. Planners are due to make a decision by the end of the month.
Local councillor John Gilroy, who has lodged an objection against the mast, said the protestors should not have targeted people attending a religious service, or picketed their place of worship.
“This is not the right way to do it. The project is still in the planning process. The picket was unnecessary.
“Nobody wants a mast beside them, especially not in the scenic location, and we should be fair and reasonable and go through the planning process. But this proposal is such an ill-conceived one, I’m confident it won’t make it through the planning process.”
The Glanmire Church of Ireland building — the oldest of the three churches in the Cobh and Glanmire Union — was consecrated in 1786. In 1805, it hosted the wedding of Captain Robert Sturgeon to Sarah Curran, the lover and secret fiancee of executed Irish patriot Robert Emmet.
Eoin English
© Irish Examiner
Residents holding placards mounted a picket outside the St Mary’s and All Saints Church of Ireland in Glanmire, on the outskirts of Cork city, against plans by Vodafone to locate a mobile phone mast on the church grounds.
Up to 15 people stood outside the building on Church Hill, chanting slogans as worshippers arrived for the 11.30am service.
Revered Daniel Owen declined to comment yesterday. But it is understood worshippers were extremely disappointed that protestors targeted their service.
The church dates from the 1780s and enjoys a beautiful setting perched on a hill overlooking an estuary.
Vodafone applied to Cork County Council earlier this month for permission to erect a large free-standing telecommunications antennae, understood to be up 20 metres high, and equipment cabinets on its grounds.
The mast will be used to provide wireless broadband and boost the mobile phone service in the area.
It will be within 20 metres of the nearest homes, about 100m from Coláiste an Phiarsaigh secondary school, and about 500 from a primary school. Planners are due to make a decision by the end of the month.
Local councillor John Gilroy, who has lodged an objection against the mast, said the protestors should not have targeted people attending a religious service, or picketed their place of worship.
“This is not the right way to do it. The project is still in the planning process. The picket was unnecessary.
“Nobody wants a mast beside them, especially not in the scenic location, and we should be fair and reasonable and go through the planning process. But this proposal is such an ill-conceived one, I’m confident it won’t make it through the planning process.”
The Glanmire Church of Ireland building — the oldest of the three churches in the Cobh and Glanmire Union — was consecrated in 1786. In 1805, it hosted the wedding of Captain Robert Sturgeon to Sarah Curran, the lover and secret fiancee of executed Irish patriot Robert Emmet.
Eoin English
© Irish Examiner
Pedestrian bridge over the River Moy gets green-light
A CONTENTIOUS plan to construct a pedestrian-bridge over the River Moy at the Salmon Weir, Ballina, was given the green-light at a Ballina Town Council Meeting last week.
Members of the Ballina Salmon Anglers watched from the public gallery as the plan was approved following some heated debate.
Noel Burke, Senior Engineer, outlined plans to build a cablestay structure, designed to resemble a fishingrod. He said that the original plan had seen the bridge being built over the existing salmon-weir, but that the North Western Fisheries Board had refused permission.
The decision was then made to locate the bridge to the north of the salmon weir, following consultation with local salmon anglers.
Mr Burke also revealed to the chamber that he had received a fax from a group based in West Cork called Friends of the Irish Environment, who are opposed to the construction of the bridge. He said that the group was threatening legal action as an Environmental Impact Study (EIS) had not been completed.
Mr Burke told the chamber that as the bridge would be less than 100m in length, there was no obligation for an EIS to be undertaken: “The fax contains a large number of inaccuracies. I am satisfied that the statutory requirements were fulfilled in relation to the Part 8 Planning Process. We have a small window of opportunity in late July, August and September for construction to commence and I recommend that the Council proceed as advised.”
Cllr Michelle Mulherin welcomed the plans and paid tribute to the Ballina Salmon Anglers: “I am glad that common sense prevailed at the end of the day. This started as a contentious matter but a compromise was reached. Our greatest natural assest is the river, and Bord Failte have recognised the tourist potential of this bridge by offering to fund the project to the tune of €900,000.”
Cllr Johnny O’Malley spoke of his disappointment regarding the position of the bridge: “It is my view that people are going to be continually asking why this bridge was not built over the existing weir, which is an eyesore at the
moment.” Cllr O’Malley then paraphrased Shakespeare, and Charles Haughey, and said that the “salmon anglers have done the town some service”.
Cllr Padraig Moore was scathing when he spoke about the intransigence of the North Western Fisheries Board: “I would like to express my utter disgust with the Fisheries Board. They have closed off access to the Ridgepool, and have ensured that only those with money can get permits to fish there. They have destroyed this project, and what we have here is what is half-best for this town.”
Cllr Tommy Cooke was incensed about the paperwork that he had been handed at the last minute: “It’s just not good enough. I am expected to read through a load of documents here tonight, which may lead me to regret the decision that I make. Councillors seem to be viewed as mere fodder, there is very little regard for us as we are thought to have such limited intelligence.”
Mayor Mark Winters told Cllr Cooke that documents had been received from interested parties at the last minute and said: “All of these faxes were received today and yesterday. The officials are not at fault here. We are all in the same position.”
“Maybe I’m stupid. I would ask the members in the public gallery to come up here and try to read through the stuff up here and do your business at the same time. It’s an impossibility,” Cllr Cooke responded.
Cllr Wille Nolan assured the chamber that he did not concur with Cllr Cooke: “I don’t think of myself as fodder, and I can understand the proposal. I certainly welcome and endorse this project as I have been told that it will not interfere with salmon angling.”
Cllr Mary Kelly was the only councillor to voice a concern about the lack of an EIS: “I have been told that an EIS could cost anything up to •60,000 and I am concerned that this is the reason that an EIS has not been commissioned. We are talking about an area of special conservation here. One third of the annual salmon catch for the Moy comes from this stretch of water and I wonder if this project will be to the detriment of the river.”
Mr Burke told Cllr Kelly that an independent review of the decision not to do an EIS had been done, and the decision had been sanctioned: “We are not in the business of destroying our river,” he added.
Mr Burke said: “Moving this bridge is a small price to pay as this bridge will open up the river side walk for locals and tourists alike. We have a small window of opportunity for work to commence on this brdge, and I am asking the members of this council to Failte Ireland will be funding this project to the tune of •900,000.”
Colette Browne
© Western People
Members of the Ballina Salmon Anglers watched from the public gallery as the plan was approved following some heated debate.
Noel Burke, Senior Engineer, outlined plans to build a cablestay structure, designed to resemble a fishingrod. He said that the original plan had seen the bridge being built over the existing salmon-weir, but that the North Western Fisheries Board had refused permission.
The decision was then made to locate the bridge to the north of the salmon weir, following consultation with local salmon anglers.
Mr Burke also revealed to the chamber that he had received a fax from a group based in West Cork called Friends of the Irish Environment, who are opposed to the construction of the bridge. He said that the group was threatening legal action as an Environmental Impact Study (EIS) had not been completed.
Mr Burke told the chamber that as the bridge would be less than 100m in length, there was no obligation for an EIS to be undertaken: “The fax contains a large number of inaccuracies. I am satisfied that the statutory requirements were fulfilled in relation to the Part 8 Planning Process. We have a small window of opportunity in late July, August and September for construction to commence and I recommend that the Council proceed as advised.”
Cllr Michelle Mulherin welcomed the plans and paid tribute to the Ballina Salmon Anglers: “I am glad that common sense prevailed at the end of the day. This started as a contentious matter but a compromise was reached. Our greatest natural assest is the river, and Bord Failte have recognised the tourist potential of this bridge by offering to fund the project to the tune of €900,000.”
Cllr Johnny O’Malley spoke of his disappointment regarding the position of the bridge: “It is my view that people are going to be continually asking why this bridge was not built over the existing weir, which is an eyesore at the
moment.” Cllr O’Malley then paraphrased Shakespeare, and Charles Haughey, and said that the “salmon anglers have done the town some service”.
Cllr Padraig Moore was scathing when he spoke about the intransigence of the North Western Fisheries Board: “I would like to express my utter disgust with the Fisheries Board. They have closed off access to the Ridgepool, and have ensured that only those with money can get permits to fish there. They have destroyed this project, and what we have here is what is half-best for this town.”
Cllr Tommy Cooke was incensed about the paperwork that he had been handed at the last minute: “It’s just not good enough. I am expected to read through a load of documents here tonight, which may lead me to regret the decision that I make. Councillors seem to be viewed as mere fodder, there is very little regard for us as we are thought to have such limited intelligence.”
Mayor Mark Winters told Cllr Cooke that documents had been received from interested parties at the last minute and said: “All of these faxes were received today and yesterday. The officials are not at fault here. We are all in the same position.”
“Maybe I’m stupid. I would ask the members in the public gallery to come up here and try to read through the stuff up here and do your business at the same time. It’s an impossibility,” Cllr Cooke responded.
Cllr Wille Nolan assured the chamber that he did not concur with Cllr Cooke: “I don’t think of myself as fodder, and I can understand the proposal. I certainly welcome and endorse this project as I have been told that it will not interfere with salmon angling.”
Cllr Mary Kelly was the only councillor to voice a concern about the lack of an EIS: “I have been told that an EIS could cost anything up to •60,000 and I am concerned that this is the reason that an EIS has not been commissioned. We are talking about an area of special conservation here. One third of the annual salmon catch for the Moy comes from this stretch of water and I wonder if this project will be to the detriment of the river.”
Mr Burke told Cllr Kelly that an independent review of the decision not to do an EIS had been done, and the decision had been sanctioned: “We are not in the business of destroying our river,” he added.
Mr Burke said: “Moving this bridge is a small price to pay as this bridge will open up the river side walk for locals and tourists alike. We have a small window of opportunity for work to commence on this brdge, and I am asking the members of this council to Failte Ireland will be funding this project to the tune of •900,000.”
Colette Browne
© Western People
Campaign for a commuter rail service in Limerick gets on track
A CAMPAIGN for a new commuter rail service between Limerick and outlying villages will be launched tonight in Castleconnell.
Potential backers say it could take up to 300 cars a day off the roads and prove a commercial winner for Irish Rail.
John McNamara, chairman of the Ahane Montpelier Castleconnell Development Group, said: “It takes just around 12 minutes to travel by train from Castleconnell into Colbert Station. I travel into work in the city and it takes me up to 40 minutes to do the same journey by road.”
The current rail schedule, he claimed, was not suitable for many workers or school students as the morning train did not leave Castleconnell until 11.30.
The return train departs Limerick’s Colbert Station at 4.40pm.
Mr McNamara said: “If the morning train was moved to 8am and the evening train put back it would open the service to up to 200 school goers attending city schools and 100 adult workers. They could even arrange a package for students with buses from the station using the one ticket.”
He said a commuter train could also pick up passengers at Lisnagry and Killonan where stations have been closed down.
Mr McNamara said his group has linked up with the Nenagh Rail Partnership to call for an upgrading of the line between Limerick and Nenagh.
Due to the condition of the track, trains are restricted to a 25mph limit over an 11-mile stretch. As a result of the restriction, the Nenagh /Limerick journey can take up to 50 minutes — deterring commuters from switching from the 30- minute road journey.
Campaigners insist upgrading the track would knock 25 minutes off the travel time between Nenagh and Limerick.
Castleconnell is a well- known tourism spot and attracts anglers from all over the country.
Mr McNamara said a good train service would attract many Limerick city visitors to the village which has scenic riverside walks.
He said: “Cyclists could put their bikes on the train and enjoy the countryside on their bikes. There is great potential if a good commuter service was put in place.”
He said a major investment in the Limerick/ Ballybrophy line could open up Castleconnell to a huge tourist market stretching into the Midlands.
Talks are planned with Irish Rail management.
Tonight’s meeting in in Castleconnell community centre commences at 9pm.
Irish Examiner
Potential backers say it could take up to 300 cars a day off the roads and prove a commercial winner for Irish Rail.
John McNamara, chairman of the Ahane Montpelier Castleconnell Development Group, said: “It takes just around 12 minutes to travel by train from Castleconnell into Colbert Station. I travel into work in the city and it takes me up to 40 minutes to do the same journey by road.”
The current rail schedule, he claimed, was not suitable for many workers or school students as the morning train did not leave Castleconnell until 11.30.
The return train departs Limerick’s Colbert Station at 4.40pm.
Mr McNamara said: “If the morning train was moved to 8am and the evening train put back it would open the service to up to 200 school goers attending city schools and 100 adult workers. They could even arrange a package for students with buses from the station using the one ticket.”
He said a commuter train could also pick up passengers at Lisnagry and Killonan where stations have been closed down.
Mr McNamara said his group has linked up with the Nenagh Rail Partnership to call for an upgrading of the line between Limerick and Nenagh.
Due to the condition of the track, trains are restricted to a 25mph limit over an 11-mile stretch. As a result of the restriction, the Nenagh /Limerick journey can take up to 50 minutes — deterring commuters from switching from the 30- minute road journey.
Campaigners insist upgrading the track would knock 25 minutes off the travel time between Nenagh and Limerick.
Castleconnell is a well- known tourism spot and attracts anglers from all over the country.
Mr McNamara said a good train service would attract many Limerick city visitors to the village which has scenic riverside walks.
He said: “Cyclists could put their bikes on the train and enjoy the countryside on their bikes. There is great potential if a good commuter service was put in place.”
He said a major investment in the Limerick/ Ballybrophy line could open up Castleconnell to a huge tourist market stretching into the Midlands.
Talks are planned with Irish Rail management.
Tonight’s meeting in in Castleconnell community centre commences at 9pm.
Irish Examiner
Objections fail to halt sea eagle plan
DESPITE objections from farmers, white-tailed sea eagles are to be introduced into Kerry this year.
Minister of State Batt O’Keeffe confirmed at the weekend that the plan by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) to release 75 eagle chicks in Killarney National Park over the next five years was going ahead.
Since the controversial plan was announced earlier this year by Environment Minister Dick Roche, hundreds of farmers in Kerry and west Cork have vehemently opposed it at a series of IFA meetings, claiming the eagles would prey on lambs.
Another fear among farmers was that further land in the south-west would be designated for conservation purposes, which would mean severe restrictions on windfarms and other development.
However, Mr O’Keeffe said there was no evidence to show that the eagles posed a threat to lambs.
“In the Isle of Mull, in Scotland, less than 2% of deaths in lambs are attributed to attacks from eagles. In Norway, 3,000 breeding pairs of eagles have co-existed with 100,000 sheep for 30 years, with not a single death attributed to eagles,” he stated.
Tourism groups, conservationists, the Killarney National Park Liaison Committee and Killarney Town Council, which allocated €10,000 to the project, were among the biggest supporters of the reintroduction plan.
Killarney-based Jerry O’Grady, chairman of the White-tailed Eagle Support Group, hit out at “scare- mongering” councillors who opposed the plan, saying their claims were inaccurate.
But Kerry IFA chairman John Stack claimed the introduction of the eagle would result in further designation of land which would have negative effects for the farmers involved.
“Designations will de-value your property and make it more difficult for you to do anything on your property,” he stated.
Meanwhile, some prominent farmers in Kerry have threatened to shoot or poison the eagles when they arrive.
Irish Examiner
Minister of State Batt O’Keeffe confirmed at the weekend that the plan by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) to release 75 eagle chicks in Killarney National Park over the next five years was going ahead.
Since the controversial plan was announced earlier this year by Environment Minister Dick Roche, hundreds of farmers in Kerry and west Cork have vehemently opposed it at a series of IFA meetings, claiming the eagles would prey on lambs.
Another fear among farmers was that further land in the south-west would be designated for conservation purposes, which would mean severe restrictions on windfarms and other development.
However, Mr O’Keeffe said there was no evidence to show that the eagles posed a threat to lambs.
“In the Isle of Mull, in Scotland, less than 2% of deaths in lambs are attributed to attacks from eagles. In Norway, 3,000 breeding pairs of eagles have co-existed with 100,000 sheep for 30 years, with not a single death attributed to eagles,” he stated.
Tourism groups, conservationists, the Killarney National Park Liaison Committee and Killarney Town Council, which allocated €10,000 to the project, were among the biggest supporters of the reintroduction plan.
Killarney-based Jerry O’Grady, chairman of the White-tailed Eagle Support Group, hit out at “scare- mongering” councillors who opposed the plan, saying their claims were inaccurate.
But Kerry IFA chairman John Stack claimed the introduction of the eagle would result in further designation of land which would have negative effects for the farmers involved.
“Designations will de-value your property and make it more difficult for you to do anything on your property,” he stated.
Meanwhile, some prominent farmers in Kerry have threatened to shoot or poison the eagles when they arrive.
Irish Examiner
Row looms between An Taisce and Roscommon County Council
COUNCILLORS in Roscommon have accused An Taisce of having an "unhealthy interest" in planning matters in the midlands county. Several councillors have expressed trenchant criticism of the environmental body which they claim is preoccupied with planning issues, particularly in the northern part of the county.
In response, the planning watchdog has described councillors' comments as "opportunistic" and says its position has been misrepresented by the local authority.
Various criticisms were levelled against An Taisce during a council debate on proposals to materially contravene the Boyle Development Plan to allow for the construction of a warehouse development on land zoned for housing. In a written submission, An Taisce advised that "an assessment should be sought on traffic and community impact" before a decision was taken on the proposal. Councillors voted unanimously in favour of rezoning the land.
"Why is An Taisce so interested in everything in Boyle?"
demanded Councillor John Cummins (Fianna Fáil).
"Every single application for the north of the county seems to attract the interest of An Taisce. They seem to want to deter people in North Roscommon from doing anything."
Mayor, Cllr Charlie Hopkins (Fine Gael) said the environmental body appeared to have "an unhealthy interest in North Roscommon." Cllr Ernie Keenan (Fine Gael) stated that instead of his planned development being criticised, the businessman in question should be commended for his efforts to "put something into Boyle."
An Taisce - "The Store House" or "Treasury" in Irish - is the National Trust for Ireland. Established in 1948, it is a prescribed body under the planning acts and the only one which is independent of the state. Local authorities are obliged to consult An Taisce on a vast array of development proposals. It has a professional staff of 17 people and a membership of over 5,000 spread among 20 local associations around the country.
In a statement issued in response to the criticism, the body pointed out that it had been invited to comment on the proposed material contravention in a letter from the planning section of Roscommon County Council delivered by registered post.
It said that last year it commented on 89 planning applications, "a mere 3.5%" of the 2,547 lodged with Roscommon County Council. "Only 12 of these submissions were with regard to planning applications in Boyle in 2006." So far this year An Taisce has commented on eight - "just over 2%" of the 546 planning applications submitted to the county council.
The environmental body accused councillors of "opportunistic remarks that misrepresent not only An Taisce and its members, locally and nationally, but also other concerned citizens. It is about time that local representatives start taking a fact based, transparent and accurate approach when dealing with and debating issues concerning the public and their wellbeing.
"Any observations made by An Taisce in and around Boyle are based primarily on appreciation for the special historic character and attractive quality of the town and its relation to the surrounding landscape. We have consistently sought to promote Boyle as a heritage and cultural tourism destination, including the need for appropriately located hotels and other tourism accommodation and facilities, combined with the maintenance and enhancement of the attractive town centre, the area around the historic Boyle Abbey and the Canal navigation, as well as Lough Key."
"I think An Taisce has been stung into issuing this statement because they're well aware of the validity of our observations, " Charlie Hopkins says. "Nobody around here can figure out what this obsession with Boyle is all about. Any proposal, particularly in relation to commercial development for the town, attracts their attention. And if the planning application is for a hotel they will definitely lodge an objection.
