TIPT is a free weekly environmental news service published by Friends of the Irish Environment. More than 12,500 stories from the last four years are searchable on our website, where comments can be posted on individual stories.
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| EU rules against Ireland on planning |
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 IN a judgment which could have far-reaching implications, the EU has ruled that Ireland had wrongly interpreted the requirements for Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) for certain planning projects.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) took the action because it claimed the Irish Government's implementation of the EIA directive was deficient.
Officials in Brussels argued that Ireland relied exclusively on size as the reason for determining whether an EIA should be carried out for certain kinds of projects. However, the European Commission said the directive required other factors to be taken into account, such as location, the sensitivity of the geographical area and the potential impact on landscapes of historical and archaeological significance. Read more. |
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Costs move on incinerator welcomed |
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ANTI-INCINERATION campaigners have welcomed a decision by Minister for the Environment John Gormley to ask the Supreme Court to formally revoke a costs order awarded to the State two weeks ago against Cork harbour residents.
A spokeswoman for Cork Harbour Area for a Safe Environment (Chase) said she was "delighted and proud" that the State, along with Mr Gormley and his department, saw fit not to enforce the costs order. Chase noted that incineration company Indaver had declined to follow suit. Read more. |
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Haulbowline toxic clean-up costs taxpayer EUR42m |
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 TAXPAYERS forked out more than EUR42 million on the controversial Haulbowline clean-up operation when toxic waste was buried instead of removed. The hazardous waste, which was covered up during the costly operation at the start of the year, is likely to cost the State up to EUR300m to dispose of.
The clean-up operation was suspended in June, when the Irish Examiner revealed that the sub-contractors carrying out the work were told by the Department of the Environment to "cap" the lagoons containing the toxic material at the former Irish Steel plant, rather than remove it. Read more. |
| Does the car parking space levy make sense? |
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 HEAD TO HEAD
YES says CIARÁN CUFFE , who argues that Ireland's commuting patterns are not sustainable and the levy is one of a range of measures that will help reduce congestion and cut carbon emissions.
No says CONOR FAUGHNAN , who states the levy is so poorly thought through that it will be a nightmare to administer and will not achieve its stated aim of reducing car use. Read more.
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Gormley denies anti-beef views |
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 MINISTER for the Environment John Gormley has strongly denied discouraging young people from eating beef. IFA Munster vice president Sean O'Leary criticised the Green Party leader for what he called "short-sighted comments" at the recent Partnership for Change climate change forum in Cork.
Mr O'Leary accused the minister of telling the conference that if people stopped eating beef, it would go a long way towards reducing Ireland's greenhouse gas emissions. "I was quite taken aback by his comments," said Mr O'Leary. "From a farming viewpoint, it is unpatriotic to undermine an industry worth so much to the economy." Read more.
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Minister warns councillors on small builder's policy |
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 DONEGAL County Councillors are acting against the interests of the wider community in favour of builders and developers. The claim was one of many criticisms made by Minister for the Environment John Gormley against Councillors and the County Council this week.
The Minister announced on Monday he is going to challenge Council plans to draw up a list of small builders which would guarantee them planning permission for up to two houses a year. At last month's meeting to discuss the Draft Variation of the County Development Plan, Councillors voted to introduce a small builders policy despite warnings from the Minister. Read more. |
| Mayo planning applicants feeling the wrath of Gormley's intervention |
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Planning applicants in Mayo are beginning to feel the effects of Environment Minister John Gormley's intervention in the County Development Plan. At a meeting of the Swinford electoral area committee this week three applications being considered for refusal by Mayo County Council fell foul of the Minister's recommendations.
The decision to consider refusing permission for two houses at Cloonlara, Swinford was described as harsh by Councillor Gerry Murray. Cllr Murray said they were dealing with the impact of the new plan which designates Swinford as an area under strong urban influence despite the fact that the population is only slightly over 1,500. Committee Chairman Cllr Joe Mellet said the fact that Mayo County Council got their population figures from an auctioneering website (daftie) was ridiculous in the first place. Read more. |
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FF councillor under fire from Greens over zoning remarks |
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 FIANNA Fail Meath County Councillor Tommy Reilly has come under fire from a Green Party local election candidate over his remarks last week criticising An Bord Pleanala chairman John O'Connor, who said that local authorities would have to undo some of the "indiscriminate and excessive zonings" of land that are "now completely out of line with current imperatives".
