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TIPT is a free environmental news service published by Friends of the Irish Environment weekly on Tuesdays. More than 12,900 stories from the last four years are searchable on our website, where comments can be posted on individual stories.
http://friendsoftheirishenvironment.net/ |
| Quashing of Council's ruling sought |
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 GREEN Party councillor has asked the High Court to overturn a decision that a Wicklow Fianna Fáil councillor and solicitor had not breached ethics legislation in proposing and voting for a quarry rezoning motion without disclosing that his law firm was acting for the quarry owner in legal proceedings.
The action by Deirdre de Búrca centres on the construction of certain provisions of the Local Government Act 2001, enacted to provide an ethical framework for local government. Read more. |
| Food safety chief delayed report on adulterated water |
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 SENIOR EXECUTIVES of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) sought to soften a report showing high levels of contamination of bottled waters before its publication, according to documentation released under freedom of information legislation.
The authority's chief executive, Dr John O'Brien, delayed publication of the report, leading staff to conclude it had been placed "on the back burner", the documents obtained by The Irish Times show. Dr O'Brien argued that the report needed scientific revision and independent peer review. Read more.
Includes: Water contamination - What they said
"Should we not be issuing a press release on this, as discussed? The text for the homepage stating that 'the results are cause for concern' is something that we should be sending out widely and not just on the website." - FSAI press officer Jane Ryder, in an e-mail to colleagues in September 2008.
"Following today's [staff] meeting, I am still left with the question of why the bottled water report was not published. What exactly was wrong with [it]?"
- FSAI librarian Noeleen Murtagh, in an e-mail to chief executive Dr John O'Brien, November 2008. |
| 23% of samples in one area tainted |
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A CONSULTANT microbiologist called on the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) to consider appropriate public awareness actions in October 2007 after 23 per cent of bottled water samples in her area over a four-week period were found to be contaminated.
Dr Eleanor McNamara, director of the public health laboratory in the HSE Dublin Mid Leinster area, wrote to the authority on October 12th, 2007, with concerns about the results of the bottled water samples which were being analysed as part of an FSAI study. Read more. |
| 'Question mark' over toxic dump report |
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QUESTIONS remain over the threat posed by toxic hotspots on Haulbowline Island, according to county councillors.
The experts who produced a report last month, which said the toxic dump on Haulbowline is safe, were quizzed by councillors at a meeting on Friday. The report, commissioned by Minister for Environment John Gormley and carried out by consultants White Young Green, revealed there was no identifiable threat to human health from the waste on the island. This is despite the fact that elevated levels of mercury, arsenic and chromium were detected on the island and in shellfish in Cork harbour. Read more. |
| Dublin Bus to lay off 290 staff and reduce services |
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Industry correspondent DUBLIN Bus is axing 290 jobs, scrapping the weekday Nitelink service and removing 1,000 scheduled journeys from its timetable. Commuters face far more infrequent services after the company yesterday unveiled proposals to take 120 buses from eight garages from March 1, as part of a radical cost-cutting plan approved by Transport Minister Noel Dempsey. Opposition parties attacked the Government and singled out the Green Party for criticism following the announcement. They said it had "abandoned" its core principles and supporting the "decimation" of crucial public transport services. Read more. |
Sanctuary gets EUR10k boost
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 THE Irish Seal Sanctuary at Garristown has been awarded an ex-gratia payment of EUR10,000 by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to assist with its work during 2009.
This is part of an overall package of payments totalling EUR1,250,000 being made to 110 animal welfare organisations throughout the country to assist in their work in 2009, according to Trevor Sargent, the Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. Read more. |
| Airport plan delay |
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 AN ANNOUNCEMENT that the planned second runway at Dublin airport may be deferred has been welcomed this week by a north Dublin Green politician. "It's not going ahead for the moment, and I'm happy with the fact; I don't think it was ever needed. The Government can't go ahead with something like this when passenger number are dropping by something like 6% a month," Councillor Robbie Kelly told the Gazette.
Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) made the announcement in late December, in light of the current economic downturn. In a statement issued by their communications department, the DAA said: "The second phase of the planned investment programme at Dublin Airport, covering the years 2010-2014, may be reduced, significantly affecting the timeline for delivery of the proposed new runway." Read more. |
| No task force to get rid of pyrite problem |
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 The pyrite infestation which left large numbers of householders in Drynam Estate faced with cracking walls and floors will not lead to the establishment of a task force to eradicate the problem, as some had hoped. Minster for the Environment, John Gormley, has confirmed that there are no plans to establish a task force on the problem or order traceability audits of infected material.
Minister Gormley said a new National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) recommendation is intended to address the quality of standards of homes and buildings affected by pyrite. But the minister had little comfort for those already affected by pyrite, saying he was of the view that the resolution to the problems arising between householders, and builders were matters for themselves. Read more. |
| Court overturns council ban on plan by McNamara |
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 DEVELOPER BERNARD McNamara and his company Radora Developments Ltd have secured a court order overturning a "defective" decision by Dublin City Council which prevented the demolition of nine 19th-century properties as part of a development on Dublin's Merrion Road which was expected to achieve profits of €40 million.