The town is badly in need of a good hotel. The people of Boyle are entitled to it. We had a proposal to demolish two old buildings and build a hotel in the centre of the town. An Taisce objected to what was a perfectly reasonable proposal and An Bord Pleanála upheld the objection. An Taisce is no friend of Boyle town, that's for certain."
Sunday Tribune
In response, the planning watchdog has described councillors' comments as "opportunistic" and says its position has been misrepresented by the local authority.
Various criticisms were levelled against An Taisce during a council debate on proposals to materially contravene the Boyle Development Plan to allow for the construction of a warehouse development on land zoned for housing. In a written submission, An Taisce advised that "an assessment should be sought on traffic and community impact" before a decision was taken on the proposal. Councillors voted unanimously in favour of rezoning the land.
"Why is An Taisce so interested in everything in Boyle?"
demanded Councillor John Cummins (Fianna Fáil).
"Every single application for the north of the county seems to attract the interest of An Taisce. They seem to want to deter people in North Roscommon from doing anything."
Mayor, Cllr Charlie Hopkins (Fine Gael) said the environmental body appeared to have "an unhealthy interest in North Roscommon." Cllr Ernie Keenan (Fine Gael) stated that instead of his planned development being criticised, the businessman in question should be commended for his efforts to "put something into Boyle."
An Taisce - "The Store House" or "Treasury" in Irish - is the National Trust for Ireland. Established in 1948, it is a prescribed body under the planning acts and the only one which is independent of the state. Local authorities are obliged to consult An Taisce on a vast array of development proposals. It has a professional staff of 17 people and a membership of over 5,000 spread among 20 local associations around the country.
In a statement issued in response to the criticism, the body pointed out that it had been invited to comment on the proposed material contravention in a letter from the planning section of Roscommon County Council delivered by registered post.
It said that last year it commented on 89 planning applications, "a mere 3.5%" of the 2,547 lodged with Roscommon County Council. "Only 12 of these submissions were with regard to planning applications in Boyle in 2006." So far this year An Taisce has commented on eight - "just over 2%" of the 546 planning applications submitted to the county council.
The environmental body accused councillors of "opportunistic remarks that misrepresent not only An Taisce and its members, locally and nationally, but also other concerned citizens. It is about time that local representatives start taking a fact based, transparent and accurate approach when dealing with and debating issues concerning the public and their wellbeing.
"Any observations made by An Taisce in and around Boyle are based primarily on appreciation for the special historic character and attractive quality of the town and its relation to the surrounding landscape. We have consistently sought to promote Boyle as a heritage and cultural tourism destination, including the need for appropriately located hotels and other tourism accommodation and facilities, combined with the maintenance and enhancement of the attractive town centre, the area around the historic Boyle Abbey and the Canal navigation, as well as Lough Key."
"I think An Taisce has been stung into issuing this statement because they're well aware of the validity of our observations, " Charlie Hopkins says. "Nobody around here can figure out what this obsession with Boyle is all about. Any proposal, particularly in relation to commercial development for the town, attracts their attention. And if the planning application is for a hotel they will definitely lodge an objection.
The town is badly in need of a good hotel. The people of Boyle are entitled to it. We had a proposal to demolish two old buildings and build a hotel in the centre of the town. An Taisce objected to what was a perfectly reasonable proposal and An Bord Pleanála upheld the objection. An Taisce is no friend of Boyle town, that's for certain."
Sunday Tribune
Statoil in new Mayo gas exploration
STATOIL, one of the partners behind the Corrib gas project, has begun searching for gas in an adjacent area off the Mayo coast which is four times the size of the original Corrib field.
The firm's public affairs manager, Kai Nielsen, confirmed that it would carry out seismic tests in the area this summer and hoped to drill a test well there next year.
He said that, if any gas was found, it was possible that Statoil could use the controversial Corrib gas pipeline being built by Shell to transport it.
Statoil co-owns the exploration rights to the two areas it plans to explore with Shell but, unlike with the Corrib gas project, it is the senior partner and will be solely responsible for the exploration work.
Although the two companies have held one of the areas since 1994, they secured the right to explore another area last year. The two areas have a total area of 1,970 square kilometres, compared to 467 square kilometres for the area that produced the Corrib find.
A test well drilled by Statoil in 2003 in the area secured in 1994 found gas and oil deposits. However, Nielsen said the risks involved in the project were high and that there was no guarantee that Statoil would find anything.
"There's been a lot of activity off the west coast of Ireland but virtually nothing has been found, " he said. "Our view is that we have a fair chance."
Nielsen said if gas was found in commercial quantities, it would be at least five years before Statoil would be in a position to exploit it.
A spokeswoman for Shell declined to comment on the possibility of Statoil using the Corrib gas pipeline to transport any gas finds. She said it was too early to make any predictions or plans.
"Seismic surveys and exploration drilling would need to be carried out first in order to understand the field make-up and to find out whether there are hydrocarbons present, " she said.
Sunday Tribune
The firm's public affairs manager, Kai Nielsen, confirmed that it would carry out seismic tests in the area this summer and hoped to drill a test well there next year.
He said that, if any gas was found, it was possible that Statoil could use the controversial Corrib gas pipeline being built by Shell to transport it.
Statoil co-owns the exploration rights to the two areas it plans to explore with Shell but, unlike with the Corrib gas project, it is the senior partner and will be solely responsible for the exploration work.
Although the two companies have held one of the areas since 1994, they secured the right to explore another area last year. The two areas have a total area of 1,970 square kilometres, compared to 467 square kilometres for the area that produced the Corrib find.
A test well drilled by Statoil in 2003 in the area secured in 1994 found gas and oil deposits. However, Nielsen said the risks involved in the project were high and that there was no guarantee that Statoil would find anything.
"There's been a lot of activity off the west coast of Ireland but virtually nothing has been found, " he said. "Our view is that we have a fair chance."
Nielsen said if gas was found in commercial quantities, it would be at least five years before Statoil would be in a position to exploit it.
A spokeswoman for Shell declined to comment on the possibility of Statoil using the Corrib gas pipeline to transport any gas finds. She said it was too early to make any predictions or plans.
"Seismic surveys and exploration drilling would need to be carried out first in order to understand the field make-up and to find out whether there are hydrocarbons present, " she said.
Sunday Tribune
HGVs and 'hideous driver behaviour' to blame as cycle tourists stay away in droves
THE number of cycling tourists coming to Ireland has dropped by more than 50% in five years as visitors are put off by bad roads and aggressive drivers, the Sunday Tribunehas learned.
Official figures from Fáilte Ireland show that in the year 2000, 130,000 people came to Ireland to cycle around the country. By 2005, this figure had dropped to just 60,000.
This dramatic decrease in what is seen as a niche market for Irish tourism prompted Fáilte Ireland to employ a specialised planning consultancy firm to advise on how to improve cycle facilities around the country. Last week, Buchanan Cycling submitted a report that plans for 2,500 miles of signed cycling routes running from the Donegal coast through Galway, Cork and Dublin.
"Cycle tourism is a really important part of the industry, " said Damien Ó Tuama, principal cycle planning consultant with Buchanan Cycling. "It's a niche market. We can't offer low prices, or sun holidays. But this, we should be able to do."
"We used a MORI survey of cyclists to investigate why there was such a drop off in numbers.
The 1,000 cyclists interviewed said that the high numbers of HGVs on the roads, the lack of dedicated cycling networks and hideous driver behaviour all combined to make Ireland an undesirable location to come on a cycling holiday."
The Buchanan report focuses on using alternatives to main traffic thoroughfares around the country to create cycle-friendly routes.
"One example would be an old Galway railway line that runs all the way from NUIG out to Connemara.
It's a really cool, love ly cycle route, and it means cyclists won't have to negotiate the road out through Spiddal, which is a cyclist's nightmare, " said Ó Tuama.
"We also need to look at the cities. Reducing the speed of cars in the city would be a big step towards making it more cycle friendly. We would recommend a speed of 30kmh. We also need to get the HGVs out of the city centre;
75% of cyclist fatalities in Ireland involve a heavy goods vehicle. And we need to start making some radical decisions, like giving up one lane of tra ffic to make room fo r cyclists."
Some work is being done around Dublin to make the city more bicycle accessible. One major oversight by the city council was not including any cycle lanes when planning the rejuvenation of O 'Connell St.
But now, just as all the work on the street has finished, it appears the council has decided to rectify that problem. A report submitted to the council last month proposes to extend cycle facilities over the full length of O'Connell St, on both sides of the road. The report also recommends new cycle lanes on Parnell St and Gardiner St.
Sunday Tribune
Official figures from Fáilte Ireland show that in the year 2000, 130,000 people came to Ireland to cycle around the country. By 2005, this figure had dropped to just 60,000.
This dramatic decrease in what is seen as a niche market for Irish tourism prompted Fáilte Ireland to employ a specialised planning consultancy firm to advise on how to improve cycle facilities around the country. Last week, Buchanan Cycling submitted a report that plans for 2,500 miles of signed cycling routes running from the Donegal coast through Galway, Cork and Dublin.
"Cycle tourism is a really important part of the industry, " said Damien Ó Tuama, principal cycle planning consultant with Buchanan Cycling. "It's a niche market. We can't offer low prices, or sun holidays. But this, we should be able to do."
"We used a MORI survey of cyclists to investigate why there was such a drop off in numbers.
The 1,000 cyclists interviewed said that the high numbers of HGVs on the roads, the lack of dedicated cycling networks and hideous driver behaviour all combined to make Ireland an undesirable location to come on a cycling holiday."
The Buchanan report focuses on using alternatives to main traffic thoroughfares around the country to create cycle-friendly routes.
"One example would be an old Galway railway line that runs all the way from NUIG out to Connemara.
It's a really cool, love ly cycle route, and it means cyclists won't have to negotiate the road out through Spiddal, which is a cyclist's nightmare, " said Ó Tuama.
"We also need to look at the cities. Reducing the speed of cars in the city would be a big step towards making it more cycle friendly. We would recommend a speed of 30kmh. We also need to get the HGVs out of the city centre;
75% of cyclist fatalities in Ireland involve a heavy goods vehicle. And we need to start making some radical decisions, like giving up one lane of tra ffic to make room fo r cyclists."
Some work is being done around Dublin to make the city more bicycle accessible. One major oversight by the city council was not including any cycle lanes when planning the rejuvenation of O 'Connell St.
But now, just as all the work on the street has finished, it appears the council has decided to rectify that problem. A report submitted to the council last month proposes to extend cycle facilities over the full length of O'Connell St, on both sides of the road. The report also recommends new cycle lanes on Parnell St and Gardiner St.
Sunday Tribune
Public hearing on airport plans
A PUBLIC hearing into plans to open a second terminal at Dublin Airport begins today.
The hearing, expected to last ten days, will decide if permission should be granted for the €395m terminal which will be used by up to 15m passengers a year when it opens in 2009.
But even if planning permission is granted, the project could still be delayed. Low-cost airline Ryanair said last week it would seek a judicial review if An Bord Pleanala gave the terminal the go-ahead.
If that does not succeed, the airline said it would go to the European Court in a bid to halt the construction of the terminal on the grounds of "abuse of monopoly power".
Irish Independent
The hearing, expected to last ten days, will decide if permission should be granted for the €395m terminal which will be used by up to 15m passengers a year when it opens in 2009.
But even if planning permission is granted, the project could still be delayed. Low-cost airline Ryanair said last week it would seek a judicial review if An Bord Pleanala gave the terminal the go-ahead.
If that does not succeed, the airline said it would go to the European Court in a bid to halt the construction of the terminal on the grounds of "abuse of monopoly power".
Irish Independent
Green cabs to give citizens a free ride . . . and cost taxi drivers a cent or two
THEY say there's no such thing as a free ride, but that will no longer be the case in Dublin city centre.
Weary pedestrians will be whisked around the centre in pedal-powered 'Ecocabs' free of charge.
The only emission will be the sweat on the cyclists' brows.
The passenger tricycles were launched yesterday by Environment Minister Dick Roche, Lord Mayor of Dublin Cllr Vincent Jackson and model Katy French, above.
They will be the country's first non-polluting form of public transport.
Traditional taxis face healthy competition from the free public shuttle service - between 10am and 8pm, seven days a week.
Ecocabs Ireland will cover costs entirely through corporate sponsorship. Companies can display their logos on the cabs' shell.
There will be an initial fleet of five, increasing to seven during the summer. Further expansion is planned if the necessary sponsorship materialises.
The cabs cannot be hailed from the street but at designated Ecocab ranks - at The Spire on O'Connell Street, the top and bottom of Grafton Street, outside the Central Bank on College Green, and the Dublin Tourism Office on Suffolk Street.
Dublin is the 50th city in the world to introduce Ecocabs, which were created in Berlin.
Breda Heffernan
Sunday Independent
Weary pedestrians will be whisked around the centre in pedal-powered 'Ecocabs' free of charge.
The only emission will be the sweat on the cyclists' brows.
The passenger tricycles were launched yesterday by Environment Minister Dick Roche, Lord Mayor of Dublin Cllr Vincent Jackson and model Katy French, above.
They will be the country's first non-polluting form of public transport.
Traditional taxis face healthy competition from the free public shuttle service - between 10am and 8pm, seven days a week.
Ecocabs Ireland will cover costs entirely through corporate sponsorship. Companies can display their logos on the cabs' shell.
There will be an initial fleet of five, increasing to seven during the summer. Further expansion is planned if the necessary sponsorship materialises.
The cabs cannot be hailed from the street but at designated Ecocab ranks - at The Spire on O'Connell Street, the top and bottom of Grafton Street, outside the Central Bank on College Green, and the Dublin Tourism Office on Suffolk Street.
Dublin is the 50th city in the world to introduce Ecocabs, which were created in Berlin.
Breda Heffernan
Sunday Independent
Friday, 13 April 2007
Work starts on biofuel plant to cut emissions
WORK began on the nation's first commercial biofuel depot yesterday . . . but motorists were warned not to expect any dip in the soaring prices at the fuel pump.
The warning came from Marine and Natural Resources Minister Noel Dempsey at the first day of construction at the biodiesel production plant in New Ross, Co Wexford, yesterday.
The €21m state-of-the-art plant will convert animal fats and recycled vegetable oils into bio road fuel which will be supplied to the Irish and EU markets.
The production facility is being established by Green Biofuels Ireland Ltd. It intends to capitalise on the growing demand for biofuel in Ireland and the EU by producing 34 million litres of biodiesel annually.
Construction of the facility began yesterday, with completion due in the middle of next year.
However, speaking after the launch, Mr Dempsey said the introduction of biofuels to consumers "won't make any difference price wise at the forecourt fuel pumps".
"We are spending money and investing in this in an effort to reduce emissions, reduce carbon dioxide and to follow Kyoto agreements," he said.
"For biofuels to be viable there is going to be an investment of more than €200m into the sector up to 2010."
Targets
Mr Dempsey said the Government had already committed itself to the introduction of a biofuels obligation in 2009, which will deliver targets of 5.75pc by 2010 and up to 10pc in 2020.
EU production of biodiesel is expected to reach 6.8bn litres by next year.
The market for biodiesel is growing rapidly, with demand exceeding supply.
Demand is driven by EU legislation and by a consumer desire to use cleaner, low-emission products.
Shareholders in the project will supply the majority of raw materials required, including recycled vegetable oil (RVO), animal fats and rapeseed oil. The Wexford Farmers Co-op will supply rapeseed oil through its 4,000 farmer shareholder base and contracts have already been put in place with farmers to sow rapeseed for exclusive supply to the new facility.
PJ D'arcy, chairman of Green Biofuels Ireland Ltd, said biodiesel was a clean-burning alternative to mineral diesel fuel which has established itself as the number one renewal fuel for use in diesel-burning road vehicles.
"All biodiesel being produced will meet EU quality standards for incorporation into road fuels and the product will be marketed as a 5pc blend through the existing fuel supply chain using the leading oil distributors.
Up to 40 new jobs will be created at the facility and in the supply services.
Sarah Murphy
Irish Independent
The warning came from Marine and Natural Resources Minister Noel Dempsey at the first day of construction at the biodiesel production plant in New Ross, Co Wexford, yesterday.
The €21m state-of-the-art plant will convert animal fats and recycled vegetable oils into bio road fuel which will be supplied to the Irish and EU markets.
The production facility is being established by Green Biofuels Ireland Ltd. It intends to capitalise on the growing demand for biofuel in Ireland and the EU by producing 34 million litres of biodiesel annually.
Construction of the facility began yesterday, with completion due in the middle of next year.
However, speaking after the launch, Mr Dempsey said the introduction of biofuels to consumers "won't make any difference price wise at the forecourt fuel pumps".
"We are spending money and investing in this in an effort to reduce emissions, reduce carbon dioxide and to follow Kyoto agreements," he said.
"For biofuels to be viable there is going to be an investment of more than €200m into the sector up to 2010."
Targets
Mr Dempsey said the Government had already committed itself to the introduction of a biofuels obligation in 2009, which will deliver targets of 5.75pc by 2010 and up to 10pc in 2020.
EU production of biodiesel is expected to reach 6.8bn litres by next year.
The market for biodiesel is growing rapidly, with demand exceeding supply.
Demand is driven by EU legislation and by a consumer desire to use cleaner, low-emission products.
Shareholders in the project will supply the majority of raw materials required, including recycled vegetable oil (RVO), animal fats and rapeseed oil. The Wexford Farmers Co-op will supply rapeseed oil through its 4,000 farmer shareholder base and contracts have already been put in place with farmers to sow rapeseed for exclusive supply to the new facility.
PJ D'arcy, chairman of Green Biofuels Ireland Ltd, said biodiesel was a clean-burning alternative to mineral diesel fuel which has established itself as the number one renewal fuel for use in diesel-burning road vehicles.
"All biodiesel being produced will meet EU quality standards for incorporation into road fuels and the product will be marketed as a 5pc blend through the existing fuel supply chain using the leading oil distributors.
Up to 40 new jobs will be created at the facility and in the supply services.
Sarah Murphy
Irish Independent
Code on illegal dumps launched
A CODE of practice on how illegal dumps should be made safe has been launched by the Environmental Protection Agency.
The Environmental Risk Assessment for Unregulated Waste Disposal Sites will show local authorities how to identify illegal dumping sites, help assess potential risks and recommend measures to clean them up.
Environment Minister Dick Roche, who launched the code of practice yesterday, said that funding would be made available under the National Development Plan to help councils remediate former landfill sites.
"The ball is now in the court of local authorities in progressing the risk assessment of relevant sites and determining any remediation measures that might be necessary," he said.
Dara Lynott, Director of the EPA's Office of Environmental Enforcement, said that an inventory of dangerous sites could be compiled and risks to the environment assessed.
Paul Melia
Irish Independent
The Environmental Risk Assessment for Unregulated Waste Disposal Sites will show local authorities how to identify illegal dumping sites, help assess potential risks and recommend measures to clean them up.
Environment Minister Dick Roche, who launched the code of practice yesterday, said that funding would be made available under the National Development Plan to help councils remediate former landfill sites.
"The ball is now in the court of local authorities in progressing the risk assessment of relevant sites and determining any remediation measures that might be necessary," he said.
Dara Lynott, Director of the EPA's Office of Environmental Enforcement, said that an inventory of dangerous sites could be compiled and risks to the environment assessed.