Mr O'Connor had said that local authorities faced high risk of substantial compensation claims if they continued to grant planning permission to unsustainable projects. Read more. |
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Power plant at full throttle sparks closure of bog rail |
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 INCREASED traffic levels on the rail network at Blackwater bog, due to increased demands from the Shannonbridge power station, are behind the decision by Bord na Mona to close the Clonmacnoise and West Offaly Railway, the Dail was told last week.
Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Deputy Eamon Ryan, responding to a question from Deputy Charles Flanagan, said although, it was an operational matter for the board of Bord na Mona pic, he had have obtained information from the company on the issue on behalf of the Deputy. Read more. |
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Doonbeg Golf Club records loss of €7m last year |
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 DOONBEG GOLF Club Ltd last year recorded a loss of €7 million, resulting in accumulated losses of €28 million at the Co Clare golf resort. A spokesman for the golf club said yesterday that the losses were "not a source of concern", pointing out that last year was the first full year when all of the facilities at Doonbeg were operational.
He conceded, however, that the loss for 2007 "was more than anticipated as overall tourism in the west of Ireland decreased from previous years". The exclusive Greg Norman-designed golf course, which opened in July 2002, has a joining fee of €55,861 ($70,000). Read more. |
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Plans for waste facility running into opposition |
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PLANS to build a new waste facility on a 12-acre site along the main Tralee/Killarney road are running into opposition. Kerry Central Recycling Facility Ltd has lodged a planning application with Kerry County Council in respect of the site at Scart/Caherdean, about 3km on the Killarney side of Farranfore village. Local residents last night attended an information meeting on the proposal. Independent councillor Brendan Cronin, who represents the area, has already lodged an objection to the application. "I believe this site is totally unsuitable for any kind of waste facility," he said. Read more. |
| Green light for Endesa move on ESB plants |
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 TARBERT Island's transition to new Spanish owners Endesa will begin next month following the support of its workforce who voted in favour of the sale on Friday.
The deal - which was also supported by workers at the Great Island plant in Wexford by a ballot on Friday - sees the Spanish company paying €450 million for both plants. Following the deal it is expected that up to 100 of the existing 130 workers in Tarbert Island will remain in the Kerry plant for the foreseeable future, with the remainder transferring to other ESB sites in the region. Read more. |
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Ireland gets exemption for Celtic Sea in cod plan |
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IRELAND HAS succeeded in exempting the Celtic Sea region from a new EU proposal on cod recovery after Minister of State for Fisheries Tony Killeen labelled the plan "draconian". EU fisheries ministers meeting in Brussels reached a deal yesterday that includes a commitment to continue the practice of closing off targeted "conservation boxes" in the Irish Sea rather than simply cutting fishing across the board. The commission had proposed to deal with the "overexploitation" of cod in areas including Ireland's northwest coast and the Irish Sea by cutting quotas and reducing the amount of time that vessels spend at sea. It had also planned to bring the Celtic Sea under the new rules. Read more. |
| Restrictions to remain on new builds in the countryside |
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A reworked planning policy for countryside homes in Northern Ireland will retain a presumption against granting permission for new builds, it was revealed today. The successor to the controversial PPS 14 policy will continue to apply tight restrictions on how many houses can be built in rural settings, according to a leaked draft of the policy. The Planning Service currently has a backlog of 2,000 applications for rural dwellings. Relaxations to certain elements of PPS 14 in the new PPS 21 policy will see a proportion of these applicants given the green light, but a number will still fail to meet rigid criteria for planning permission Read more. |
| Calls grow for probe into plan for runway extension |
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Momentum was building today for a public inquiry into plans to extend George Best Belfast City Airport's runway. Rival Belfast International Airport (BIA) warned that a planning application to extend the runway by 590 metres would be a "wholly retrograde step, entirely incompatible with the present and future economic interests of Northern Ireland". The PUP, Green Party and Belfast City AirportWatch also called for a public inquiry, while Ulster Unionist leader Sir Reg Empey warned that the plan would upset the balance between the needs of local residents and those of the airport . Read more. |
| Controversial animal lab opens for business |
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AFTER years of often violent opposition, a controversial British medical research lab opened this week, but few were celebrating. The University of Oxford's Biomedical Sciences Building suffered a series of setbacks due to threats and criminal damage until new laws stifled violent protests in 2005. It opened on Tuesday, but the university has cautioned against triumphalism. "We would not describe this as a victory, as we never sought a battle," it says. Meanwhile, the violent element of the anti-vivisection movement is growing in the US and mainland Europe. Read more. |
| Sparrow numbers 'plummet by 68% |
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 The population of house sparrows in Britain has fallen by 68% in the past three decades, according to the RSPB. A report by the charity said the paving over of front gardens and removal of trees had caused a big decline in insects that the birds eat. It suggests sparrows are now disappearing altogether from cities such as London, Bristol and Edinburgh. Dr Will Peach, from the RSPB, said many gardens had become "no-go areas for once-common British birds". Read more.
