MOTORISTS are set to face a radical new 30kmh (18.6mph) speed limit throughout Dublin city centre and along the quays.
The new limit is 20kmh less than the current city-wide limit of 50kmh (31mph).
The far slower speed limit is being introduced to help prevent the deaths of cyclists and pedestrians, the Irish Independent has learned.
Key arteries including O'Connell Street, Dame Street, D'Olier Street, Westmoreland Street, and the north and southside quays all currently have a speed limit of 50kmh since the changeover to metric values.
Under the new Dublin City Council management initiative these will all be slashed to 30kmh along with every other street and road in the city centre core.
A small number of streets, including part of Talbot Street and Temple Bar, already have a 30kmh limit but the vast majority are set at 50kmh, including the high traffic volume routes. In order to effect the changes, the council has held top-level discussions with the National Roads Authority. Because streets such as O'Connell St and Westmoreland St are designated as national primary roads, they will have to be delisted so that the new limit can be introduced.
The NRA has agreed to delist all of the roads inside the M50 as national primary routes to facilitate the new limit, it was also learned. It is expected that other councils in cities such as Cork, Galway and Limerick may follow the lead set by Dublin in bringing in a radically lower city centre speed limit.
Tim O'Sullivan, senior Dublin City Council traffic executive, said yesterday: "We are going to introduce a new lower speed limit of 30kmh in the very core of the city centre. It is a safety issue and is a no-brainer.
"The change is imminent. All of the studies show that when you have a speed limit of 20mph in the old values, then safety for cyclists and pedestrians is radically improved." Success
The new limit will be backed with upgrading of the traffic light system and a new raft of speed limit signs. The 30kmh limit will be presented to a special traffic committee of the council before going out to public consultation.
After that, a new bylaw will be introduced setting the new legal limit for motorists.
Mr O'Sullivan said they were now in a position to make the change following on from the success of the Dublin Port Tunnel in removing thousands of trucks from the quays and the city centre and the introduction of new quality bus corridors.
"This is about promoting the safety of cyclists and pedestrians," said the city council traffic chief.
Treacy Hogan
© Irish Independent
Friday, 3 August 2007
EPA defends policy on spills
A senior official with the Environmental Protection Agency has defended the agency's policy on notifying the public of industrial spillages and leakages after a senior figure in the Green Party called for a more proactive approach by the agency to public notification.
Kieran O'Brien, programme manager of licence enforcement in the office of environmental enforcement in the EPA said he was satisfied that industries were notifying the agency of significant spillages and leakages in keeping with the agency's licensing requirements.
"I am satisfied that the guidance is quite clear and that industry has a good understanding of what is required in terms of incident notification and that they know that we take a very serious view of any failure to notify us of an incident," said Mr O'Brien.
He was responding to former Cork South Central Green Party TD Dan Boyle who expressed concerns that the agency was not posting details of industry
incidents in recent months as frequently as it did when it first launched the service in August 2005.
Mr Boyle was commenting in the wake of a leakage of 100 litres of methanol vapour at Pfizer's plant at Little Island, Co Cork, last month, and he was especially critical of the EPA's policy of notifying the public of the leakage.
"I fully accept the EPA's report on the leakage and I accept that it doesn't present any dangers to the public, but I'm very disappointed with the manner in which people learned about this through the newspapers two days later," he said.
Barry Roche
© 2007 The Irish Times
Kieran O'Brien, programme manager of licence enforcement in the office of environmental enforcement in the EPA said he was satisfied that industries were notifying the agency of significant spillages and leakages in keeping with the agency's licensing requirements.
"I am satisfied that the guidance is quite clear and that industry has a good understanding of what is required in terms of incident notification and that they know that we take a very serious view of any failure to notify us of an incident," said Mr O'Brien.
He was responding to former Cork South Central Green Party TD Dan Boyle who expressed concerns that the agency was not posting details of industry
incidents in recent months as frequently as it did when it first launched the service in August 2005.
Mr Boyle was commenting in the wake of a leakage of 100 litres of methanol vapour at Pfizer's plant at Little Island, Co Cork, last month, and he was especially critical of the EPA's policy of notifying the public of the leakage.