Paul Melia
Irish Independent
Ryanair 'won't use' terminal if it's built
The oral hearing starts Monday, so here's the early exchanges:
RYANAIR has repeated its threat to go to court in an attempt to block plans for a new 15 million passenger terminal at Dublin airport, writes Fergus Black. As a public hearing into the project prepares to get under way on Monday, the budget airline said it would seek a judicial review if An Bord Pleanala gave the terminal the go ahead.
If that does not succeed, the airline said it would go to the European Court in a bid to halt the construction of the terminal on the grounds of "abuse of monopoly power".
Should that attempt fail, Ryanair says it will not use the second terminal when it opens for business in 2009.
Yesterday, Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary took journalists on a "reconnaissance flight" to Germany to demonstrate how terminals at Frankfurt Hahn and Bremen airports could be built up to 10 times cheaper.
Earlier this month, the airline opened its 19th European base in Bremen, claiming it had bought a maintenance hangar and developed it as a second terminal for €10.4m
Mr O'Leary said Frankfurt Hahn's proposed second terminal would be built for €60m with a capacity for 15 million passengers - 12 times less than the €750m Ryanair claims the DAA intends spending on the second terminal.
But the DAA said comparisons between Dublin and minor airports such as Hahn, were "meaningless". The authority said the terminal would cost €395m.
RYANAIR has repeated its threat to go to court in an attempt to block plans for a new 15 million passenger terminal at Dublin airport, writes Fergus Black. As a public hearing into the project prepares to get under way on Monday, the budget airline said it would seek a judicial review if An Bord Pleanala gave the terminal the go ahead.
If that does not succeed, the airline said it would go to the European Court in a bid to halt the construction of the terminal on the grounds of "abuse of monopoly power".
Should that attempt fail, Ryanair says it will not use the second terminal when it opens for business in 2009.
Yesterday, Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary took journalists on a "reconnaissance flight" to Germany to demonstrate how terminals at Frankfurt Hahn and Bremen airports could be built up to 10 times cheaper.
Earlier this month, the airline opened its 19th European base in Bremen, claiming it had bought a maintenance hangar and developed it as a second terminal for €10.4m
Mr O'Leary said Frankfurt Hahn's proposed second terminal would be built for €60m with a capacity for 15 million passengers - 12 times less than the €750m Ryanair claims the DAA intends spending on the second terminal.
But the DAA said comparisons between Dublin and minor airports such as Hahn, were "meaningless". The authority said the terminal would cost €395m.
Campaign to stop Lee Valley highway project
A MAJOR battle is looming over plans to build a crucial section of Cork’s proposed northern ring road across the Lee Valley.
A new group has been set up to fight any attempts to build the highway’s key western section — to link it to the city’s southern ring road — across the valley at Carrigrohane on the outskirts of the city.
The Protect the Lee Valley campaigners said it will become an issue for election candidates.
The long-awaited northern ring road will be the most expensive road ever built in the county.
The €500 million highway will be built in two phases: a northern section to bypass the city linking to the Glanmire/Watergrasshill road, and the controversial western section linking it to the Ballincollig bypass.
Engineers selected the route of the northern phase last July. It will run from the N20 Mallow Road, northwest of Killeens Cross before crossing the railway line at Monard.
It will then follow a relatively straight line in a north-easterly direction through the townlands of Kileendaniel, Ballincrokig and Ballynoe.
Using a viaduct structure, it will cross through the Upper Glanmire Valley before skirting to the north and west of Sarsfield Court to connect to the Glanmire/Watergrasshill road scheme at Killydonoghue.
But they are still assessing at least two proposed routes for the western section.
Both of these routes — the red and green routes — would cut across the Lee Valley at Carrigrohane.
One would involve the construction of a bridge and the other would involve the construction of a massive tunnel.
But members of the Protect the Lee Valley campaign said they will mount a fierce battle against both routes, which they say would destroy one of the country’s most beautiful river valleys.
Spokesman Patrick Hayes said they have launched an online petition at www.protecttheleevalley.com to gather signatures.
He also criticised the National Roads Authority (NRA) for what he said was poor public consultation on the issue.
“Very few people knew about these plans until it was almost too late,” he said. “This is not a ‘not in my backyard’ campaign. We are against anything that would destroy the wonderful amenity that is the Lee Valley and the Lee Fields.
“There are other options available. But it’s up to the engineers in the NRA to come up with something suitable.”
Funding for the entire project is unlikely before 2010 because the NRA has already decided on its national programme up to that date.
Irish Examiner
A new group has been set up to fight any attempts to build the highway’s key western section — to link it to the city’s southern ring road — across the valley at Carrigrohane on the outskirts of the city.
The Protect the Lee Valley campaigners said it will become an issue for election candidates.
The long-awaited northern ring road will be the most expensive road ever built in the county.
The €500 million highway will be built in two phases: a northern section to bypass the city linking to the Glanmire/Watergrasshill road, and the controversial western section linking it to the Ballincollig bypass.
Engineers selected the route of the northern phase last July. It will run from the N20 Mallow Road, northwest of Killeens Cross before crossing the railway line at Monard.
It will then follow a relatively straight line in a north-easterly direction through the townlands of Kileendaniel, Ballincrokig and Ballynoe.
Using a viaduct structure, it will cross through the Upper Glanmire Valley before skirting to the north and west of Sarsfield Court to connect to the Glanmire/Watergrasshill road scheme at Killydonoghue.
But they are still assessing at least two proposed routes for the western section.
Both of these routes — the red and green routes — would cut across the Lee Valley at Carrigrohane.
One would involve the construction of a bridge and the other would involve the construction of a massive tunnel.
But members of the Protect the Lee Valley campaign said they will mount a fierce battle against both routes, which they say would destroy one of the country’s most beautiful river valleys.
Spokesman Patrick Hayes said they have launched an online petition at www.protecttheleevalley.com to gather signatures.
He also criticised the National Roads Authority (NRA) for what he said was poor public consultation on the issue.
“Very few people knew about these plans until it was almost too late,” he said. “This is not a ‘not in my backyard’ campaign. We are against anything that would destroy the wonderful amenity that is the Lee Valley and the Lee Fields.
“There are other options available. But it’s up to the engineers in the NRA to come up with something suitable.”
Funding for the entire project is unlikely before 2010 because the NRA has already decided on its national programme up to that date.
Irish Examiner
Traffic trauma in store for M50 motorists
I usually avoid M50 stories, but this one is going to sneak through:
TENS of thousands of commuters are to face further misery as one of the country’s most notorious traffic black spots is to be dug up.
Motorists will have to negotiate new diversions around the much detested Red Cow interchange on Dublin’s M50 as major works start today.
Confusion is expected to exacerbate congestion as part of the junction — dubbed the ‘Mad Cow’ because of its impact on commuters — is removed.
Transport chiefs have appealed to drivers already coping with lengthy tail-backs at morning and evening rush hours to slow down during the overhaul.
Traffic leaving the interchange onto the N7 away from the city will be diverted onto a temporary road through the LUAS car park from today.
The existing access to the LUAS station will be changed to allow motoristsheading west on the N7 onto Monastery Lane.
The second stage of the two-pronged upgrade is expected to cause further complications from April 30.
The junction between Monastery Road and the N7 will shut and Monastery Lane opened to two-way traffic.
Drivers coming from the city wanting to turn northbound onto the M50 or travelling north looking to go right towards the city will have to make a U-turn at the new signals on Monastery Lane.
Other changes include:
Traffic lights on the northwest of the roundabout will be removed.
Pedestrians will be re-routed to cross the N7 at the LUAS station entrance.
Bus stop at IBIS will be relocated to Monastery Lane.
The free flow of traffic between the N4 and M50 southbound will stop later this month as traffic lights are installed.
The works on the motorway between the N4 and N7 to create an extra lane on each carriageway are expected to be completed by next month.
But upgrades will then begin on the outer verges of either side of the busy section of the M50.
It will be 2010 before the present works on the 32km stretch of motorway between the M1 and Sandyford will be fully completed with three lanes in each direction.
Irish Examiner
TENS of thousands of commuters are to face further misery as one of the country’s most notorious traffic black spots is to be dug up.
Motorists will have to negotiate new diversions around the much detested Red Cow interchange on Dublin’s M50 as major works start today.
Confusion is expected to exacerbate congestion as part of the junction — dubbed the ‘Mad Cow’ because of its impact on commuters — is removed.
Transport chiefs have appealed to drivers already coping with lengthy tail-backs at morning and evening rush hours to slow down during the overhaul.
Traffic leaving the interchange onto the N7 away from the city will be diverted onto a temporary road through the LUAS car park from today.
The existing access to the LUAS station will be changed to allow motoristsheading west on the N7 onto Monastery Lane.
The second stage of the two-pronged upgrade is expected to cause further complications from April 30.
The junction between Monastery Road and the N7 will shut and Monastery Lane opened to two-way traffic.
Drivers coming from the city wanting to turn northbound onto the M50 or travelling north looking to go right towards the city will have to make a U-turn at the new signals on Monastery Lane.
Other changes include:
Traffic lights on the northwest of the roundabout will be removed.
Pedestrians will be re-routed to cross the N7 at the LUAS station entrance.
Bus stop at IBIS will be relocated to Monastery Lane.
The free flow of traffic between the N4 and M50 southbound will stop later this month as traffic lights are installed.
The works on the motorway between the N4 and N7 to create an extra lane on each carriageway are expected to be completed by next month.
But upgrades will then begin on the outer verges of either side of the busy section of the M50.
It will be 2010 before the present works on the 32km stretch of motorway between the M1 and Sandyford will be fully completed with three lanes in each direction.
Irish Examiner
Thursday, 12 April 2007
Developer will reapply to build €2bn Bray complex
THE developers who want to build a €2bn residential and shopping centre in Bray, Co Wicklow, have said they intend to reapply for planning permission in the next year.
Pizarro Developments said that An Bord Pleanala's refusal of permission did not mean the plan would not go ahead. On Tuesday, the board refused permission for the ambitious development - which would "rival Dundrum shopping centre" in scale - until the road network was upgraded and flood protection works put in place. The company was granted planning permission last year by Bray Town Council and Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council to build the complex. Bray has a flooding problem and the developers agreed to pay for the flood protection "within reasonable limits". But a scheme is still at the design stage. A Pizarro spokesman said a fresh application would be lodged when the plans for the roads and flood protection were finalised.
PAUL MELIA
Irish Independent
Pizarro Developments said that An Bord Pleanala's refusal of permission did not mean the plan would not go ahead. On Tuesday, the board refused permission for the ambitious development - which would "rival Dundrum shopping centre" in scale - until the road network was upgraded and flood protection works put in place. The company was granted planning permission last year by Bray Town Council and Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council to build the complex. Bray has a flooding problem and the developers agreed to pay for the flood protection "within reasonable limits". But a scheme is still at the design stage. A Pizarro spokesman said a fresh application would be lodged when the plans for the roads and flood protection were finalised.
PAUL MELIA
Irish Independent
Rezoning prompts fears for character of idyllic tourist village
A GOLD rush type sale of house sites in Adare has forced Limerick County Council to order an environmental study amid fears that overdevelopment could damage one of the country’s idyllic tourism villages.
A half-acre site was sold in the last year for €1.3 million. Local landowners, including the village GAA club, are sitting on tens of millions in potential assets following a move by Limerick County Council to rezone land near the village for housing.
However, planners in Limerick County Council have ordered a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), fearing overdevelopment could damage the character of the village and put undue pressure on water, sewerage and other services. The study will take up to nine months.
Local auctioneer John Giltinane said: “A one-acre site zoned for housing within ten minutes’ walk of the village could make up to €1m. Housing land in Adare is worth twice that in other villages in the general area.”
The local GAA club has applied to Limerick County Council to have its five-acre ground rezoned from recreation to development.
Many club members want to sell up and move to a bigger site further from the village due to the inadequate facilities at the club grounds at Black Abbey road.
Tom Healy, who heads the club’s assets subcommittee, said they have a space crisis and need more room for their hurling, football and camogie teams.
Any decision on selling would rest with the 250 members of the club.
Mr Healy said: “To sell and move would not be sacrilege, but it would allow us plan for the future. We will have to buy land anyway to provide more training facilities. I think it would be preferable to have all our facilities on one new site, rather than holding on to the present playing pitch and buying a second elsewhere to help with training.”
Tom Enright, director of housing with Limerick County Council, said they are obliged to initiate an SEA, given the scale of the rezoning sought by the council’s elected member.
Mr Enright said: “The village at present has a population of around 1,300. We need to retain the character of the village and to achieve that we feel the population should not increase above 2,500 to 3,000. Any expansion should retain the character of the village as it is a very traditionally designed village and one of the most attractive in the country and a major tourism attraction.”
The council owns 20 acres of undeveloped housing land in the village and feels rezoning should not go beyond 75 acres.
The Irish Examiner
A half-acre site was sold in the last year for €1.3 million. Local landowners, including the village GAA club, are sitting on tens of millions in potential assets following a move by Limerick County Council to rezone land near the village for housing.
However, planners in Limerick County Council have ordered a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), fearing overdevelopment could damage the character of the village and put undue pressure on water, sewerage and other services. The study will take up to nine months.
Local auctioneer John Giltinane said: “A one-acre site zoned for housing within ten minutes’ walk of the village could make up to €1m. Housing land in Adare is worth twice that in other villages in the general area.”
The local GAA club has applied to Limerick County Council to have its five-acre ground rezoned from recreation to development.
Many club members want to sell up and move to a bigger site further from the village due to the inadequate facilities at the club grounds at Black Abbey road.
Tom Healy, who heads the club’s assets subcommittee, said they have a space crisis and need more room for their hurling, football and camogie teams.
Any decision on selling would rest with the 250 members of the club.
Mr Healy said: “To sell and move would not be sacrilege, but it would allow us plan for the future. We will have to buy land anyway to provide more training facilities. I think it would be preferable to have all our facilities on one new site, rather than holding on to the present playing pitch and buying a second elsewhere to help with training.”
Tom Enright, director of housing with Limerick County Council, said they are obliged to initiate an SEA, given the scale of the rezoning sought by the council’s elected member.
Mr Enright said: “The village at present has a population of around 1,300. We need to retain the character of the village and to achieve that we feel the population should not increase above 2,500 to 3,000. Any expansion should retain the character of the village as it is a very traditionally designed village and one of the most attractive in the country and a major tourism attraction.”
The council owns 20 acres of undeveloped housing land in the village and feels rezoning should not go beyond 75 acres.
The Irish Examiner
Council may have to pay for ‘abandoned’ estates
CORK CITY could be facing a massive bill for finishing dozens of housing estates which have been abandoned by developers.
The news emerged yesterday after city councillors were told that a bond lodged by a developer almost a decade ago on an estate which has still not been finished, will not cover the cost of the outstanding work.
The council is planning to do the work on the Chapel Gate and Kempton estates in Ballyvolane before it takes it in charge.
But the work will cost the city at least €15,000.
City manager Joe Gavin confirmed that legal proceedings are under way to lodge a formal claim on a €38,092 surety bond lodged by the developers O’Mahoney Developments Ltd. The index-linked bond expires at the end of May.
But despite protracted negotiations between council officials and the developers, the work needed to finish the estate to a standard which would allow the council take it over, has not been done.
The cost of the outstanding works has been estimated at €53,000, Mr Gavin said.
The news emerged yesterday after city councillors were told that a bond lodged by a developer almost a decade ago on an estate which has still not been finished, will not cover the cost of the outstanding work.
The council is planning to do the work on the Chapel Gate and Kempton estates in Ballyvolane before it takes it in charge.
But the work will cost the city at least €15,000.
City manager Joe Gavin confirmed that legal proceedings are under way to lodge a formal claim on a €38,092 surety bond lodged by the developers O’Mahoney Developments Ltd. The index-linked bond expires at the end of May.
But despite protracted negotiations between council officials and the developers, the work needed to finish the estate to a standard which would allow the council take it over, has not been done.
The cost of the outstanding works has been estimated at €53,000, Mr Gavin said.
Residents lodge appeal with Bord Pleanála over caravan park development
PEOPLE living in one of Kerry’s most popular seaside areas have lodged an appeal with An Bord Pleanála against a major caravan park.
Residents of Banna, near Tralee, say they already have enough caravans and mobile homes in the area and claim the local infrastructure is not capable of servicing any further developments.
They are up in arms against a decision of Kerry County Council to give planning permission for 161 caravans at Banna Mountain to Killorglin-based developer Liam West.
The planning also allows for the development of a waste water treatment plant, constructed wetland as well as a shop and launderette on the 37-acre site.
Banna/Carrahan Residents’ Action Group claim the area’s fragile environment will be disturbed.
They also say large mobile homes and caravans vastly outnumber permanent houses in the area.
However, Mr West said he had carried out a full environmental impact study and that the caravan park would be constructed to the highest modern standards.
Meanwhile, a high rise development, which had been given the green light by Tralee Town Council, for the Ballymullen area of Tralee, has been turned down by An Bord Pleanála.
Local residents had objected to the four-storey development, claiming it would tower over their homes.
A Dublin construction company had been given permission for four office blocks and a 33-unit apartment complex on the site.
But, An Bord Pleanála agreed with residents’ claims that the development would increase traffic and could give rise to flooding.
Residents of Banna, near Tralee, say they already have enough caravans and mobile homes in the area and claim the local infrastructure is not capable of servicing any further developments.
They are up in arms against a decision of Kerry County Council to give planning permission for 161 caravans at Banna Mountain to Killorglin-based developer Liam West.
The planning also allows for the development of a waste water treatment plant, constructed wetland as well as a shop and launderette on the 37-acre site.
Banna/Carrahan Residents’ Action Group claim the area’s fragile environment will be disturbed.
They also say large mobile homes and caravans vastly outnumber permanent houses in the area.
However, Mr West said he had carried out a full environmental impact study and that the caravan park would be constructed to the highest modern standards.
Meanwhile, a high rise development, which had been given the green light by Tralee Town Council, for the Ballymullen area of Tralee, has been turned down by An Bord Pleanála.
Local residents had objected to the four-storey development, claiming it would tower over their homes.
A Dublin construction company had been given permission for four office blocks and a 33-unit apartment complex on the site.
But, An Bord Pleanála agreed with residents’ claims that the development would increase traffic and could give rise to flooding.
Wednesday, 11 April 2007
Board says no to €2bn complex
A CONTROVERSIAL multi-million euro residential and retail complex planned for Co. Wicklow has been refused planning permission by An Bord Pleanala.
Pizarro Developments - a consortium led by Paddy Kelly and including Durkan New Homes, Newlyn Group, Alanis Ltd and Pierse Construction - was last year granted planning permission by Bray Town Council and Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Councill to build the €2bn complex.
As it would have been located on a natural flood plain, the decision to grant permission was appealed to the planning board last May by local residents who have been campaigning to keep the flood plain free from high-density development. Relevant parties were due to be officially notified by post this morning.
Colm Kelpie
irish Independent
Pizarro Developments - a consortium led by Paddy Kelly and including Durkan New Homes, Newlyn Group, Alanis Ltd and Pierse Construction - was last year granted planning permission by Bray Town Council and Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Councill to build the €2bn complex.
As it would have been located on a natural flood plain, the decision to grant permission was appealed to the planning board last May by local residents who have been campaigning to keep the flood plain free from high-density development. Relevant parties were due to be officially notified by post this morning.
Colm Kelpie
irish Independent
Crack team hit streets to help tackle city's social problems
IN an innovative pilot scheme, specially appointed community co-ordinators are to liaise with people in designated neighbourhoods to tackle a range of social problems.