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| Fears for Food [Letters] |
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Paul Collins, reviewing Bee Wilson's excellent book Swindled, concludes that "our Accums will always be busy". As a public analyst I could lay claim to being a present-day Friedrich Accum: my job is to direct the chemical analysis of food to see whether it is safe, is as described and meets the requirements of the law.
The few of us that remain are very busy, but I'm not sure for how much longer. Every year the local authorities that take samples for enforcement purposes spend less on having food analysed. One London borough has a budget of £7000, which is 2.1 pence per inhabitant per year. Read more. |
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EU carmakers seek €40bn support |
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 AFTER RECEIVING an initially frosty reception from Brussels, European car industry executives are gaining confidence that a credit programme worth up to €40 billion, supported by the European Investment Bank (EIB), could soon be forthcoming.
Details of the EIB package, a response to America's $25 billion loan for the US industry, could emerge next week, when the European Commission is expected to make a series of proposals to bolster struggling industries. Carmakers are urging short-term measures, such as offering incentives to drivers who trade in older vehicles, to stimulate collapsing volumes in the industry. Car sales fell by a reported 15.5 per cent in western Europe last month. Read more. |
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German government criticised over car tax U-turn |
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| The head of Germany's environment agency (UBA) has criticised a government decision last month to exempt all new cars from vehicle registration tax until mid-2009, and to exempt cleaner Euro 5 and 6 class cars until mid-2010. The policy modifies the government's earlier plan to base the level of vehicle tax solely on emissions, rather than engine capacity. UBA president Andreas Troge told the Handelsblatt newspaper that the new policy was a "backward step in environmental policy". Ending the tax-free status of company cars would help the environment more, he said. (c) ENDS Environment Daily. |
| Bush angers environmentalists with last-minute rule changes |
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 As the hour grows late, President Bush, like many chief executives before him, seems to hear the call of the wild. Honoring a tradition that dates at least to the Reagan administration, Bush is pushing through a bundle of controversial last-minute changes in federal rules -- many of them involving the environment, national parks and public lands in the West.
Many of the 'midnight regulations' open wilderness for oil and gas drilling, and loosen environmental safeguards. President Bush has pushed 53 through in three weeks, researchers say. Read more. |
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Calculating the cost of the 'eco-crunch' |
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AFTER global markets were hit by what may be the worst financial crisis of our times, environmental groups pointed out that an "eco-crunch" would hit even harder. Just how hard is the subject of a new report. Estimating the cost of environmental crises is difficult. In 2006, economist Nicholas Stern rocked the world by putting a £2.3 trillion price tag on the consequences of ignoring climate change. "He may have been right - who knows? - but Stern had a huge effect" in communicating the scale of the problem, says Nick Johnstone, an economist at the OECD, which produced the new report: Costs of Inaction on Key Environmental Challenges. Read more. |
| Congo Violence Reaches Endangered Mountain Gorillas |
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Jean-Marie Serundori wakes up every morning with gorillas on his mind.
"I wash my face, I stare at the mountains and I think of them," he said. "They are like our cousins."
But Mr. Serundori, a Congolese wildlife ranger entrusted with protecting some of the most majestic - and most endangered - animals on the planet, is far from the broad-backed mountain gorillas he loves. Instead, he is stuck in a wet and filthy camp for internally displaced people where the only wildlife are the cockroaches that scurry across the mud floors. He is one of the hundreds of thousands of people left idle and destitute by eastern Congo's most recent spasm of violence, and the consequences in this case may be dire and irreversible. Read more. |
| Dumb eco-questions you were afraid to ask |
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 The definitive guide to everything you wanted to know about being green but were too embarrassed to ask.
Samples: Is it worth recycling when stuff gets shipped to China and back in the process? Given the carbon footprint of all that, maybe we should just let the stuff rot?
Can I save the planet by staying slim?
What is the single most effective thing I can do for the environment?
Comment from the website: Patrick on 18/11/2008
'Brilliant - all the questions I've wanted a definitive answer to for years.' | |