"I fully accept the EPA's report on the leakage and I accept that it doesn't present any dangers to the public, but I'm very disappointed with the manner in which people learned about this through the newspapers two days later," he said.
Barry Roche
© 2007 The Irish Times
Corrib gas project review not an option, says Ryan
Minister for Energy Eamon Ryan has said that the Government "cannot commit" to the proposed review of the entire Corrib gas project, which the Green Party had endorsed earlier this year if elected to office.
Mr Ryan told The Irish Times that there would be no legal basis for such a review, given that the Corrib gas refinery in north Mayo has been approved by An Bord Pleanála.
However, he would try to ensure that there was "open consultation" on a new pipeline route for the controversial project, which consultants for Shell E&P Ireland are currently engaged in selecting.
An Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decision on an integrated pollution prevention control licence (IPCC) for the gas terminal is also pending.
An independent commission to examine the best development concept for the Corrib gas project secured the backing of Labour, the Green Party, Socialist Party and a number of Independent TDs and Senators in the previous government. It was proposed last year by former Shell to Sea spokesman Dr Mark Garavan and former Mayo TD Dr Jerry Cowley, who had expressed concern about the risk of serious injury in continuing protests over the project in Erris.
The Green Party also endorsed such a strategy if elected to government in a resolution passed unanimously at last February's party conference.
The resolution stated that "the Green Party in government will not approve of a production pipeline consent being signed as part of the Corrib gas project until the completion of a full independent review of the best development concept for the project".
Mr Ryan told The Irish Times that even though this resolution has been passed, he now had to adopt a "neutral position" as Minister. In any event, his legal advice was that a Bord Pleanála approval of the refinery or terminal "could not be reversed".
Bord Pleanála decisions could only be appealed on a matter of "process rather than of substance", within a specific timeframe, although groups unhappy with particular rulings had also sought recourse in the High Court, he said.
Mr Ryan said that he had visited the area, had walked the original route of the onshore pipeline, and he had appealed the second round of planning permission for the gas terminal. He was critical of the manner in which the onshore pipeline was granted by ministerial consent and he was also concerned about the impact on bog movements.
As his party's spokesman he had also suggested other locations for the terminal in the past, such as the old Asahi factory near Killala.
Mr Ryan said he believed the Advantica safety review, published last year by his predecessor Noel Dempsey, had recognised and made allowances for many of the concerns of the local community. "It validated the community concerns, and made significant changes, such as recommending reduced pressure through the pipeline."
Lorna Siggins
© 2007 The Irish Times
Mr Ryan told The Irish Times that there would be no legal basis for such a review, given that the Corrib gas refinery in north Mayo has been approved by An Bord Pleanála.
However, he would try to ensure that there was "open consultation" on a new pipeline route for the controversial project, which consultants for Shell E&P Ireland are currently engaged in selecting.
An Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decision on an integrated pollution prevention control licence (IPCC) for the gas terminal is also pending.
An independent commission to examine the best development concept for the Corrib gas project secured the backing of Labour, the Green Party, Socialist Party and a number of Independent TDs and Senators in the previous government. It was proposed last year by former Shell to Sea spokesman Dr Mark Garavan and former Mayo TD Dr Jerry Cowley, who had expressed concern about the risk of serious injury in continuing protests over the project in Erris.
The Green Party also endorsed such a strategy if elected to government in a resolution passed unanimously at last February's party conference.
The resolution stated that "the Green Party in government will not approve of a production pipeline consent being signed as part of the Corrib gas project until the completion of a full independent review of the best development concept for the project".
Mr Ryan told The Irish Times that even though this resolution has been passed, he now had to adopt a "neutral position" as Minister. In any event, his legal advice was that a Bord Pleanála approval of the refinery or terminal "could not be reversed".
Bord Pleanála decisions could only be appealed on a matter of "process rather than of substance", within a specific timeframe, although groups unhappy with particular rulings had also sought recourse in the High Court, he said.
Mr Ryan said that he had visited the area, had walked the original route of the onshore pipeline, and he had appealed the second round of planning permission for the gas terminal. He was critical of the manner in which the onshore pipeline was granted by ministerial consent and he was also concerned about the impact on bog movements.