The eight community co-ordinators will soon begin work in Limerick city and will link up with the local authorities, gardai and the HSE to help local people on both sides of the city deal with a variety of problems in their districts.
The Limerick City Community Safety Partnership is based on a very successful UK 'ranger' scheme to help make neighbourhoods safer and better places to live.
The pilot scheme, which will run for two years, will cost in the region of €1m. The co-ordinators are each on a salary starting at €32,000.
Chief Superintendent at Henry Street Garda Station, Willie Keane said the co-ordinators had no enforcement powers.
"I have great hope and expectation from this scheme and it is a first for everyone involved. The co-ordinators will come back to the different service organisations and address whatever issues they come across," he said.
He also urged local people in the communities where the co-ordinators will be working to get to know the new faces.
"The co-ordinators are not another layer of bureaucracy and I hope that it will help cut through some of the bureaucracy that already exists," said Superintendent Keane.
Mayor of Limerick, Joe Leddin said the co-ordinators will engage with the youth, listen to their points of view and encourage them to take part in community activities.
"They are also there to help vulnerable people like the elderly by providing links for them with other services. The co-ordinators are highly qualified, full of energy and enthusiasm," said Mayor Leddin.
Limerick City Council received over 260 applications for the eight positions. The designated areas where they will work are Janesboro, Rosbrien, Kennedy Park, Thomondgate, Watergate Flats and St John's Square.
The co-ordinators will carry two-way radios that will be linked up to City Hall and wear casual distinctive blue uniforms. The majority of them are from Limerick.
All have third level education.
Team leader Ann Marie Hogan worked as a human resources manager before taking up her new post.
"I took this job because I wanted to move from a purely money making environment to work where I could make a difference to the quality of life of these communities," she said.
Should the pilot scheme prove successful, it is believed similar schemes will be introduced in other areas of the country.
Barry Duggan
Irish Independent
The eight community co-ordinators will soon begin work in Limerick city and will link up with the local authorities, gardai and the HSE to help local people on both sides of the city deal with a variety of problems in their districts.
The Limerick City Community Safety Partnership is based on a very successful UK 'ranger' scheme to help make neighbourhoods safer and better places to live.
The pilot scheme, which will run for two years, will cost in the region of €1m. The co-ordinators are each on a salary starting at €32,000.
Chief Superintendent at Henry Street Garda Station, Willie Keane said the co-ordinators had no enforcement powers.
"I have great hope and expectation from this scheme and it is a first for everyone involved. The co-ordinators will come back to the different service organisations and address whatever issues they come across," he said.
He also urged local people in the communities where the co-ordinators will be working to get to know the new faces.
"The co-ordinators are not another layer of bureaucracy and I hope that it will help cut through some of the bureaucracy that already exists," said Superintendent Keane.
Mayor of Limerick, Joe Leddin said the co-ordinators will engage with the youth, listen to their points of view and encourage them to take part in community activities.
"They are also there to help vulnerable people like the elderly by providing links for them with other services. The co-ordinators are highly qualified, full of energy and enthusiasm," said Mayor Leddin.
Limerick City Council received over 260 applications for the eight positions. The designated areas where they will work are Janesboro, Rosbrien, Kennedy Park, Thomondgate, Watergate Flats and St John's Square.
The co-ordinators will carry two-way radios that will be linked up to City Hall and wear casual distinctive blue uniforms. The majority of them are from Limerick.
All have third level education.
Team leader Ann Marie Hogan worked as a human resources manager before taking up her new post.
"I took this job because I wanted to move from a purely money making environment to work where I could make a difference to the quality of life of these communities," she said.
Should the pilot scheme prove successful, it is believed similar schemes will be introduced in other areas of the country.
Barry Duggan
Irish Independent
Tuesday, 10 April 2007
Council scathing in criticism of quay development plan
CORK’S city councillors want to meet the board of CIÉ to thrash out issues surrounding the crucial, but stalled, development of a key city docklands site.
The call was made after major deficiencies, including serious design issues, were revealed as the reasons behind planners’ refusal of a multi-million apartment scheme on the company’s Horgan’s Quay site two months ago.
City officials have laid bare, for the first time, 13 main reasons behind planners’ decision to reject the Manor Park Homes’s project on a portion of the CIÉ-owned Horgan’s Quay site — a crucial area in the city’s multi-billion docklands regeneration plans.
It was hoped the long-awaited planning application by CIÉ’s development partners would include a masterplan for the entire quay site allowing for the development of a conference centre, in line with the city’s docklands strategy, and the revamp of Kent Railway Station.
But the application was confined to the eastern side of Horgan’s Quay and included 276 residential units, eight retail units, two commercial units, three showroom units, a crèche, and a temporary access road to the proposed new concourse of Kent Railway station.
In a scathing critique of the proposal, planners said it did not address the council’s overall goal of redeveloping the Horgan’s Quay site.
They highlighted serious urban design issues and a lack of a comprehensive approach by the applicants and landowners. Some of the main reasons for the refusal included:
Failure to provide for the design for a new Kent Station and square.
Failure to adequately provide for a new national road and appropriate network of streets.
Failure to provide a high quality public realm and any public open space.
Failure to provide a quayside amenity area in any form on Horgan’s Quay.
Failure to properly conserve a goods depot, listed as a protected structure.
Failure to provide pedestrian links to the city centre.
Failure to provide proper transport and traffic management scenarios.
Unacceptably tall buildings which are contrary to the city development plan.
Unacceptable impact on views towards Montenotte and Tivoli and others areas of special character.
The application also failed to show how social or affordable houses would be provided on site.
City manager Joe Gavin, who is set to bring new proposals before the council tonight designed to secure a conference centre for the city, said the application as lodged could not be given the green light.
Manor Park Homes has appealed the council’s decision to An Bord Pleanála. A number of residents have also lodged appeals. A decision is due in July.
Despite the company’s appeal, Mr Gavin said he is unsure how the proposed sale of Manor Park Homes will affect the company’s development plans Horgan’s Quay.
The call was made after major deficiencies, including serious design issues, were revealed as the reasons behind planners’ refusal of a multi-million apartment scheme on the company’s Horgan’s Quay site two months ago.
City officials have laid bare, for the first time, 13 main reasons behind planners’ decision to reject the Manor Park Homes’s project on a portion of the CIÉ-owned Horgan’s Quay site — a crucial area in the city’s multi-billion docklands regeneration plans.
It was hoped the long-awaited planning application by CIÉ’s development partners would include a masterplan for the entire quay site allowing for the development of a conference centre, in line with the city’s docklands strategy, and the revamp of Kent Railway Station.
But the application was confined to the eastern side of Horgan’s Quay and included 276 residential units, eight retail units, two commercial units, three showroom units, a crèche, and a temporary access road to the proposed new concourse of Kent Railway station.
In a scathing critique of the proposal, planners said it did not address the council’s overall goal of redeveloping the Horgan’s Quay site.
They highlighted serious urban design issues and a lack of a comprehensive approach by the applicants and landowners. Some of the main reasons for the refusal included:
Failure to provide for the design for a new Kent Station and square.
Failure to adequately provide for a new national road and appropriate network of streets.
Failure to provide a high quality public realm and any public open space.
Failure to provide a quayside amenity area in any form on Horgan’s Quay.
Failure to properly conserve a goods depot, listed as a protected structure.
Failure to provide pedestrian links to the city centre.
Failure to provide proper transport and traffic management scenarios.
Unacceptably tall buildings which are contrary to the city development plan.
Unacceptable impact on views towards Montenotte and Tivoli and others areas of special character.
The application also failed to show how social or affordable houses would be provided on site.
City manager Joe Gavin, who is set to bring new proposals before the council tonight designed to secure a conference centre for the city, said the application as lodged could not be given the green light.
Manor Park Homes has appealed the council’s decision to An Bord Pleanála. A number of residents have also lodged appeals. A decision is due in July.
Despite the company’s appeal, Mr Gavin said he is unsure how the proposed sale of Manor Park Homes will affect the company’s development plans Horgan’s Quay.
New Luas link 'will create chaos' for bus commuters
HUNDREDS of thousands of commuters face chaos and walks of up to 1.3km to and from their bus stops every day in Dublin city centre.
The decision to link the two existing Luas lines in the city centre with another one is being blamed for the predicted imminent transport nightmare. As many as 60m bus passengers will be affected, according to a confidential report by Dublin Bus which has been obtained by the Irish Independent. It reveals that the Luas line is expected to cause major headaches for bus commuters into and out of the capital every day.
The company fears that it will lose 10m passengers not prepared to put up with the extra hassle to access their normal bus stops. It predicts there will be "chaos" as a result of the new Luas Line BX linking the Tallaght and Sandyford Luas lines between St Stephen's Green and O'Connell St.
Bus stops for most of the busiest routes in the city centre will have to be moved during the construction of the line, expected to start next year.
This means that passengers will face extra walks of up to 1.3km which will take them at least 12 minutes and cause major inconvenience.
Among the services affected will be those from Leeson Street/Stillorgan Road QBC (Route 46A, Dun Laoghaire; 46B, Kilmacud; 145 and 85X, Bray; 117/118, Kilgobbin).
Bus stops currently at Dawson St/Nassau St/Trinity College/Westmoreland St, O Connell St and Parnell Square will have to be moved to Westland Row/Lombard St/Tara St/Gardiner St and to a terminus at Mountjoy Square when works starts on the new Luas line.
Also affected will be services from Rathmines, Ballinteer, Terenure, Knocklyon. These currently serves Dawson St/Nassau St/Trinity College/Westmoreland St. But they will be moved to Westland Row/Lombard St/Tara St/Gardiner St.
A total of 9.8m passengers will be affected every year for at least three years.
In a detailed assessment of possible impacts, Dublin Bus says that "ongoing changes and diversions to bus routes and bus stops in the city centre will result in a loss of bus passengers.
"Any positive benefits achieved from the investment in buses under Transport 21 are likely to be cancelled out," the company warns.
"Dublin Bus estimates that the disruptive effects could reduce customer numbers by 10m passengers per annum," the company warns.
The disruption will take place at the same time as considerable investment is taking place under the Government's Transport 21 investment programme, which includes the extension of the QBC network.
The Luas link-up line, costing €100m will run from St Stephen's Green, down Dawson St, left into Nassau St, right past the front of TCD into Westmoreland St.
Then it will continue as a single line going across the central median of O'Connell Bridge, up O'Connell St, right into Cathal Brugha St, down Marlboro St, across Abbey St, across the Liffey via a new bridge, along Hawkins St. It will then rejoin the double line past TCD.
But Dublin Bus is concerned at the chaos that will be caused to its bus services in the area, which provides vital arteries for many major routes.
About 14pc of Dublin Bus customers are senior citizens and these will be badly affected. The possible diversions and loss of bus stops will affect those who have mobility impairments and who require low-floor, accessible bus services.
Treacy Hogan
Irish Independent
The decision to link the two existing Luas lines in the city centre with another one is being blamed for the predicted imminent transport nightmare. As many as 60m bus passengers will be affected, according to a confidential report by Dublin Bus which has been obtained by the Irish Independent. It reveals that the Luas line is expected to cause major headaches for bus commuters into and out of the capital every day.
The company fears that it will lose 10m passengers not prepared to put up with the extra hassle to access their normal bus stops. It predicts there will be "chaos" as a result of the new Luas Line BX linking the Tallaght and Sandyford Luas lines between St Stephen's Green and O'Connell St.
Bus stops for most of the busiest routes in the city centre will have to be moved during the construction of the line, expected to start next year.
This means that passengers will face extra walks of up to 1.3km which will take them at least 12 minutes and cause major inconvenience.
Among the services affected will be those from Leeson Street/Stillorgan Road QBC (Route 46A, Dun Laoghaire; 46B, Kilmacud; 145 and 85X, Bray; 117/118, Kilgobbin).
Bus stops currently at Dawson St/Nassau St/Trinity College/Westmoreland St, O Connell St and Parnell Square will have to be moved to Westland Row/Lombard St/Tara St/Gardiner St and to a terminus at Mountjoy Square when works starts on the new Luas line.
Also affected will be services from Rathmines, Ballinteer, Terenure, Knocklyon. These currently serves Dawson St/Nassau St/Trinity College/Westmoreland St. But they will be moved to Westland Row/Lombard St/Tara St/Gardiner St.
A total of 9.8m passengers will be affected every year for at least three years.
In a detailed assessment of possible impacts, Dublin Bus says that "ongoing changes and diversions to bus routes and bus stops in the city centre will result in a loss of bus passengers.
"Any positive benefits achieved from the investment in buses under Transport 21 are likely to be cancelled out," the company warns.
"Dublin Bus estimates that the disruptive effects could reduce customer numbers by 10m passengers per annum," the company warns.
The disruption will take place at the same time as considerable investment is taking place under the Government's Transport 21 investment programme, which includes the extension of the QBC network.
The Luas link-up line, costing €100m will run from St Stephen's Green, down Dawson St, left into Nassau St, right past the front of TCD into Westmoreland St.
Then it will continue as a single line going across the central median of O'Connell Bridge, up O'Connell St, right into Cathal Brugha St, down Marlboro St, across Abbey St, across the Liffey via a new bridge, along Hawkins St. It will then rejoin the double line past TCD.
But Dublin Bus is concerned at the chaos that will be caused to its bus services in the area, which provides vital arteries for many major routes.
About 14pc of Dublin Bus customers are senior citizens and these will be badly affected. The possible diversions and loss of bus stops will affect those who have mobility impairments and who require low-floor, accessible bus services.
Treacy Hogan
Irish Independent
Wanted: your back garden to build on - will pay €300,000
HIS name is Brendan. He comes from Bray. And he wants to buy your back garden for €300,000.
The retired property developer placed an ad in a local newspaper this month offering householders €300,000 for a plot in the most lucrative part of the country.
Brendan, who did not want to reveal his identity, said he placed the ad because of a serious lack of suitable housing sites in South Dublin.
Despite widespread reports of an ease in housing demand, local auctioneers said home buyers are finding it impossible to find plots in the Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown area.
One auctioneer revealed that some desperate developers had taken to the air in helicopters to locate suitable sites.
Brendan's ad invited anyone willing to offer their side or back garden - "in a private area that may be suitable to build one small bungalow, subject to planning" - to phone him.
He still hasn't located a site, but if he does he will bring in a German company called Hansehaus, which provides all material and labour, to build a prefabricated house for €200,000.
He will then either sell the house or give it to his son.
"I put the ad in because where else will I get a site?" he said. "Auctioneers don't have any. In most cases, you have to buy a house and demolish it, which can be too expensive. There is very little green space available in south Dublin, but I think there are sites around that people don't realise they have.
"I'm in Bray and want it in the southside - Bray or Dun Laoghaire, perhaps. There were lots of sites that I looked at that were not suitable, including one in Kilternan. I could get a site for €100,000 in Wexford, but I don't want it there."
Lisney's residential sales negotiator Ann-Marie O'Malley said that most back and side garden building had taken place over the last 10 years, making it more difficult to find sites.
"It is getting more unusual for people to place ads like this," she said. "I don't think there is as strong a demand as there was 12 months ago as most people have built on these sites during the housing boom.
"People chose to build on them themselves because it was more profitable than selling the sites, and they would build for their children, too. A lot more people are moving into side gardens themselves and selling the main house to avoid Capital Gains Tax.
Meanwhile, Brendan - who said he has built five houses, two shops and three office suites for family members - sees his project as an investment.
"Now I'm retired and am not doing anything, it's a good time for something like this. I think €300,000 is a realistic price for a site."
Anne-Marie Walsh
irish Independent
The retired property developer placed an ad in a local newspaper this month offering householders €300,000 for a plot in the most lucrative part of the country.
Brendan, who did not want to reveal his identity, said he placed the ad because of a serious lack of suitable housing sites in South Dublin.
Despite widespread reports of an ease in housing demand, local auctioneers said home buyers are finding it impossible to find plots in the Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown area.
One auctioneer revealed that some desperate developers had taken to the air in helicopters to locate suitable sites.
Brendan's ad invited anyone willing to offer their side or back garden - "in a private area that may be suitable to build one small bungalow, subject to planning" - to phone him.
He still hasn't located a site, but if he does he will bring in a German company called Hansehaus, which provides all material and labour, to build a prefabricated house for €200,000.
He will then either sell the house or give it to his son.
"I put the ad in because where else will I get a site?" he said. "Auctioneers don't have any. In most cases, you have to buy a house and demolish it, which can be too expensive. There is very little green space available in south Dublin, but I think there are sites around that people don't realise they have.
"I'm in Bray and want it in the southside - Bray or Dun Laoghaire, perhaps. There were lots of sites that I looked at that were not suitable, including one in Kilternan. I could get a site for €100,000 in Wexford, but I don't want it there."
Lisney's residential sales negotiator Ann-Marie O'Malley said that most back and side garden building had taken place over the last 10 years, making it more difficult to find sites.
"It is getting more unusual for people to place ads like this," she said. "I don't think there is as strong a demand as there was 12 months ago as most people have built on these sites during the housing boom.
"People chose to build on them themselves because it was more profitable than selling the sites, and they would build for their children, too. A lot more people are moving into side gardens themselves and selling the main house to avoid Capital Gains Tax.
Meanwhile, Brendan - who said he has built five houses, two shops and three office suites for family members - sees his project as an investment.
"Now I'm retired and am not doing anything, it's a good time for something like this. I think €300,000 is a realistic price for a site."
Anne-Marie Walsh
irish Independent
Monday, 9 April 2007
'Ignored' city recycling initiative to be binned
EFFORTS by Dublin City Council to encourage recycling on the streets of the capital have gone to waste.
Officials, fed up with the public abusing their 3-in-1 bins, designed to take paper, plastic and cans, have decided to remove them.
A spokesman for the Council said they would be taken off the streets in the next few months.
The bins are at 16 locations around the city centre in the main shopping areas but people are ignoring the signs and continue to use them to dump food and other rubbish.
Council workers are routinely forced to temporarily remove them from the streets for cleaning.
"There's absolutely no effort made to use it properly and the effect to date is that they are a mess, they haven't served the purpose they were intended for."
The 3-in-1 bins hit the city streets several years ago as part of a joint initiative with Repak covering an area from Henry Street and Liffey Street north of the Liffey through to Dame Street and Camden Street on the south.
And while the bins on the streets may be being abused, Dublin City Council praised the efforts of householders in the capital who are now recycling about one third of their waste.
But the spokesman said this was not being translated on to the main shopping areas of the city.
And in a further move to keep the streets clean, bins around the city centre are to replaced with bigger versions to make room for the huge numbers of freesheet newspapers being dumped every morning.
ED CARTY
Irish Independent
Officials, fed up with the public abusing their 3-in-1 bins, designed to take paper, plastic and cans, have decided to remove them.
A spokesman for the Council said they would be taken off the streets in the next few months.
The bins are at 16 locations around the city centre in the main shopping areas but people are ignoring the signs and continue to use them to dump food and other rubbish.
Council workers are routinely forced to temporarily remove them from the streets for cleaning.
"There's absolutely no effort made to use it properly and the effect to date is that they are a mess, they haven't served the purpose they were intended for."
The 3-in-1 bins hit the city streets several years ago as part of a joint initiative with Repak covering an area from Henry Street and Liffey Street north of the Liffey through to Dame Street and Camden Street on the south.
And while the bins on the streets may be being abused, Dublin City Council praised the efforts of householders in the capital who are now recycling about one third of their waste.
But the spokesman said this was not being translated on to the main shopping areas of the city.
And in a further move to keep the streets clean, bins around the city centre are to replaced with bigger versions to make room for the huge numbers of freesheet newspapers being dumped every morning.
ED CARTY
Irish Independent
Relief as Spike Island prison plans dropped
HERITAGE campaigners in east Cork have expressed relief at the Government's decision to drop plans to build a super prison on Spike Island and instead transform it into a tourist attraction comparable to Alcatraz off San Francisco.
Last May, Justice Minister Michael McDowell announced plans to build a €70m prison for the Munster region on Spike Island. Cobh Tourism Chairman Michael Martin campaigned to preserve the site, insisting the county had its very own "Devil's Island" on its doorstep.
The details of the project are not known yet.
Olivia Kelleher
Irish Independent
Last May, Justice Minister Michael McDowell announced plans to build a €70m prison for the Munster region on Spike Island. Cobh Tourism Chairman Michael Martin campaigned to preserve the site, insisting the county had its very own "Devil's Island" on its doorstep.
The details of the project are not known yet.
Olivia Kelleher
Irish Independent
Bus plans to target commuter lifestyle
LONG-distance car commuters in the greater Dublin area may soon have the opportunity to swap the car for the bus.
A plan to run commuter buses every 12 minutes along key commuter belts has just been sent to the Government by Bus Eireann.
The company has told the Government that commuter towns such as Navan, Drogheda, Mullingar and Wicklow are developing so rapidly they are now effectively small cities and need to be provided and planned for accordingly.
The plans which could transform life for commuters living in Meath, Louth, Wicklow and Kildare include:
* A new "city-style service frequency" on all major commuter routes into the capital, with buses running as regularly as every 12 minutes throughout the day, meaning customers would no longer require timetables.
* A new 24-hour corridor north of Dublin linking the capital, Dublin Airport, Balbriggan and Drogheda.
* New direct services between commuter locations such as Navan, Newbridge, Mullingar, Wicklow and Dublin Airport on a "dawn-til-dusk" basis.
Bus Eireann spokesperson, Erica Roseingrave, said the company planned dramatic improvements in the eastern region. "There will be buses on a 12-minute frequency not just at peak times but throughout the day," she said.
The plan also includes direct connections between Dublin Airport and all the major commuter towns in Leinster, as well as the development of more 24-hour services.
The Government has agreed to bankroll the plan as part of the Transport 21 initiative. Bus Eireann wants 366 fully accessible vehicles to enable it to implement the plan. The company says its development plan is driven by the need to provide for a growing population and to cater for the explosion in demand for transport during hours traditionally considered off peak.
Ms Roseingrave said: "The population of the GDA is growing and people are working longer hours. The demand for bus transport - whether it's earlier, later, throughout the night - is booming. The economy runs 24 hours; nine-to-five is a thing of the past."
Morning
Bus Eireann was already operating 24-hours-a-day between Dublin and Belfast and the company was carrying nearly as many people at 3 in the morning as 3 in the afternoon.
"Our earliest commuter service is now at 5.20am out of Drogheda and departures will get even earlier," she added.
As part of the plan, a round-the-clock 24-hour service linking Drogheda, Balbriggan, Dublin Airport with the capital is planned.
New hourly direct services linking Navan/Dunshaughlin, Newbridge/Naas, Wicklow/Bray and Mullingar/Enfield with Dublin Airport will also be provided.
The Ashbourne route would improve to a 12-minute all-day frequency, the Navan route to a 15-minute all-day frequency, and the Newbridge/Naas service to a 15-minute peak frequency.
A new service linking Blanchardstown, one of the fastest growing areas in the country, with Ratoath and Ashbourne, and with Dublin Airport and Swords is also on the way.
Treacy Hoga
Irish Independent
A plan to run commuter buses every 12 minutes along key commuter belts has just been sent to the Government by Bus Eireann.
The company has told the Government that commuter towns such as Navan, Drogheda, Mullingar and Wicklow are developing so rapidly they are now effectively small cities and need to be provided and planned for accordingly.
The plans which could transform life for commuters living in Meath, Louth, Wicklow and Kildare include:
* A new "city-style service frequency" on all major commuter routes into the capital, with buses running as regularly as every 12 minutes throughout the day, meaning customers would no longer require timetables.
* A new 24-hour corridor north of Dublin linking the capital, Dublin Airport, Balbriggan and Drogheda.
* New direct services between commuter locations such as Navan, Newbridge, Mullingar, Wicklow and Dublin Airport on a "dawn-til-dusk" basis.
Bus Eireann spokesperson, Erica Roseingrave, said the company planned dramatic improvements in the eastern region. "There will be buses on a 12-minute frequency not just at peak times but throughout the day," she said.
The plan also includes direct connections between Dublin Airport and all the major commuter towns in Leinster, as well as the development of more 24-hour services.
The Government has agreed to bankroll the plan as part of the Transport 21 initiative. Bus Eireann wants 366 fully accessible vehicles to enable it to implement the plan. The company says its development plan is driven by the need to provide for a growing population and to cater for the explosion in demand for transport during hours traditionally considered off peak.
Ms Roseingrave said: "The population of the GDA is growing and people are working longer hours. The demand for bus transport - whether it's earlier, later, throughout the night - is booming. The economy runs 24 hours; nine-to-five is a thing of the past."
Morning
Bus Eireann was already operating 24-hours-a-day between Dublin and Belfast and the company was carrying nearly as many people at 3 in the morning as 3 in the afternoon.
"Our earliest commuter service is now at 5.20am out of Drogheda and departures will get even earlier," she added.
As part of the plan, a round-the-clock 24-hour service linking Drogheda, Balbriggan, Dublin Airport with the capital is planned.
New hourly direct services linking Navan/Dunshaughlin, Newbridge/Naas, Wicklow/Bray and Mullingar/Enfield with Dublin Airport will also be provided.
The Ashbourne route would improve to a 12-minute all-day frequency, the Navan route to a 15-minute all-day frequency, and the Newbridge/Naas service to a 15-minute peak frequency.
A new service linking Blanchardstown, one of the fastest growing areas in the country, with Ratoath and Ashbourne, and with Dublin Airport and Swords is also on the way.
Treacy Hoga
Irish Independent
Ballymore Eustace refurbishment
This is pretty topical after Galway's problems ...
Ballymore is the largest Water Treatment Plant in Ireland and, over the next 5 years, will enhance its status as a state-of-the-art facility, developed to its full potential in serving Dublin City's water consumers.
This plant serves the water needs of approximately 1/3 of the population of Ireland. The contract duration will be for 4.5 years, with a total value of €70m. The Contractors appointed were ASCON Ltd for the Civil Contract and Earthtech Ltd for the Mechanical/Electrical contract.
The Ballymore Eustace Plant is on the shore of Poulaphuca Reservoir and supplies over 250 Ml/d of treated water to Dublin City. It was conceived in 1936 as a 166 million m3 reservoir in a catchment of 312km2 - with the dual purposes of water supply and hydro-electric power generation.
The current development - Stage 3 - which has been underway since 2000, now incorporates Stage 4 and is, by far, the largest to-date, with an expected cost of €70.0m. Initially a Design Build Operate and Finance Pilot, it was re-launched in 2004 as a 'traditional' procurement project. The scope includes:
* A complete refurbishment of the existing Plant to bring it into line with current technical, environmental and safety standards;
* New filtration, sedimentation, chemical, waste water and sludge facilities;
* A 2.4 MW new power system - complete with on-site power generation,
* On-site Electrolytic Chlorination disinfection, in place of less safe chlorine gas;
* A 36 station distributed control system, based on optical communications;
* A 54 Ml underground storage reservoir and outlet control system for treated water supply.
The fully-automated plant will also include modern staff, maintenance and training facilities in line with Dublin City Council's Partnership Forum objectives, an accredited water and environmental laboratory and a contemporary visitor and conference centre.
RPS completed designs and tender documents on the basis of two contracts (IEI Civil and MF1 Mechanical). Tenders were received and contracts were signed on the 29th of January with construction already underway. The construction programme is set for 4.5 years, primarily to accommodate the complex nature of the Works.
Ballymore is the largest Water Treatment Plant in Ireland and, over the next 5 years, will enhance its status as a state-of-the-art facility, developed to its full potential in serving Dublin City's water consumers.
This plant serves the water needs of approximately 1/3 of the population of Ireland. The contract duration will be for 4.5 years, with a total value of €70m. The Contractors appointed were ASCON Ltd for the Civil Contract and Earthtech Ltd for the Mechanical/Electrical contract.
The Ballymore Eustace Plant is on the shore of Poulaphuca Reservoir and supplies over 250 Ml/d of treated water to Dublin City. It was conceived in 1936 as a 166 million m3 reservoir in a catchment of 312km2 - with the dual purposes of water supply and hydro-electric power generation.
The current development - Stage 3 - which has been underway since 2000, now incorporates Stage 4 and is, by far, the largest to-date, with an expected cost of €70.0m. Initially a Design Build Operate and Finance Pilot, it was re-launched in 2004 as a 'traditional' procurement project. The scope includes:
* A complete refurbishment of the existing Plant to bring it into line with current technical, environmental and safety standards;
* New filtration, sedimentation, chemical, waste water and sludge facilities;
* A 2.4 MW new power system - complete with on-site power generation,
* On-site Electrolytic Chlorination disinfection, in place of less safe chlorine gas;
* A 36 station distributed control system, based on optical communications;
* A 54 Ml underground storage reservoir and outlet control system for treated water supply.
The fully-automated plant will also include modern staff, maintenance and training facilities in line with Dublin City Council's Partnership Forum objectives, an accredited water and environmental laboratory and a contemporary visitor and conference centre.
RPS completed designs and tender documents on the basis of two contracts (IEI Civil and MF1 Mechanical). Tenders were received and contracts were signed on the 29th of January with construction already underway. The construction programme is set for 4.5 years, primarily to accommodate the complex nature of the Works.
New Regulations for Public Access to Environmental Information
Mr. Dick Roche, T.D., Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has signed the European Communities (Access to Information on the Environment) Regulations 2007 (the AIE Regulations).
The AIE Regulations come into effect on 1 May 2007 and repeal the European Communities Act 1972 (Access to Information on the Environment) Regulations 1998.
The Regulations (S.I. 133 of 2007) give effect to EU Directive 2003/4/EC on public access to environmental information. This Directive repealed the previous EU Directive that had been transposed by the 1998 AIE Regulations.
The Minister emphasised that the right to access information - including environmental information - through the Freedom of Information Acts, will not be affected and that the FoI and AIE systems will continue to operate in parallel.
The new Regulations provide a more comprehensive definition of environmental information, set out the manner in which information is to be sought from - and provided by - public authorities and introduce a right of appeal against decisions of public bodies. Appeals will be dealt with by the newly-established Commissioner for Environmental Information - and the FoI Information Commissioner will carry out this role.
The Minister has also published statutory guidelines to assist public authorities and persons who wish to access information in understanding how the new Regulations will operate.
The AIE Regulations come into effect on 1 May 2007 and repeal the European Communities Act 1972 (Access to Information on the Environment) Regulations 1998.
The Regulations (S.I. 133 of 2007) give effect to EU Directive 2003/4/EC on public access to environmental information. This Directive repealed the previous EU Directive that had been transposed by the 1998 AIE Regulations.
The Minister emphasised that the right to access information - including environmental information - through the Freedom of Information Acts, will not be affected and that the FoI and AIE systems will continue to operate in parallel.
The new Regulations provide a more comprehensive definition of environmental information, set out the manner in which information is to be sought from - and provided by - public authorities and introduce a right of appeal against decisions of public bodies. Appeals will be dealt with by the newly-established Commissioner for Environmental Information - and the FoI Information Commissioner will carry out this role.
The Minister has also published statutory guidelines to assist public authorities and persons who wish to access information in understanding how the new Regulations will operate.
New storage system for wind energy could increase installed capacity on national grid
Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI) has published the results of a feasibility study for the implementation of a wind energy storage facility at Sorne Hill Wind Farm, Buncrana, Co. Donegal.
The analysis into the feasibility of using an innovative energy storage system showed how such a system could support an uninterrupted supply of wind-generated electricity to the national grid and significantly improve the efficiency of the energy produced.
The study - which was jointly funded by SEI and Tapbury Management Limited, which oversees the management of Sorne Hill Windfarm - examined the costs and benefits of integrating a battery-based power storage system with a 6MW windfarm. The purpose of the report was to determine the optimum size for such a system in order to deliver an optimum return on investment and to review the main benefits that this system would offer. The report concluded that the optimum battery is a 2MW capacity battery, delivering 6 hours of electricity storage.
Commenting on the feasibility study, David Taylor, Chief Executive, SEI, said - "Ireland possesses a wind resource that is one of the best in Western Europe. In order to exploit this, SEI is supporting the development of strategically important technologies, which will enable Ireland to use large amounts of wind power reliably. This will help Ireland reach the Government's target to have one-third of Ireland's electricity supply coming from renewable sources by 2020."
The storage technology - a Vanadium Redox Battery Energy Storage System (VRB-ESS™) from Canadian company, VRB Power Systems Inc. - is designed to allow wind energy generated at off-peak times to be stored and supplied to the grid at a scheduled time. The energy storage system has the potential to increase the reliability of wind energy supply and, thereby, reduce the cost of providing the power reserve requirements from electricity generation plants as more windpower connects to the system.
Batteries such as these can also be used to maximise the wind intensity in rural regions by providing high-quality power output and storing temporary excess wind power for later release. In this way, increased wind penetration can be achieved more rapidly, as the cost and effort of grid upgrades are deferred.
The battery may, therefore, generate additional income for the wind farm by -
* correcting power imbalances
* providing premium power quality
* delivering an energy trading service - and
* providing grid ancillary services in the Single Electricity Market.
John Ward, Director of Tapbury Management said - "The feasibility report provides, for the first time, an initial technical and economic validation for a number of the key revenue streams that we had previously identified in relation to the integration of windpower and storage. We will now build on these assumptions to finalise the project design and implementation of the pilot scheme at Sorne Hill II - which, we hope to have operational by mid-2008."
"This study demonstrates the economic viability of our systems for wind farms, such as Sorne Hill" - stated Tim Hennessy, CEO of VRB Power Systems. "The report also highlights the need for storage in Ireland to enable the successful roll-out of wind generation from the current installed base of approximately 800MW - up to and beyond the 3,000MW currently contracted or proposed - and to deal with the intermittency and constraint issues already being experienced.
"It is estimated that at least 700MW of storage may be required across Ireland. This sale will provide us with a 'blue-print' to execute on similar opportunities in Ireland and worldwide" - concluded Hennessy.
The analysis into the feasibility of using an innovative energy storage system showed how such a system could support an uninterrupted supply of wind-generated electricity to the national grid and significantly improve the efficiency of the energy produced.
The study - which was jointly funded by SEI and Tapbury Management Limited, which oversees the management of Sorne Hill Windfarm - examined the costs and benefits of integrating a battery-based power storage system with a 6MW windfarm. The purpose of the report was to determine the optimum size for such a system in order to deliver an optimum return on investment and to review the main benefits that this system would offer. The report concluded that the optimum battery is a 2MW capacity battery, delivering 6 hours of electricity storage.
Commenting on the feasibility study, David Taylor, Chief Executive, SEI, said - "Ireland possesses a wind resource that is one of the best in Western Europe. In order to exploit this, SEI is supporting the development of strategically important technologies, which will enable Ireland to use large amounts of wind power reliably. This will help Ireland reach the Government's target to have one-third of Ireland's electricity supply coming from renewable sources by 2020."
The storage technology - a Vanadium Redox Battery Energy Storage System (VRB-ESS™) from Canadian company, VRB Power Systems Inc. - is designed to allow wind energy generated at off-peak times to be stored and supplied to the grid at a scheduled time. The energy storage system has the potential to increase the reliability of wind energy supply and, thereby, reduce the cost of providing the power reserve requirements from electricity generation plants as more windpower connects to the system.
Batteries such as these can also be used to maximise the wind intensity in rural regions by providing high-quality power output and storing temporary excess wind power for later release. In this way, increased wind penetration can be achieved more rapidly, as the cost and effort of grid upgrades are deferred.
The battery may, therefore, generate additional income for the wind farm by -
* correcting power imbalances
* providing premium power quality
* delivering an energy trading service - and
* providing grid ancillary services in the Single Electricity Market.
John Ward, Director of Tapbury Management said - "The feasibility report provides, for the first time, an initial technical and economic validation for a number of the key revenue streams that we had previously identified in relation to the integration of windpower and storage. We will now build on these assumptions to finalise the project design and implementation of the pilot scheme at Sorne Hill II - which, we hope to have operational by mid-2008."
"This study demonstrates the economic viability of our systems for wind farms, such as Sorne Hill" - stated Tim Hennessy, CEO of VRB Power Systems. "The report also highlights the need for storage in Ireland to enable the successful roll-out of wind generation from the current installed base of approximately 800MW - up to and beyond the 3,000MW currently contracted or proposed - and to deal with the intermittency and constraint issues already being experienced.
"It is estimated that at least 700MW of storage may be required across Ireland. This sale will provide us with a 'blue-print' to execute on similar opportunities in Ireland and worldwide" - concluded Hennessy.
Cullen announces Bus Éireann order and confirms Dublin Bus hybrid electric trial
Transport Minister, Mr Martin Cullen TD, has announced an €11.5 million contract to supply 48 single-deck buses to Bus Éireann - as well as confirming the supply of a prototype Hybrid Electric Double-Deck bus for operational evaluation with Dublin Bus.
The announcement was made during a visit by the Transport Minister to the Wright Group's production facility in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, as part of a delegation that included the Right Honourable Dr Ian Paisley, MP for North Antrim and future first Minister and Mr Ian Paisley Junior, MLA. The Deputy Mayor of Ballymena, Councillor Maurice Mills was also in attendance.
Also visiting the Galgorm facility with Minister Cullen during his two-hour visit were Mr Tim Hayes, Chief Executive of Bus Éireann, Mr Joe Meagher, Chief Executive of Dublin Bus and Mr David Begg, General Secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.
The order for 48 Wrightbus Eclipse Urban Single Deck buses, to be built on Volvo B7RLE chassis, will be the first vehicles of their type to be supplied to the state-owned public transport operator by the Wright Group. The 12m single decks, which can accommodate 45 seated passengers with 38 standees, will be manufactured from the patented Aluminique™ modular structure - a lightweight, yet immensely strong and durable, construction system.
With deliveries set to commence later this year, the new buses will be deployed on routes in major cities in Ireland.
An equally significant announcement was also made by Mr Cullen during his visit, as the Minister also confirmed that - with his support - Dublin Bus has agreed with Wrights to supply a hybrid electric double-deck vehicle - describing it as a move - "to advance the sustainable agenda within Dublin Bus".
The Wrightbus Pulsar Gemini HEV will be the first high-capacity vehicle fitted with hybrid technology to go into operation in Ireland and has a similar specification to the vehicle currently undergoing long-term evaluation in London with TfL. Based on a VDL Bus DB250 glider chassis, it is powered by a Siemens series hybrid drivetrain with lithium ion batteries. It has a 64 seated passenger capacity plus 18 standees.
In addition to environmental benefits, the electric driveline ensures quiet acceleration, significantly reduced noise levels - whilst providing a smooth and comfortable travel experience for passengers.
Making the announcements, the Minister said that both Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann have further orders coming to the market and he wished the Wright Group every success in - "building a good commercial relationship with both companies and in the bidding process".