As his party's spokesman he had also suggested other locations for the terminal in the past, such as the old Asahi factory near Killala.
Mr Ryan said he believed the Advantica safety review, published last year by his predecessor Noel Dempsey, had recognised and made allowances for many of the concerns of the local community. "It validated the community concerns, and made significant changes, such as recommending reduced pressure through the pipeline."
Lorna Siggins
© 2007 The Irish Times
An Taisce opposes fast-tracking 'Suas'
The proposed "Suas" cable car service for Dublin city and a €1 billion commercial and residential development for Ceannt Station in Galway city should not be permitted to use the new fast-track legislation to gain planning permission, An Taisce has said.
The projects are among 53 schemes seeking to apply for planning permission under the new Strategic Infrastructure Act, which came into force earlier this year and allows developers to bypass local authority planners and go directly to An Bord Pleanála for planning approval.
The planning board is currently determining which of the 53 schemes should be permitted to use the new system and which will have to go back to their local authorities.
An Taisce said the new system diminishes public participation in the planning process and that it will lead to the courts system becoming swamped with legal challenges to planning decisions.
Ian Lumley, national heritage officer with An Taisce, said the organisation would be particularly concerned if the cable car and Ceannt Station proposals were allowed to use the new planning system.
"There are several that really shouldn't qualify and I think it is unlikely that the cable car will qualify. It doesn't satisfy any of the criteria for major infrastructure. It's clearly a stand-alone project that should go through normal procedures."
The Ceannt Station development was essentially a commercial development as only one quarter of the site was to be used for transport and this "small element" meant that it did not qualify as a major transport development, Mr Lumley said.
No formal procedure had been established to allow organisations such as An Taisce to make a submission to the planning board on which developments should be allowed to use the fast-track system, Mr Lumley said.
An Taisce has made a complaint to the European Commission that the fast-track process is in contravention of the EU environmental impact assessment
(EIA) directive. This directive states that when a project is subject to an EIA, the review (appeals) process must be accessible and affordable.
"The Government has said that the legislation gives people recourse to the courts to appeal, but the courts are financially onerous," Mr Lumley said.
Sinn Féin's environment spokesman Arthur Morgan said the legislation was designed to facilitate the "ramming through of unwanted infrastructure against the democratic wishes of communities".
He also criticised the practice of allowing developers to meet An Bord Pleanála before they submit an application.
An Bord Pleanála said that pre-application meetings must be held as part of the process.
Olivia Kelly
© 2007 The Irish Times
The projects are among 53 schemes seeking to apply for planning permission under the new Strategic Infrastructure Act, which came into force earlier this year and allows developers to bypass local authority planners and go directly to An Bord Pleanála for planning approval.
The planning board is currently determining which of the 53 schemes should be permitted to use the new system and which will have to go back to their local authorities.
An Taisce said the new system diminishes public participation in the planning process and that it will lead to the courts system becoming swamped with legal challenges to planning decisions.
Ian Lumley, national heritage officer with An Taisce, said the organisation would be particularly concerned if the cable car and Ceannt Station proposals were allowed to use the new planning system.
"There are several that really shouldn't qualify and I think it is unlikely that the cable car will qualify. It doesn't satisfy any of the criteria for major infrastructure. It's clearly a stand-alone project that should go through normal procedures."
The Ceannt Station development was essentially a commercial development as only one quarter of the site was to be used for transport and this "small element" meant that it did not qualify as a major transport development, Mr Lumley said.
No formal procedure had been established to allow organisations such as An Taisce to make a submission to the planning board on which developments should be allowed to use the fast-track system, Mr Lumley said.
An Taisce has made a complaint to the European Commission that the fast-track process is in contravention of the EU environmental impact assessment
(EIA) directive. This directive states that when a project is subject to an EIA, the review (appeals) process must be accessible and affordable.
"The Government has said that the legislation gives people recourse to the courts to appeal, but the courts are financially onerous," Mr Lumley said.
Sinn Féin's environment spokesman Arthur Morgan said the legislation was designed to facilitate the "ramming through of unwanted infrastructure against the democratic wishes of communities".
He also criticised the practice of allowing developers to meet An Bord Pleanála before they submit an application.
An Bord Pleanála said that pre-application meetings must be held as part of the process.