The announcement was made during a visit by the Transport Minister to the Wright Group's production facility in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, as part of a delegation that included the Right Honourable Dr Ian Paisley, MP for North Antrim and future first Minister and Mr Ian Paisley Junior, MLA. The Deputy Mayor of Ballymena, Councillor Maurice Mills was also in attendance.
Also visiting the Galgorm facility with Minister Cullen during his two-hour visit were Mr Tim Hayes, Chief Executive of Bus Éireann, Mr Joe Meagher, Chief Executive of Dublin Bus and Mr David Begg, General Secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.
The order for 48 Wrightbus Eclipse Urban Single Deck buses, to be built on Volvo B7RLE chassis, will be the first vehicles of their type to be supplied to the state-owned public transport operator by the Wright Group. The 12m single decks, which can accommodate 45 seated passengers with 38 standees, will be manufactured from the patented Aluminique™ modular structure - a lightweight, yet immensely strong and durable, construction system.
With deliveries set to commence later this year, the new buses will be deployed on routes in major cities in Ireland.
An equally significant announcement was also made by Mr Cullen during his visit, as the Minister also confirmed that - with his support - Dublin Bus has agreed with Wrights to supply a hybrid electric double-deck vehicle - describing it as a move - "to advance the sustainable agenda within Dublin Bus".
The Wrightbus Pulsar Gemini HEV will be the first high-capacity vehicle fitted with hybrid technology to go into operation in Ireland and has a similar specification to the vehicle currently undergoing long-term evaluation in London with TfL. Based on a VDL Bus DB250 glider chassis, it is powered by a Siemens series hybrid drivetrain with lithium ion batteries. It has a 64 seated passenger capacity plus 18 standees.
In addition to environmental benefits, the electric driveline ensures quiet acceleration, significantly reduced noise levels - whilst providing a smooth and comfortable travel experience for passengers.
Making the announcements, the Minister said that both Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann have further orders coming to the market and he wished the Wright Group every success in - "building a good commercial relationship with both companies and in the bidding process".
Sunday, 8 April 2007
Barndarrig house plans submitted
Planners at Wicklow County Council are currently considering two applications for housing deielopments in Barndarrig.
Raymond Gaffney is seeking permission for a nine house development at Ballinacor West, Barndarrig. The proposed deielopment will include fiie four bedroom detached and four four bedroom semi detached two storey houses. The decision is due on the application on April 9.
The second application has been lodged by John and Raymond Gaffney McDonald for a deielopment at Ballinacor East, Barndarrig.
Phase one of the proposed deielopment includes 12 houses - six fiie bedroom detached dormers and six four bedroom detached two storey houses. The decision on this application is due on May 8.
Wicklow People
Raymond Gaffney is seeking permission for a nine house development at Ballinacor West, Barndarrig. The proposed deielopment will include fiie four bedroom detached and four four bedroom semi detached two storey houses. The decision is due on the application on April 9.
The second application has been lodged by John and Raymond Gaffney McDonald for a deielopment at Ballinacor East, Barndarrig.
Phase one of the proposed deielopment includes 12 houses - six fiie bedroom detached dormers and six four bedroom detached two storey houses. The decision on this application is due on May 8.
Wicklow People
Newtown firm gets green light for new factory
A Newtownmountkennedy-based factory which exports goods around the world has been given the green light for a new facility by Wicklow County Council.
In what was termed a historic iote, the 24 councillors were unanimous in their agreement to approie the material contraiention of the Newtown local area plan to grant planning permission to Castlebrook Furniture and Design for the construction of a 7370 square metre factory at Moneycarroll/Trudder, Newtown.
Senior executiie officer, Lorraine Gallagher, told Monday's council meeting that the county manager had recommended that the application be granted subject to 25 conditions.
The material contraiention was proposed by Cllr Andrew Doyle who reminded members that almost two years ago when they were considering the county deielopment plan it was recommended that Castlebrook pursue this line with the council. He said that in an era of decline for the manufacturing industry, councillors should pass the motion.
Supporting the motion, Cllr Nicky Kelly said that it was unfortunate that it took so long to come before the council giien the lack of sustainable jobs in the county.
He added the caieat that he was looking forward to seeing a material contraiention on the agenda for Abwood, the nearby timber shed company. 'Then the hypocrisy will end,' he predicted.
Cllr Syliester Bourke said that it was iery important that small business got a fair start eien if they began as unauthorised deielopments. Many successful businesses started out in someone's back yard, he said.
Cllr Pat Casey said that councillors were always speaking of using rural agricultural buildings and this was a success story which started in a farmyard but was now exporting goods as far afield as Dubai and employed 65 people.
Planning director, Des O'Brien, explained that all the employment zoned land in Newtown had been used up which made it possible to rezone the land in question. One of the conditions of the planning was that the old buildings and the land iniolied in the unauthorised deielopment would be returned to agricultural use, he added.
Wicklow People
In what was termed a historic iote, the 24 councillors were unanimous in their agreement to approie the material contraiention of the Newtown local area plan to grant planning permission to Castlebrook Furniture and Design for the construction of a 7370 square metre factory at Moneycarroll/Trudder, Newtown.
Senior executiie officer, Lorraine Gallagher, told Monday's council meeting that the county manager had recommended that the application be granted subject to 25 conditions.
The material contraiention was proposed by Cllr Andrew Doyle who reminded members that almost two years ago when they were considering the county deielopment plan it was recommended that Castlebrook pursue this line with the council. He said that in an era of decline for the manufacturing industry, councillors should pass the motion.
Supporting the motion, Cllr Nicky Kelly said that it was unfortunate that it took so long to come before the council giien the lack of sustainable jobs in the county.
He added the caieat that he was looking forward to seeing a material contraiention on the agenda for Abwood, the nearby timber shed company. 'Then the hypocrisy will end,' he predicted.
Cllr Syliester Bourke said that it was iery important that small business got a fair start eien if they began as unauthorised deielopments. Many successful businesses started out in someone's back yard, he said.
Cllr Pat Casey said that councillors were always speaking of using rural agricultural buildings and this was a success story which started in a farmyard but was now exporting goods as far afield as Dubai and employed 65 people.
Planning director, Des O'Brien, explained that all the employment zoned land in Newtown had been used up which made it possible to rezone the land in question. One of the conditions of the planning was that the old buildings and the land iniolied in the unauthorised deielopment would be returned to agricultural use, he added.
Wicklow People
Cheap housing in Bono's backyard
LOCALS in Dublin's 'Millionaire Row' have been given four weeks to object if they do not want affordable housing in their backyard.
A plan to turn a no-building zone in the heart of Killiney into a large residential area has just gone out to public consultation - and councillors hope it will be shot down.
Homeowners in the exclusive suburb are being asked to give their opinions on whether a 1.5-hectare site at Kilmarnock on Military Road should be rezoned.
It is located just 550 metres from the Dart and a stone's throw from Bono's seaside mansion. It currently has a 0/0 density restriction, which means no development can occur there.
The site, which contains a listed house, was put forward by its owner to the Affordable Homes Partnership, who believe that it is suitable for three four-storey blocks of two-bedroom apartments.
If development goes ahead, 70 per cent of the new homes would be offered at affordable prices of between €299,000 and €340,000.
But councillors are convinced that the land should not be rezoned and are confident that locals will object.
Sunday Independent
A plan to turn a no-building zone in the heart of Killiney into a large residential area has just gone out to public consultation - and councillors hope it will be shot down.
Homeowners in the exclusive suburb are being asked to give their opinions on whether a 1.5-hectare site at Kilmarnock on Military Road should be rezoned.
It is located just 550 metres from the Dart and a stone's throw from Bono's seaside mansion. It currently has a 0/0 density restriction, which means no development can occur there.
The site, which contains a listed house, was put forward by its owner to the Affordable Homes Partnership, who believe that it is suitable for three four-storey blocks of two-bedroom apartments.
If development goes ahead, 70 per cent of the new homes would be offered at affordable prices of between €299,000 and €340,000.
But councillors are convinced that the land should not be rezoned and are confident that locals will object.
Sunday Independent
'Excessive' Ely Place plans refused permission
A PROPOSAL to construct a five-storey building including office space and a number of apartments at the rear of No 10 Ely Place, a protected structure, have been rejected by An Bord Pleanala.
Crossville Properties had appealed an earlier decision by Dublin City Council to refuse permission for the development which would involve the demolition of an existing single-storey flat at the Dublin 2 location.
Ely Place is zoned objective Z8, which seeks "to protect the existing architectural and civic design character, to allow only for limited expansion consistent with the conservation objective".
The proposal was for the construction of a building ranging in height from two to five storeys, consisting of offices measuring 77.4sq m at ground-floor level and 149.8sq m at first-floor level.
The upper stories were to consist of three two-bed apartments each measuring around 65.9sq m and including balconies and roof terraces.
The development, on a site measuring 0.0237 hectares, would involve the complete demolition of an existing single-storey flat of around 30.7sq m. No works were proposed for the actual protected structure.
Rejecting the application, the board pointed out that the proposed development is located within the curtilage of a protected structure and within an area zoned to protect the existing architectural and civic design character as set out in the current Dublin city development plan.
"The proposed development, by reason of its excessive scale, height, design, site coverage and poor access provision, represents an overdevelopment of the site and would adversely affect the character and setting of the protected structure at No 10 Ely Place and the coach house to the rear of No 9 Ely Place and would undermine the integrity of the surrounding conservation area.
"Having regard to the extent of office floor area proposed at ground- and firstfloor levels when compared to the total floor area of the apartments, the proposed development would contravene materially a development objective of the Dublin City Development Plan 20052011 for the use primarily of this area for particular purposes and would, therefore, be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area."
Crossville Properties had appealed an earlier decision by Dublin City Council to refuse permission for the development which would involve the demolition of an existing single-storey flat at the Dublin 2 location.
Ely Place is zoned objective Z8, which seeks "to protect the existing architectural and civic design character, to allow only for limited expansion consistent with the conservation objective".
The proposal was for the construction of a building ranging in height from two to five storeys, consisting of offices measuring 77.4sq m at ground-floor level and 149.8sq m at first-floor level.
The upper stories were to consist of three two-bed apartments each measuring around 65.9sq m and including balconies and roof terraces.
The development, on a site measuring 0.0237 hectares, would involve the complete demolition of an existing single-storey flat of around 30.7sq m. No works were proposed for the actual protected structure.
Rejecting the application, the board pointed out that the proposed development is located within the curtilage of a protected structure and within an area zoned to protect the existing architectural and civic design character as set out in the current Dublin city development plan.
"The proposed development, by reason of its excessive scale, height, design, site coverage and poor access provision, represents an overdevelopment of the site and would adversely affect the character and setting of the protected structure at No 10 Ely Place and the coach house to the rear of No 9 Ely Place and would undermine the integrity of the surrounding conservation area.
"Having regard to the extent of office floor area proposed at ground- and firstfloor levels when compared to the total floor area of the apartments, the proposed development would contravene materially a development objective of the Dublin City Development Plan 20052011 for the use primarily of this area for particular purposes and would, therefore, be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area."
Wexford residents 'delighted' at planning refusal
RESIDENTS in the townland of Harristown in Co Wexford have won their battle with a local concrete manufacturing firm which planned to construct a production facility in their area.
The county council's planning department has rejected an application from the Wexford Block company to relocate its batching plant from Castlebridge to the picturesque Kilbride area of Harristown.
"We're delighted with the outcome, " says residents' spokesman Niall Murphy.
"We're a small community of 60 to 80 people and without a shadow of a doubt almost everyone was opposed to this development. At the same time we're not getting carried away. There's nothing to stop the firm reapplying or appealing the decision."
The council cited environmental factors among the reasons for rejecting the proposal which would have involved the erection of a 15m silo, storage bays and other storage facilities, a block stacking area, a bunded fuel tank site, an office building, a garage, a canteen, associated staff facilities and a car park.
"It was going to be a complete eyesore. On top of that, there would be no natural screening as far as dust and noise are concerned, " says Murphy.
An Taisce expressed concern at the visual impact the proposed development would have and said: "No amount of landscaping would hide it and it would cause an unacceptable visual intrusion in this unspoiled country area."
"They were planning on using well water to service the site, " Murphy says. "We were concerned over the possible effect on the water table.
There's no mains water in the area. I've had to dig three wells totalling nearly 600ft to find water. And the Environmental Protection Agency has already earmarked the southeast as an area likely to suffer water shortages in the next 15 years."
The residents' primary concern was the inevitable increase in traffic the facility would generate on a stretch of the N25 already notorious for serious road accidents.
"There have been a number of traffic accidents here and people have died on this stretch of road. In most cases, and with most councils, if road safety is a consideration at all, it's deemed sufficient reason to refuse this kind of development."
The roads authority had advised Wexford county council that "to permit the development as proposed would endanger public safety by reason of traffic hazard and obstruction of road users due to the movement of the extra traffic generated".
According to Murphy, the success of the residents' campaign is an example of how residents acting in unison can influence the planning process. "We had the support of councillors from the district as well and we'd like to thank them for their help."
"I think it was the wrong development for this area, " says local FF councillor Lisa McDonald. "It's an elevated site in a scenic area. If you proposed building a bungalow on this site you'd have your application refused."
Sunday Tribune
The county council's planning department has rejected an application from the Wexford Block company to relocate its batching plant from Castlebridge to the picturesque Kilbride area of Harristown.
"We're delighted with the outcome, " says residents' spokesman Niall Murphy.
"We're a small community of 60 to 80 people and without a shadow of a doubt almost everyone was opposed to this development. At the same time we're not getting carried away. There's nothing to stop the firm reapplying or appealing the decision."
The council cited environmental factors among the reasons for rejecting the proposal which would have involved the erection of a 15m silo, storage bays and other storage facilities, a block stacking area, a bunded fuel tank site, an office building, a garage, a canteen, associated staff facilities and a car park.
"It was going to be a complete eyesore. On top of that, there would be no natural screening as far as dust and noise are concerned, " says Murphy.
An Taisce expressed concern at the visual impact the proposed development would have and said: "No amount of landscaping would hide it and it would cause an unacceptable visual intrusion in this unspoiled country area."
"They were planning on using well water to service the site, " Murphy says. "We were concerned over the possible effect on the water table.
There's no mains water in the area. I've had to dig three wells totalling nearly 600ft to find water. And the Environmental Protection Agency has already earmarked the southeast as an area likely to suffer water shortages in the next 15 years."
The residents' primary concern was the inevitable increase in traffic the facility would generate on a stretch of the N25 already notorious for serious road accidents.
"There have been a number of traffic accidents here and people have died on this stretch of road. In most cases, and with most councils, if road safety is a consideration at all, it's deemed sufficient reason to refuse this kind of development."
The roads authority had advised Wexford county council that "to permit the development as proposed would endanger public safety by reason of traffic hazard and obstruction of road users due to the movement of the extra traffic generated".
According to Murphy, the success of the residents' campaign is an example of how residents acting in unison can influence the planning process. "We had the support of councillors from the district as well and we'd like to thank them for their help."
"I think it was the wrong development for this area, " says local FF councillor Lisa McDonald. "It's an elevated site in a scenic area. If you proposed building a bungalow on this site you'd have your application refused."
Sunday Tribune
Limerick, you're a lay-by: traffic plan may hit commerce
CHANGES to the traffic flow system in the southern suburbs of Limerick city to be introduced when the new tunnel is completed could negatively effect commercial activity in the area.
The Roxboro shopping centre, the Galvone industrial estate and the city's new Quality Hotel could all suffer a falloff in trade if proposed changes to exit routes off the southern ring road are introduced, a city councillor has warned. A plan to prohibit motorists' access to Childers Road from the ring road at the former Krups exit will lengthen journey times and force some drivers to negotiate the city centre before they can access the Southill area.
"This would have a severe negative impact on businesses in the area including the new Quality Hotel, one of whose principle selling points is the ease of access from the ring road. That access would be gone under these proposals, " warns Fine Gael councillor Diarmuid Scully.
"The hotel is in a fantastic location . . . currently. However, when the new traffic plan is introduced anyone travelling to the hotel from Shannon airport will have to drive through heavy city centre traffic adding up to an hour to their journey time.
"It will have a major detrimental effect on the Roxboro Shopping Centre too. And the Galvone Industrial Estate will be similarly affected, " he says.
"Because access is easy at the moment, large numbers of people from rural areas drive in to do their shopping at the centre.
"That easy access will now be lost. These changes will be happening after a lot of effort has gone into trying to revitalise the industrial estate following years of decline."
The changes to the trafficflow system are due to come into effect when the construction of the tunnel is complete sometime within the next three years. That project also involves the construction of approximately 10km of new dual carriageway, along with associated link roads and side roads.
The tunnel scheme will incorporate a fourth crossing of the Shannon in the environs of Limerick city. This crossing will involve an immersed tube tunnel, linking the townland of Coonagh, on the northern bank, with the townland of Bunlicky on the southern bank of the river. In this aspect, it will be similar to the Jack Lynch Tunnel in Cork where immersed tube technology was used for the first time in Ireland. The scheme also involves the construction of a new dual carriageway and four grade-separated junctions.
The scheme has been developed by Limerick County Council in association with Limerick City Council, Clare County Council and the National Roads Authority.
"We anticipate the tunnel having a positive impact on the city's retail sector, " says John Buckley of Sherry FitzGerald O'Malley. "It will take away all the traffic headed for Galway which at the moment passes along O'Connell Street, the main thoroughfare. That alone will make the city centre a more attractive place to shop and do business. As well as that, it will open up tracts of land for future development out around the Coonagh Cross shopping centre."
The 260m tunnel won the European PPP Deal of the Year and Project Finance Deal of the Year 2007 awards in international competitions.
Councillor Scully has made his concerns regarding traffic flow changes known to the transportation committee of Limerick city council. He told director of services Pat Dromey that regeneration plans for Southill were predicated on attracting investment into the area by taking advantage of its excellent geographic location on the main access routes to Dublin, Cork and Galway.
Dromey has promised a special meeting of the committee to discuss the issue further.
Sunday Tribune
The Roxboro shopping centre, the Galvone industrial estate and the city's new Quality Hotel could all suffer a falloff in trade if proposed changes to exit routes off the southern ring road are introduced, a city councillor has warned. A plan to prohibit motorists' access to Childers Road from the ring road at the former Krups exit will lengthen journey times and force some drivers to negotiate the city centre before they can access the Southill area.
"This would have a severe negative impact on businesses in the area including the new Quality Hotel, one of whose principle selling points is the ease of access from the ring road. That access would be gone under these proposals, " warns Fine Gael councillor Diarmuid Scully.
"The hotel is in a fantastic location . . . currently. However, when the new traffic plan is introduced anyone travelling to the hotel from Shannon airport will have to drive through heavy city centre traffic adding up to an hour to their journey time.
"It will have a major detrimental effect on the Roxboro Shopping Centre too. And the Galvone Industrial Estate will be similarly affected, " he says.
"Because access is easy at the moment, large numbers of people from rural areas drive in to do their shopping at the centre.
"That easy access will now be lost. These changes will be happening after a lot of effort has gone into trying to revitalise the industrial estate following years of decline."
The changes to the trafficflow system are due to come into effect when the construction of the tunnel is complete sometime within the next three years. That project also involves the construction of approximately 10km of new dual carriageway, along with associated link roads and side roads.
The tunnel scheme will incorporate a fourth crossing of the Shannon in the environs of Limerick city. This crossing will involve an immersed tube tunnel, linking the townland of Coonagh, on the northern bank, with the townland of Bunlicky on the southern bank of the river. In this aspect, it will be similar to the Jack Lynch Tunnel in Cork where immersed tube technology was used for the first time in Ireland. The scheme also involves the construction of a new dual carriageway and four grade-separated junctions.
The scheme has been developed by Limerick County Council in association with Limerick City Council, Clare County Council and the National Roads Authority.
"We anticipate the tunnel having a positive impact on the city's retail sector, " says John Buckley of Sherry FitzGerald O'Malley. "It will take away all the traffic headed for Galway which at the moment passes along O'Connell Street, the main thoroughfare. That alone will make the city centre a more attractive place to shop and do business. As well as that, it will open up tracts of land for future development out around the Coonagh Cross shopping centre."
The 260m tunnel won the European PPP Deal of the Year and Project Finance Deal of the Year 2007 awards in international competitions.
Councillor Scully has made his concerns regarding traffic flow changes known to the transportation committee of Limerick city council. He told director of services Pat Dromey that regeneration plans for Southill were predicated on attracting investment into the area by taking advantage of its excellent geographic location on the main access routes to Dublin, Cork and Galway.
Dromey has promised a special meeting of the committee to discuss the issue further.
Sunday Tribune
Friday, 6 April 2007
East Cork railway to reopen in 2009
HE tannoy operator will apologise that due to a number of ‘signalling failures’ the train arriving in Midleton railway station is a small bit late... two years in fact.
The latest in the saga of signalling errors concerning the reopening of the multi-million euro Cork-Midleton line came yesterday when Minister for Transport, Martin Cullen, announced he had finally signed off on the Railway Order, which will allow work on the project to proceed.
That was the good news, but the sting in the tail came at the end of his official press release with the line that ‘the first commuter trains are expected to enter into service in 2009.’
Signalling error number one came from Seamus Brennan, when he was minister for transport, with the announcement that trains would run on the track by 2007.
Signalling error two was at last November’s public inquiry into the project, when Iarnród Éireann officials repeatedly said that the trains would roll in July 2008.
Signalling error three was last week when Iarnród Éireann backtracked and said it would be October 2008 before the trains arrived. Signalling error number four occurred yesterday and many expect further errors, especially as Mr Cullen refused to give a date in 2009.
Mr Cullen’s announcement ironically came as hundreds of people started to sign a major petition in East Cork designed at getting him to speed up the project.
Many reacted with anger last night to the unexpected news, and among them was a Fianna Fáil councillor who was highly critical of his own minister.
Cllr Billy Buckley said he couldn’t understand how it had taken Mr Cullen so long to sign the Railway Order.
“We were told 2007 first, then it was 2008 and now it’s 2009. It’s a further slap in the face to the people of Cork. It’s very disappointing, especially after all the promises which were made. What I want to know is when they (the Government) are going to start sticking to promises. Judging by the press release it could be January 2009, or December 2009. He’s the minister and he should know the answer,” Mr Buckley said.
Kathleen Woulfe, who organised the petition, said she was also shocked by the news and echoed Mr Buckley’s sentiments.
“A number of people who signed the petition said they were really angry by the delay. The Government is getting a lot of stick over it in East Cork. Lots of people have paid huge development charges to build new houses in the area. These charges were levied to raise part of the money to build the railway and they feel let down,” Mrs Woulfe said.
Deputy David Stanton (FG) said it might be coincidental that Mr Cullen signed the order the same day as the petition got started.
“The fact that the project is now delayed even further is totally unacceptable,” Mr Stanton said.
Seán O’Riordan
Irish Examiner
The latest in the saga of signalling errors concerning the reopening of the multi-million euro Cork-Midleton line came yesterday when Minister for Transport, Martin Cullen, announced he had finally signed off on the Railway Order, which will allow work on the project to proceed.
That was the good news, but the sting in the tail came at the end of his official press release with the line that ‘the first commuter trains are expected to enter into service in 2009.’
Signalling error number one came from Seamus Brennan, when he was minister for transport, with the announcement that trains would run on the track by 2007.
Signalling error two was at last November’s public inquiry into the project, when Iarnród Éireann officials repeatedly said that the trains would roll in July 2008.
Signalling error three was last week when Iarnród Éireann backtracked and said it would be October 2008 before the trains arrived. Signalling error number four occurred yesterday and many expect further errors, especially as Mr Cullen refused to give a date in 2009.
Mr Cullen’s announcement ironically came as hundreds of people started to sign a major petition in East Cork designed at getting him to speed up the project.
Many reacted with anger last night to the unexpected news, and among them was a Fianna Fáil councillor who was highly critical of his own minister.
Cllr Billy Buckley said he couldn’t understand how it had taken Mr Cullen so long to sign the Railway Order.
“We were told 2007 first, then it was 2008 and now it’s 2009. It’s a further slap in the face to the people of Cork. It’s very disappointing, especially after all the promises which were made. What I want to know is when they (the Government) are going to start sticking to promises. Judging by the press release it could be January 2009, or December 2009. He’s the minister and he should know the answer,” Mr Buckley said.
Kathleen Woulfe, who organised the petition, said she was also shocked by the news and echoed Mr Buckley’s sentiments.
“A number of people who signed the petition said they were really angry by the delay. The Government is getting a lot of stick over it in East Cork. Lots of people have paid huge development charges to build new houses in the area. These charges were levied to raise part of the money to build the railway and they feel let down,” Mrs Woulfe said.
Deputy David Stanton (FG) said it might be coincidental that Mr Cullen signed the order the same day as the petition got started.
“The fact that the project is now delayed even further is totally unacceptable,” Mr Stanton said.
Seán O’Riordan
Irish Examiner
Rugby club threatens court action in Lansdowne row
THE €365 million redevelopment of Dublin’s Lansdowne Road stadium is facing a fresh hurdle — a potential High Court battle over a clubhouse.
Rugby minnows Wanderers FC, whose ‘ringside’ pavilion occupies a corner of the ground, are angry about plans to re-locate their pavilion away from the hallowed turf.
The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) has offered the All-Ireland League division three champions various packages to sweeten the move, including compensation, a corporate box and increased ticket allocation for big fixtures.
But the club does not want to lose its prime spot and is threatening to take the IRFU to the High Court over the clubhouse in an increasingly acrimonious dispute.
The IRFU is threatening to demolish the existing clubhouse so work to create the stadium can go ahead and transform the Ballsbridge stadium into a 50,000-seater venue.
In a statement last night Wanderers FC bosses said they would go to the High Court after receiving letters from the IRFU’s solicitors signalling the start of work.
“The IRFU stated that they can and will demolish the Wanderers pavilion without Wanderers’ consent. Wanderers FC believes this to be in flagrant breach of their agreement with the IRFU.
“Therefore (we have) no alternative but to seek the protection of the courts to prevent the IRFU from following through with its threat,” said the statement issued by the Fleishman-Hillard public relations company.
The IRFU has already agreed terms with Lansdowne RFC over the redevelopment, which is slated to be finished in 2009.
The IRFU wants to move the Wanderers FC’s pavilion to a new location inside the confines of the stadium ground but away from the main pitch.
Wanderers FC are unhappy over the rights and title to the proposed new clubhouse, its position as well as ticket allocation to international fixtures.
Wanderers bosses last night insisted they were fully committed to the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road and the future of Irish rugby, adding they had no wish to delay the project.
“However, Wanderers also has obligations to its members, past, current and future, and to the club’s history and ethos,” the statement said.
Last night the IRFU promised to defend any bid by Wanderers to get an injunction over the clubhouse, adding that the club was holding up the re-development.
“The IRFU wishes to state its regret and disappointment at the course of action by Wanderers FC.
“The union does not believe that there is merit in the actions of Wanderers FC which seek to prevent the re-development of Lansdowne Road.
“The IRFU will, on behalf of the clubs and rugby fraternity of Ireland, be robustly defending its position and its right to re-develop Lansdowne Road for the good of Irish rugby,” said a statement.
Paul Kelly
Irish Examiner
Rugby minnows Wanderers FC, whose ‘ringside’ pavilion occupies a corner of the ground, are angry about plans to re-locate their pavilion away from the hallowed turf.
The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) has offered the All-Ireland League division three champions various packages to sweeten the move, including compensation, a corporate box and increased ticket allocation for big fixtures.
But the club does not want to lose its prime spot and is threatening to take the IRFU to the High Court over the clubhouse in an increasingly acrimonious dispute.
The IRFU is threatening to demolish the existing clubhouse so work to create the stadium can go ahead and transform the Ballsbridge stadium into a 50,000-seater venue.
In a statement last night Wanderers FC bosses said they would go to the High Court after receiving letters from the IRFU’s solicitors signalling the start of work.
“The IRFU stated that they can and will demolish the Wanderers pavilion without Wanderers’ consent. Wanderers FC believes this to be in flagrant breach of their agreement with the IRFU.
“Therefore (we have) no alternative but to seek the protection of the courts to prevent the IRFU from following through with its threat,” said the statement issued by the Fleishman-Hillard public relations company.
The IRFU has already agreed terms with Lansdowne RFC over the redevelopment, which is slated to be finished in 2009.
The IRFU wants to move the Wanderers FC’s pavilion to a new location inside the confines of the stadium ground but away from the main pitch.
Wanderers FC are unhappy over the rights and title to the proposed new clubhouse, its position as well as ticket allocation to international fixtures.
Wanderers bosses last night insisted they were fully committed to the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road and the future of Irish rugby, adding they had no wish to delay the project.
“However, Wanderers also has obligations to its members, past, current and future, and to the club’s history and ethos,” the statement said.
Last night the IRFU promised to defend any bid by Wanderers to get an injunction over the clubhouse, adding that the club was holding up the re-development.
“The IRFU wishes to state its regret and disappointment at the course of action by Wanderers FC.
“The union does not believe that there is merit in the actions of Wanderers FC which seek to prevent the re-development of Lansdowne Road.
“The IRFU will, on behalf of the clubs and rugby fraternity of Ireland, be robustly defending its position and its right to re-develop Lansdowne Road for the good of Irish rugby,” said a statement.
Paul Kelly
Irish Examiner
New Luas line plan in docklands scheme
PLANS for a new Luas line servicing Dublin's docklands will be included in the redevelopment of the Poolbeg Peninsula, a Dail committee heard yesterday.
A proposed planning scheme for the area, which includes the line, will be prepared in the next few months and available for public consultation by the end of the year.
Minister of State at the Department of Environment, Batt O'Keeffe, told the Joint Committee on Environment that the area could benefit from a range of enhanced transport options. "The opportunity exists to significantly increase the development capacity of the area by extending the Luas, in due course, from the Point village," he said.
Although the extension was anticipated in the 2006 amendment of the North Lotts Planning Scheme, the inclusion of a narrow strip of land along Pigeon House Road and York Road is intended to facilitate the anticipated extension of the Luas into the area.
"The Dublin Docklands Development Authority believes that an integrated, high-quality, high density mixed-use development in Poolbeg is the most sustainable use of land, both socially and economically," said the minister.
"It will help meet the housing, employment, community, cultural and recreational needs of the Docklands area and the wider city."
Anita Mullan
Irish Independent
A proposed planning scheme for the area, which includes the line, will be prepared in the next few months and available for public consultation by the end of the year.
Minister of State at the Department of Environment, Batt O'Keeffe, told the Joint Committee on Environment that the area could benefit from a range of enhanced transport options. "The opportunity exists to significantly increase the development capacity of the area by extending the Luas, in due course, from the Point village," he said.
Although the extension was anticipated in the 2006 amendment of the North Lotts Planning Scheme, the inclusion of a narrow strip of land along Pigeon House Road and York Road is intended to facilitate the anticipated extension of the Luas into the area.
"The Dublin Docklands Development Authority believes that an integrated, high-quality, high density mixed-use development in Poolbeg is the most sustainable use of land, both socially and economically," said the minister.
"It will help meet the housing, employment, community, cultural and recreational needs of the Docklands area and the wider city."
Anita Mullan
Irish Independent
City to get conference centre on banks of the Liffey
IT'S been a long time coming but now a glass-fronted newcomer is set to upstage its neighbours on the Liffey and become a landmark on the Dublin skyline.
The five levels of conference rooms, exhibition and banqueting space, and the 2,000-seat auditorium of the National Conference Centre have been much heralded over the past few years.
The UCD-educated architect who created the blueprint for the building admitted he had high aims in mind.
A "legacy" building was Pritzker prize-winning Kevin Roche's aim - one which would be as iconic as the Four Courts and the Custom House.
The €400m project had been mired in planning issues, but permission has finally been granted and diggers are already standing by on the 81-acre site.
Milestone
Arts Minister John O'Donoghue said that yesterday's signing of the contract with the Spencer Dock International Conference Centre Consortium, involving Treasury Holdings, businessman Harry Crosbie and Irish Rail, was a "milestone" for Irish tourism.
The NCC, to be located on the banks of the Liffey at Spencer Dock, will be less than half a mile from O'Connell Street and is expected to be completed by 2010.
The centre, boasting 22 meeting rooms, will accommodate up to 8,000 delegates.
Under the public-private partnership agreement, the consortium have signed up to design, build and finance the centre and will also operate it for a quarter of a century.
During this time it is expected to reap €380m, before the building then reverts to the ownership of the State.
Tourism chiefs have already started taking bookings, with the centre expected to be opening its doors for business in 2010.
Business tourism, including conference travel, is worth €475m to the Irish economy each year, according to Failte Ireland estimates.
Economy
The NCC is expected to be a moneyspinner for the economy, with estimated earnings of up to €50m a year.
Last night tourism and business interests welcomed the awarding of the contract.
Failte Ireland chair Gillian Bowler said Ireland would now be able to compete among the best to attract lucrative events here.
"I am particularly pleased that such a striking and innovative design has been selected, which will enhance the Liffey scape for generations to come," she said.
The Irish Hotels Federation said that the facility would help the country attract a larger share of the €40bn global conference market.
The Dublin Chamber of Commerce said that the announcement came at a critical time, given the loss of venues such as Jurys Ballsbridge, which had over 850 conference seats.
Louise Hogan
Irish Independent
The five levels of conference rooms, exhibition and banqueting space, and the 2,000-seat auditorium of the National Conference Centre have been much heralded over the past few years.
The UCD-educated architect who created the blueprint for the building admitted he had high aims in mind.
A "legacy" building was Pritzker prize-winning Kevin Roche's aim - one which would be as iconic as the Four Courts and the Custom House.
The €400m project had been mired in planning issues, but permission has finally been granted and diggers are already standing by on the 81-acre site.
Milestone
Arts Minister John O'Donoghue said that yesterday's signing of the contract with the Spencer Dock International Conference Centre Consortium, involving Treasury Holdings, businessman Harry Crosbie and Irish Rail, was a "milestone" for Irish tourism.
The NCC, to be located on the banks of the Liffey at Spencer Dock, will be less than half a mile from O'Connell Street and is expected to be completed by 2010.
The centre, boasting 22 meeting rooms, will accommodate up to 8,000 delegates.
Under the public-private partnership agreement, the consortium have signed up to design, build and finance the centre and will also operate it for a quarter of a century.
During this time it is expected to reap €380m, before the building then reverts to the ownership of the State.
Tourism chiefs have already started taking bookings, with the centre expected to be opening its doors for business in 2010.
Business tourism, including conference travel, is worth €475m to the Irish economy each year, according to Failte Ireland estimates.
Economy
The NCC is expected to be a moneyspinner for the economy, with estimated earnings of up to €50m a year.
Last night tourism and business interests welcomed the awarding of the contract.
Failte Ireland chair Gillian Bowler said Ireland would now be able to compete among the best to attract lucrative events here.
"I am particularly pleased that such a striking and innovative design has been selected, which will enhance the Liffey scape for generations to come," she said.
The Irish Hotels Federation said that the facility would help the country attract a larger share of the €40bn global conference market.
The Dublin Chamber of Commerce said that the announcement came at a critical time, given the loss of venues such as Jurys Ballsbridge, which had over 850 conference seats.
Louise Hogan
Irish Independent
Cliff-hanger as car park fees 'missing'
IT'S been involved in planning controversies, rows over parking and busking and has been the site of cliff-edge stunts.
And now the Cliffs of Moher are mired in a fraud investigation.
It emerged last night that gardai are investigating alleged "financial irregularities" because money from car parking fees at the new visitors centre remains unaccounted for.
One person has already resigned since the gardai began investigating over a year ago, and it is understood a "substantial" sum of money is involved.
"The council can confirm that a file on the matter has been handed over to the gardai who are continuing to investigate the matter. The matter was uncovered during our 2005 audit," said Clare County Council‘s Director of Services, Ger Dollard yesterday.
It is believed a sum of up to €15,000 was offered to the council as repayment for the missing monies, but this would not cover the missing sums. The council is also unsure for how long the alleged fraud went on.
It is understood the irregularities were uncovered after it was found there were more vehicles parking at the facility than the council was being paid for. Gardai are continuing their investigation.
Pat Flynn
Irish Independent
And now the Cliffs of Moher are mired in a fraud investigation.
It emerged last night that gardai are investigating alleged "financial irregularities" because money from car parking fees at the new visitors centre remains unaccounted for.
One person has already resigned since the gardai began investigating over a year ago, and it is understood a "substantial" sum of money is involved.
"The council can confirm that a file on the matter has been handed over to the gardai who are continuing to investigate the matter. The matter was uncovered during our 2005 audit," said Clare County Council‘s Director of Services, Ger Dollard yesterday.
It is believed a sum of up to €15,000 was offered to the council as repayment for the missing monies, but this would not cover the missing sums. The council is also unsure for how long the alleged fraud went on.
It is understood the irregularities were uncovered after it was found there were more vehicles parking at the facility than the council was being paid for. Gardai are continuing their investigation.
Pat Flynn
Irish Independent
€100m plan for GAA site
A MAJOR €100m development, including a shopping centre and financial services centre on an 11-acre site, could soon be built in Tralee, Co Kerry.
Planning application for the project is expected to be filed soon with Kerry County Council and, if given the go-ahead, will create at least 800 jobs.
The proposed development, which was put together by a Kerry-based business consortium, would take place at the site of John Mitchell's GAA club and the GAA county board's Austin Stack Park.
If it goes ahead, a 15,000-seater stadium will be built for the Kerry GAA Board in Tralee.
Those behind the development include well-known developer and quantity surveyor, John Casey, and businessman, Seamus O'Halloran.
They are proposing a mixed-use development for the adjoining 11-acre site in the town centre.
The project will require the rezoning of Austin Stack Park and theobtaining of planningpermission.
Barry Duggan
Irish Independent
Planning application for the project is expected to be filed soon with Kerry County Council and, if given the go-ahead, will create at least 800 jobs.
The proposed development, which was put together by a Kerry-based business consortium, would take place at the site of John Mitchell's GAA club and the GAA county board's Austin Stack Park.
If it goes ahead, a 15,000-seater stadium will be built for the Kerry GAA Board in Tralee.
Those behind the development include well-known developer and quantity surveyor, John Casey, and businessman, Seamus O'Halloran.
They are proposing a mixed-use development for the adjoining 11-acre site in the town centre.
The project will require the rezoning of Austin Stack Park and theobtaining of planningpermission.