Olivia Kelly
© 2007 The Irish Times
Gormley moves against incineration projects
The government is set to deliver a crippling blow to the long-term viability of incineration projects in Ireland.
The Sunday Business Post has learned that Minister for the Environment John Gormley has told local authorities in recent days that any move to skew waste management in favour of thermal incineration and landfill would be blocked.
The move will see councils prevented from entering into agreements to divert set amounts of municipal waste to major landfill and incineration operators, significantly diminishing the viability of future projects.
Gormley told all city and county managers that mechanical and biological waste must be recycled and composted.
The move is also a major blow to plans for super-incinerators in Meath and Cork, and may also have a critical effect on plans underway to develop an incinerator at Poolbeg in Dublin.
It follows months of speculation over the future of Indaver Ireland’s planned €200 million investment in incineration projects at Ringaskiddy in Cork and Carranstown in Meath.
The company has stopped work on its projects, arguing that landfill has to be made more expensive to ensure that there is enough waste to burn.
Such a concession has already been blocked as part of the agreed programme for government between Fianna Fail and the Green Party.
In the document, which has been seen by this newspaper, local authority managers have been told that they will not be permitted to enter into ‘put or pay’ clauses that would facilitate the supply of minimum quantities of waste to thermal treatment or landfill.
John Burke
© Sunday Business Post
The Sunday Business Post has learned that Minister for the Environment John Gormley has told local authorities in recent days that any move to skew waste management in favour of thermal incineration and landfill would be blocked.
The move will see councils prevented from entering into agreements to divert set amounts of municipal waste to major landfill and incineration operators, significantly diminishing the viability of future projects.
Gormley told all city and county managers that mechanical and biological waste must be recycled and composted.
The move is also a major blow to plans for super-incinerators in Meath and Cork, and may also have a critical effect on plans underway to develop an incinerator at Poolbeg in Dublin.
It follows months of speculation over the future of Indaver Ireland’s planned €200 million investment in incineration projects at Ringaskiddy in Cork and Carranstown in Meath.
The company has stopped work on its projects, arguing that landfill has to be made more expensive to ensure that there is enough waste to burn.
Such a concession has already been blocked as part of the agreed programme for government between Fianna Fail and the Green Party.
In the document, which has been seen by this newspaper, local authority managers have been told that they will not be permitted to enter into ‘put or pay’ clauses that would facilitate the supply of minimum quantities of waste to thermal treatment or landfill.
John Burke
© Sunday Business Post
'Suas' the cable car planned for quays
A COMPANY is seeking to fast-track the planning process and secure permission to develop a cable car service along the Dublin quays.
The Liffey Cable Car Company is among 53 applicants who have sought permission from An Bord Pleanala to build a range of large projects under a new system allowing applications to be processed more quickly.
The cable car - known as Suas - would run between Heuston Station and the Docklands and would transport sightseers at heights close to 80 metres above the river from the Guinness Brewery near Heuston to a terminal near the planned national conference centre at Spencer Dock.
Said to be inspired by the success of the London Eye, it is designed more as a tourist attraction than for public transport.
But a poll on an architect's website found that just 10pc of respondents welcomed the scheme, with 41pc saying it would destroy the visual appearance of the city. The remainder described it as "Disneyland gimmickry" and a "complete waste of money".
The proposal is among dozens received by An Bord Pleanala under the Strategic Infrastructure Act, which came into effect last January. This allows certain projects to be dealt with directly by An Bord Pleanala, rather than having to be adjudicated by local authorities. Other schemes seeking approval include the controversial Corrib Gas pipeline, the €1bn redevelopment of Galway's Ceannt Station and the extension of the Luas Red line from Tallaght to Citywest.
Another application relates to the reopening of the railway line between Clonsilla and Dunboyne, Co Meath, which would be good news for commuters if approved swiftly.
Paul Melia
Irish Independent
The Liffey Cable Car Company is among 53 applicants who have sought permission from An Bord Pleanala to build a range of large projects under a new system allowing applications to be processed more quickly.
The cable car - known as Suas - would run between Heuston Station and the Docklands and would transport sightseers at heights close to 80 metres above the river from the Guinness Brewery near Heuston to a terminal near the planned national conference centre at Spencer Dock.