Barry Duggan
Irish Independent
Thursday, 5 April 2007
Proposed Variation of the Dun Laoghaire Rathdown
Proposed Variation of the Dun Laoghaire Rathdown
County Development Plan 2004-2010 (Variation No. 8)
Notice is hereby given, pursuant to Section 13 (2) of the Planning and Development Act, 2000, that Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, being the Planning Authority of the County of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown, has prepared a draft of proposed Variation No. 8 of the Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Development Plan, 2004-2010 in respect of the following:-
To remove the 0/0 density restriction and to include a specific local objective for 70% affordable homes on a 1.5 hectare site at “Kilmarnock”, Military Road, Killiney, Co. Dublin.
The reason for the Variation is to provide affordable homes in the Dun Laoghaire Rathdown area.
Monday to Friday (excluding Bank Holidays) from Wednesday 28th March , 2007 to Thursday 26th April, 2007 (inclusive). A copy of the proposed Variation may also be viewed on the County Council’s web-site at http://www.dlrcoco.ie/
Written submissions or observations with respect to the proposed Variation made to the Planning Authority within the said period will be taken into consideration before the making of the Variation.
County Development Plan 2004-2010 (Variation No. 8)
Notice is hereby given, pursuant to Section 13 (2) of the Planning and Development Act, 2000, that Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, being the Planning Authority of the County of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown, has prepared a draft of proposed Variation No. 8 of the Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Development Plan, 2004-2010 in respect of the following:-
To remove the 0/0 density restriction and to include a specific local objective for 70% affordable homes on a 1.5 hectare site at “Kilmarnock”, Military Road, Killiney, Co. Dublin.
The reason for the Variation is to provide affordable homes in the Dun Laoghaire Rathdown area.
Monday to Friday (excluding Bank Holidays) from Wednesday 28th March , 2007 to Thursday 26th April, 2007 (inclusive). A copy of the proposed Variation may also be viewed on the County Council’s web-site at http://www.dlrcoco.ie/
Written submissions or observations with respect to the proposed Variation made to the Planning Authority within the said period will be taken into consideration before the making of the Variation.
Draft Pettigo Local Area Plan 2007
Draft Pettigo Local Area Plan 2007
Donegal County Council
The Draft Plan is available for inspection and or purchase at a fee of €20 from Friday 30th March
2007 - Friday 11th May 2007 (inclusive), at the following times and in the following venues;
9.00am – 4.30pm (Mon-Fri) Public Services Centre, Drumlonagher, Donegal Town.
9.00am – 4.30pm (Mon-Fri) Planning Office, County House, Lifford.
Copies may also be inspected at the ADoPT Centre, Pettigo and Branch Library, Mountcharles Road,
Donegal Town.
For submissions contact 0404-66060
Donegal County Council
The Draft Plan is available for inspection and or purchase at a fee of €20 from Friday 30th March
2007 - Friday 11th May 2007 (inclusive), at the following times and in the following venues;
9.00am – 4.30pm (Mon-Fri) Public Services Centre, Drumlonagher, Donegal Town.
9.00am – 4.30pm (Mon-Fri) Planning Office, County House, Lifford.
Copies may also be inspected at the ADoPT Centre, Pettigo and Branch Library, Mountcharles Road,
Donegal Town.
For submissions contact 0404-66060
Draft Lifford Local Area Plan 2007
Donegal County Council
This Draft Plan was prepared by the Central Planning Unit (Department of Planning and Economic Development, Donegal County Council), in accordance with Sections 18 – 20 of the Planning & Development Acts 2000 - 2006.
PUBLIC CONSULATION
The Draft Local Area Plan with associated map is available for inspection and or purchase at a fee of €20 from Friday 30th March until Friday 11th May 2007 (inclusive), at the following times and in the following venues;
9.00 am – 4.30 (Mon – Fri) Planning Office, County House, Lifford.
9.00 am – 4.30 (Mon – Fri) Planning Office, Public Service Centre, Letterkenny.
Copies may also be inspected at the Lifford Clonleigh Resource Centre and Lifford Community Library.
If you need a submission made, contact 0404-66060
This Draft Plan was prepared by the Central Planning Unit (Department of Planning and Economic Development, Donegal County Council), in accordance with Sections 18 – 20 of the Planning & Development Acts 2000 - 2006.
PUBLIC CONSULATION
The Draft Local Area Plan with associated map is available for inspection and or purchase at a fee of €20 from Friday 30th March until Friday 11th May 2007 (inclusive), at the following times and in the following venues;
9.00 am – 4.30 (Mon – Fri) Planning Office, County House, Lifford.
9.00 am – 4.30 (Mon – Fri) Planning Office, Public Service Centre, Letterkenny.
Copies may also be inspected at the Lifford Clonleigh Resource Centre and Lifford Community Library.
If you need a submission made, contact 0404-66060
DRAFT HACKETSTOWN, SKERRIES LOCAL AREA PLAN
DRAFT HACKETSTOWN, SKERRIES LOCAL AREA PLAN
Fingal County Council has prepared a Draft Local Area Plan for Lands at Hacketstown,
Skerries.
The lands are zoned ‘RS1’ for development the 2005-2001 Fingal Development Plan:
RS1: “To provide for new residential communities in accordance with approved local
area plans and subject to the provision of the necessary social and physical
infrastructure.”
The Draft Local Area Plan and Screening Decision of Strategic Environmental
Assessment, which has been prepared following initial public consultation, will be open to public inspection from Wednesday, 28th March, 2007 – Wednesday, 9th May, 2007
at the following locations.
If you need a submission made, please contact 0404-66060
Fingal County Council has prepared a Draft Local Area Plan for Lands at Hacketstown,
Skerries.
The lands are zoned ‘RS1’ for development the 2005-2001 Fingal Development Plan:
RS1: “To provide for new residential communities in accordance with approved local
area plans and subject to the provision of the necessary social and physical
infrastructure.”
The Draft Local Area Plan and Screening Decision of Strategic Environmental
Assessment, which has been prepared following initial public consultation, will be open to public inspection from Wednesday, 28th March, 2007 – Wednesday, 9th May, 2007
at the following locations.
If you need a submission made, please contact 0404-66060
Indaver not abandoning Waste-to-Energy plans in Ireland
Indaver is to continue with the approvals process for the proposed Waste-to-Energy facilities in Meath and Cork.
Both projects are in line with government policy, which includes a commitment to divert waste from landfill and develop alternative waste infrastructure. However, policy drivers are required to create suitable market conditions prior to the company investing over €250m in the waste to energy sector in Ireland.
Following a second oral hearing of appeals for the Meath facility in March, Indaver now await the final decision from An Bord Pleanála. If planning permission were to be granted, the company would be in a position to begin construction in 2007.
The commencement of the construction phase for projects depends on a number of policy drivers -
* Due to excess landfill and reduced gate fees, an increased landfill levy is imperative to ensure competition in the waste market
* A ban on certain types of waste being disposed of to landfill
* Direction of waste further up the waste hierarchy away from landfill, which is at the bottom of the waste hierarchy.
The implementation of one - or a combination - of these policy drivers in the short to medium-term, would provide certainty - which would allow the company progress with the construction phase of the Meath facility.
Whilst excess landfill does not impact on the industrial waste-to-energy facility proposed for Ringaskiddy, lack of policy drivers required to create suitable market conditions for the municipal waste-to-energy plant is impacting on the development of the Ringaskiddy project.
Expansion into the UK Market
As a European company, the Indaver Group is looking to expand its services into other European countries. This will strengthen an on-going commitment to offer the highest operating standards in the waste management industry to customers.
The Group has been monitoring the UK waste industry for some time - in particular, UK government policy and infrastructural requirements.
In its March 2007 budget, the British Government introduced an annual increase of £8 (€11) per tonne on its current landfill tax of £24 (€35) per tonne from April 2008 until - at least - 2010-2011. This will bring the UK landfill tax to over £48 (€70) by 2010.
This increase in the landfill levy provides the certainty that Indaver requires in order to expand into the UK marketplace. For this reason, Indaver will be focusing on waste-to-energy infrastructural projects in the UK market for the coming year.
Both projects are in line with government policy, which includes a commitment to divert waste from landfill and develop alternative waste infrastructure. However, policy drivers are required to create suitable market conditions prior to the company investing over €250m in the waste to energy sector in Ireland.
Following a second oral hearing of appeals for the Meath facility in March, Indaver now await the final decision from An Bord Pleanála. If planning permission were to be granted, the company would be in a position to begin construction in 2007.
The commencement of the construction phase for projects depends on a number of policy drivers -
* Due to excess landfill and reduced gate fees, an increased landfill levy is imperative to ensure competition in the waste market
* A ban on certain types of waste being disposed of to landfill
* Direction of waste further up the waste hierarchy away from landfill, which is at the bottom of the waste hierarchy.
The implementation of one - or a combination - of these policy drivers in the short to medium-term, would provide certainty - which would allow the company progress with the construction phase of the Meath facility.
Whilst excess landfill does not impact on the industrial waste-to-energy facility proposed for Ringaskiddy, lack of policy drivers required to create suitable market conditions for the municipal waste-to-energy plant is impacting on the development of the Ringaskiddy project.
Expansion into the UK Market
As a European company, the Indaver Group is looking to expand its services into other European countries. This will strengthen an on-going commitment to offer the highest operating standards in the waste management industry to customers.
The Group has been monitoring the UK waste industry for some time - in particular, UK government policy and infrastructural requirements.
In its March 2007 budget, the British Government introduced an annual increase of £8 (€11) per tonne on its current landfill tax of £24 (€35) per tonne from April 2008 until - at least - 2010-2011. This will bring the UK landfill tax to over £48 (€70) by 2010.
This increase in the landfill levy provides the certainty that Indaver requires in order to expand into the UK marketplace. For this reason, Indaver will be focusing on waste-to-energy infrastructural projects in the UK market for the coming year.
Government ‘stands in way’ of city development
In a wide-ranging document listing dozens of key priorities which have not been delivered, Cork Chamber slated the Government’s commitment to Cork.
The controversial airport debt issue, delays in fast-tracking the city’s multi-billion euro docklands regeneration, and stalled funding on crucial roads projects were among key issues that need to be addressed, the chamber said.
It threw down the gauntlet to elected politicians and demanded they deliver.
It also called on those hoping to be elected for the first time to make clear their positions on regional development, infrastructure, competitiveness and transport in the Cork region.
“It is time for the elected representatives of Cork to deliver for their region,” said Roger Flack, president of Cork Chamber.
“The region has a population close to 500,000 people with a growth rate ahead of the national average and its future growth is being hindered by a lack of Government commitment which now sees key transport and infrastructure projects on the back burner,” he said.
“Infrastructure development, particularly those facilitating improved access, is one of the key drivers of economic success and we currently have a situation whereby there is no National Roads Authority (NRA) road construction project under way in the entire county.
“And we have a situation at Cork airport which limits expansion potential at a time when significant opportunity exists post the EU-US Open Skies Agreement.
“The chamber is now calling on the leading political parties and election candidates to declare their position on key issues affecting the economic development of the region.”
Mr Flack said it was crucial to invest in the region to provide a counter-balance to development on the east coast. “What is needed now is a sustained and targeted development of the Cork region as the ‘key regional gateway’ based on its natural advantages in terms of scale and critical mass,” he said.
“The Cork region and the regional economy generally has suffered in recent years as a result of Government attempting to spread resources too thinly around the country rather than accepting the economic reality that significant resources need to be focused on a specific region.”
The manifesto details the core requirements of Cork Chamber, which represents up to 900 businesses in the greater Cork area.
The controversial airport debt issue, delays in fast-tracking the city’s multi-billion euro docklands regeneration, and stalled funding on crucial roads projects were among key issues that need to be addressed, the chamber said.
It threw down the gauntlet to elected politicians and demanded they deliver.
It also called on those hoping to be elected for the first time to make clear their positions on regional development, infrastructure, competitiveness and transport in the Cork region.
“It is time for the elected representatives of Cork to deliver for their region,” said Roger Flack, president of Cork Chamber.
“The region has a population close to 500,000 people with a growth rate ahead of the national average and its future growth is being hindered by a lack of Government commitment which now sees key transport and infrastructure projects on the back burner,” he said.
“Infrastructure development, particularly those facilitating improved access, is one of the key drivers of economic success and we currently have a situation whereby there is no National Roads Authority (NRA) road construction project under way in the entire county.
“And we have a situation at Cork airport which limits expansion potential at a time when significant opportunity exists post the EU-US Open Skies Agreement.
“The chamber is now calling on the leading political parties and election candidates to declare their position on key issues affecting the economic development of the region.”
Mr Flack said it was crucial to invest in the region to provide a counter-balance to development on the east coast. “What is needed now is a sustained and targeted development of the Cork region as the ‘key regional gateway’ based on its natural advantages in terms of scale and critical mass,” he said.
“The Cork region and the regional economy generally has suffered in recent years as a result of Government attempting to spread resources too thinly around the country rather than accepting the economic reality that significant resources need to be focused on a specific region.”
The manifesto details the core requirements of Cork Chamber, which represents up to 900 businesses in the greater Cork area.
New road to slash inter-city travel time - at a price
MOTORISTS will have to pay €8.60 in tolls for a round trip between Galway and Dublin in three years' time.
The journey time between the cities will, however, be greatly reduced when the motorway between east and west is completed.
A €604m contract to build 57.6km of motorway between Galway and Ballinasloe was signed by the Government yesterday.
Motorists driving between Dublin and Galway, a distance of 432km, will face two tolls, one at Kilcock/Kinnegad and a second on the new motorway.
The new toll is expected to be €1.70 for cars, compared to the current €2.60 at Kilcock.
However, the National Roads Authority (NRA) say the new route will mean safer and shorter journeys on world-class motorways.
The second biggest roads contract in the history of the State will lead to a full motorway between the
capital and Galway in 2010.
The road will be built by ICON consortium, which comprises FCC Construction and Itinere Infraestructuras, both major companies in Spain, and Irish company PJ Hegarty & Sons.
The second biggest roads contract in the history of the State will lead to a full motorway between the capital and Galway in 2010.
Announcing the contract yesterday, Transport Minister Martin Cullen said the project was a key link in the upgrade of the national road network. It would significantly benefit the western region.
The scheme requires the construction of 57.6km of new roadway to motorway standard, a 7km link road to the Loughrea bypass, 32km of side roads and four grade-separated junctions (junctions with bridges or tunnels that keep roads at different heights and ensure free flow of traffic).
The scheme will extend from Doughiska, east of Galway city, to the existing N6 east of Ballinasloe.
The route will run from the outskirts of Galway to Athenry, then cross the Galway/Dublin rail line, Graigabbey River and Athenry/Limerick rail line. The route then continues southeast to Carrowkeel junction from where the Loughrea link road proceeds south to the Loughrea Bypass.
From Carrowkeel junction, the route continues northeast, goes north of Aughrim village, then east again over the River Suck to at Tulrush, east of Ballinasloe, where a link road connects to the N6 at Beagh, Co Roscommon.
NRA chairman Peter Malone said the road would facilitate significant economic growth in tourism and general industry.
Treacy Hogan
Irish Independent
The journey time between the cities will, however, be greatly reduced when the motorway between east and west is completed.
A €604m contract to build 57.6km of motorway between Galway and Ballinasloe was signed by the Government yesterday.
Motorists driving between Dublin and Galway, a distance of 432km, will face two tolls, one at Kilcock/Kinnegad and a second on the new motorway.
The new toll is expected to be €1.70 for cars, compared to the current €2.60 at Kilcock.
However, the National Roads Authority (NRA) say the new route will mean safer and shorter journeys on world-class motorways.
The second biggest roads contract in the history of the State will lead to a full motorway between the
capital and Galway in 2010.
The road will be built by ICON consortium, which comprises FCC Construction and Itinere Infraestructuras, both major companies in Spain, and Irish company PJ Hegarty & Sons.
The second biggest roads contract in the history of the State will lead to a full motorway between the capital and Galway in 2010.
Announcing the contract yesterday, Transport Minister Martin Cullen said the project was a key link in the upgrade of the national road network. It would significantly benefit the western region.
The scheme requires the construction of 57.6km of new roadway to motorway standard, a 7km link road to the Loughrea bypass, 32km of side roads and four grade-separated junctions (junctions with bridges or tunnels that keep roads at different heights and ensure free flow of traffic).
The scheme will extend from Doughiska, east of Galway city, to the existing N6 east of Ballinasloe.
The route will run from the outskirts of Galway to Athenry, then cross the Galway/Dublin rail line, Graigabbey River and Athenry/Limerick rail line. The route then continues southeast to Carrowkeel junction from where the Loughrea link road proceeds south to the Loughrea Bypass.
From Carrowkeel junction, the route continues northeast, goes north of Aughrim village, then east again over the River Suck to at Tulrush, east of Ballinasloe, where a link road connects to the N6 at Beagh, Co Roscommon.
NRA chairman Peter Malone said the road would facilitate significant economic growth in tourism and general industry.
Treacy Hogan
Irish Independent
Wednesday, 4 April 2007
Green light for Moyross area regeneration plan
A RESCUE and regeneration initiative for Limerick’s troubled Moyross area was approved by the Cabinet yesterday.
The package put together by former Dublin city manager John Fitzgerald proposes a range of community improvement and anti-crime programmes to improve social conditions in the district and other parts of Limerick City.
Defence Minister and Limerick TD Willie O’Dea said the results would be seen on the streets of Moyross “within months”.
“This package will be a major benefit to the people of Limerick. The final cost has still to be determined by the Finance Department and though it will be expensive in the short term, the long-term benefits will be very worthwhile and cost effective,” he said.
Mr Fitzgerald was appointed to probe crime and social exclusion problems in Moyross last October.
The plan would see an intensive policing initiative launched in the area with garda resources pinpointed in known trouble spots.
The initiative calls for targeting of criminals who have amassed assets from illegal activities by implementing the force of the Criminal Assets Bureau.
Troubled estates are promised a high-visibility garda presence “to restore confidence and stability”.
The report also calls for a “policing structure that is exclusively dedicated to the policing of these areas with a minimum of 100 additional gardaí headed by a superintendent.”
Special teams of outreach workers are to target social and family problems.
A key aspect of the move to improve living conditions will see infrastructure changes to make the layout of Moyross more “user-friendly”.
Poor housing stock will be improved and a drug treatment programme launched, according to the report.
Its finding will now be coordinated by the Cabinet Committee on Social Inclusion.
Irish Examiner
The package put together by former Dublin city manager John Fitzgerald proposes a range of community improvement and anti-crime programmes to improve social conditions in the district and other parts of Limerick City.
Defence Minister and Limerick TD Willie O’Dea said the results would be seen on the streets of Moyross “within months”.
“This package will be a major benefit to the people of Limerick. The final cost has still to be determined by the Finance Department and though it will be expensive in the short term, the long-term benefits will be very worthwhile and cost effective,” he said.
Mr Fitzgerald was appointed to probe crime and social exclusion problems in Moyross last October.
The plan would see an intensive policing initiative launched in the area with garda resources pinpointed in known trouble spots.
The initiative calls for targeting of criminals who have amassed assets from illegal activities by implementing the force of the Criminal Assets Bureau.
Troubled estates are promised a high-visibility garda presence “to restore confidence and stability”.
The report also calls for a “policing structure that is exclusively dedicated to the policing of these areas with a minimum of 100 additional gardaí headed by a superintendent.”
Special teams of outreach workers are to target social and family problems.
A key aspect of the move to improve living conditions will see infrastructure changes to make the layout of Moyross more “user-friendly”.
Poor housing stock will be improved and a drug treatment programme launched, according to the report.
Its finding will now be coordinated by the Cabinet Committee on Social Inclusion.
Irish Examiner