Said to be inspired by the success of the London Eye, it is designed more as a tourist attraction than for public transport.
But a poll on an architect's website found that just 10pc of respondents welcomed the scheme, with 41pc saying it would destroy the visual appearance of the city. The remainder described it as "Disneyland gimmickry" and a "complete waste of money".
The proposal is among dozens received by An Bord Pleanala under the Strategic Infrastructure Act, which came into effect last January. This allows certain projects to be dealt with directly by An Bord Pleanala, rather than having to be adjudicated by local authorities. Other schemes seeking approval include the controversial Corrib Gas pipeline, the €1bn redevelopment of Galway's Ceannt Station and the extension of the Luas Red line from Tallaght to Citywest.
Another application relates to the reopening of the railway line between Clonsilla and Dunboyne, Co Meath, which would be good news for commuters if approved swiftly.
Paul Melia
Irish Independent
Cities brought closer by €128m roadway section
DUBLIN and Belfast moved a significant step closer in terms of travel time yesterday when a new €128m cross-border section of dual carriageway was officially opened.
The 14km-long development links Ballymascanlon at the end of the M1 outside Dundalk to the Cloghogue roundabout on the outskirts of Newry.
But work has yet to begin on what will be the final piece of the infrastructure jigsaw.
A 12km section of roadway from the Sheepbridge area of Co Down to Cloghogue will eventually see a dual carriageway running all the way between Ireland's two major cities.
Foreign minister Dermot Ahern returned to his Louth constituency yesterday to cut the official opening ribbon with Stormont Executive minister Conor Murphy, the Westminster MP for Armagh.
Stormont Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness - as well as other dignitaries including Louth Council chairman Jimmy Mulroy and his Newry counterpart Michael Cole - was also present at the official opening of the section. Watching yesterday's proceedings from his fields adjacent to the new roadway was 82-year-old Michael Morgan who recalled the days when large stones placed across the fields marked the frontier.
In those days, he said, farmers wishing to work with horses on the northern side of the border had to have detailed documentation on the animals which would be rigorously scrutinised by the customs officials.
Improvement
"You had to have the full particulars about the horse. If he had a white sock on one leg or a white mark on his face - that was all on the pass," he said.
"This new road is a miracle. I never thought I would see it - it is such a big improvement and it's hard to believe we have two ministers from Dublin and Belfast here together."
An estimated 20,000 vehicles use the Armagh/Louth border crossing each day and, while some congestion can still be expected at the Cloghogue roundabout, eventually the travel time between Belfast and Dublin will be reduced to less than two hours.
Dominic Cunningham
Irish Independent
The 14km-long development links Ballymascanlon at the end of the M1 outside Dundalk to the Cloghogue roundabout on the outskirts of Newry.
But work has yet to begin on what will be the final piece of the infrastructure jigsaw.
A 12km section of roadway from the Sheepbridge area of Co Down to Cloghogue will eventually see a dual carriageway running all the way between Ireland's two major cities.
Foreign minister Dermot Ahern returned to his Louth constituency yesterday to cut the official opening ribbon with Stormont Executive minister Conor Murphy, the Westminster MP for Armagh.
Stormont Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness - as well as other dignitaries including Louth Council chairman Jimmy Mulroy and his Newry counterpart Michael Cole - was also present at the official opening of the section. Watching yesterday's proceedings from his fields adjacent to the new roadway was 82-year-old Michael Morgan who recalled the days when large stones placed across the fields marked the frontier.
In those days, he said, farmers wishing to work with horses on the northern side of the border had to have detailed documentation on the animals which would be rigorously scrutinised by the customs officials.
Improvement
"You had to have the full particulars about the horse. If he had a white sock on one leg or a white mark on his face - that was all on the pass," he said.
"This new road is a miracle. I never thought I would see it - it is such a big improvement and it's hard to believe we have two ministers from Dublin and Belfast here together."
An estimated 20,000 vehicles use the Armagh/Louth border crossing each day and, while some congestion can still be expected at the Cloghogue roundabout, eventually the travel time between Belfast and Dublin will be reduced to less than two hours.
Dominic Cunningham
Irish Independent
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