The dispute between Mr McNamara and the council over the listing of the properties was settled before Mr Justice Peter Kelly at the Commercial Court yesterday on several terms. These included the council's concession that its decision of July 7th, 2008, listing the properties on its Register of Protected Structures, was in breach of provisions of the Planning and Development Act 2000. Read more. |
| Two legs good, four wheels bad |
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THE ILLEGAL USE of quad bikes is causing "irreparable" damage to the fragile environment of the Blackstairs. The mountain range contains some of the most spectacular and unspoilt landscapes in the southeast. In recent years quad bikes - which cost in the region of EUR5,000 for a top-of-the-range model with a 250cc engine - have become popular with sheep farmers, who use them to access flocks in remote areas of the mountains.
But conservationists claim that recreational use of the four-wheel drive, engine-powered bikes is causing serious soil erosion and disturbing wildlife on land designated as a "Special Area of Conservation" under the EU's Habitats Directive. The Mountaineering Council of Ireland, which is the main representative body for walkers and climbers, believes "the off-road use of vehicles is severely detrimental to the upland environment... and should be prohibited". Read more. |
| A tail of two villages and a whale |
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TWO villages. One whale carcass. And the Minister for the Environment stuck in the middle. Efforts were underway last night to broker a deal between two villages fighting over the Courtmacsherry whale which technically belongs to John Gormley. On Saturday afternoon, when two lifeboat men from Courtmacsherry, approached with a chainsaw the body of the Fin whale that had died in Courtmacsherry Bay last Thursday, a group of Kilbrittain residents stepped in their way and told them they were claiming the carcass for their village. Read more. |
| Cloughfin Bay beauty spot sewage fury |
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Northern Ireland Water has come under fire over the raw sewage being pumped into the sea at a Co Antrim beauty spot. Environment Minister Sammy Wilson has revealed that untreated sewage effluent being released into the sea at Whitehead - whose Blackhead Path is a popular spot for fishermen - is in breach of the consent set by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) which requires that it be finely screened. Read more. |
| Building in the countryside: now you can have a say |
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 Environment Minister Sammy Wilson has promised to see what the public say before he finalises a major revamp of rural planning policy. He appealed to rural dwellers to find out about draft PPS21 - which replaces the controversial PPS14 limiting development in the countryside - by attending information sessions being held across Northern Ireland. Information sessions involving DOE officials will be held between now and the end of February. Read more. |
| Secret gift to save ancient woods |
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It's an unheard-of gift - but one that will preserve ancient woodlands outside Londonderry for centuries to come. An "anonymous Canadian tree enthusiast" has donated £150,000 to the Woodland Trust to purchase a 58-acre site between Oaks Wood and Ervey Wood at Burntollet near Derry. The site - which has already been named Burntollet Wood - is to be planted with thousands of trees to link existing woodlands. It will also create a buffer zone to protect local flora and fauna, which include the endangered red squirrel. Read more. |
| Farms to take heat out of warming |
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 Farmers could help curb rising global temperatures by selecting crop varieties that reflect solar energy back into space, researchers say. Scientists at Bristol University calculate that switching crops in North America and Europe could reduce global temperatures by about 0.1C. Temperatures have risen by about 0.7C since the dawn of the industrial age.
Other experts say the idea is feasible but could not cool the world enough to combat rising greenhouse gas levels. Read more. |
| Go-ahead for new Heathrow runway |
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The government has given the go-ahead for a third runway at Heathrow, saying it is "right" for the UK but opponents have vowed to fight the plans. Environmental campaigners, residents and many MPs attacked the decision but business groups and unions welcomed it. Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon told MPs that strict measures would be put in place to limit noise and emissions. The debate was halted and local MP John McDonnell thrown out after he grabbed the mace and shouted "disgrace". Read more. |
| Euro MPs back pesticide controls |
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 The European Parliament has voted to tighten rules on pesticide use and ban at least 22 chemicals deemed harmful to human health. The UK government, the Conservatives and the National Farmers' Union all oppose the new rules, saying they could hit yields and increase food prices. The rules have not yet been approved by the 27 member states' governments. The draft law would ban substances that can cause cancer or that can harm human reproduction or hormones. Read more. |
| Proposed EU directive calls for air and road haulage toll |
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A PROPOSED new EU transport directive could add significantly to the cost of exporting goods from Ireland to Europe. The "Eurovignette" directive, to be sent by the European Commission to MEPs for consideration, aims to make transporters liable for the "cost to society" of their operations. The costs to be taken account of would include those arising from CO2 emissions, road crashes and congestion.
The proposed directive suggests that a new toll of a few cent per kilometre should be levied on air and road haulage companies to ensure they "internalise the full external costs". Read more. |
| New soil map for African farmers |
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 The first detailed digital soil map of sub-Saharan Africa is to be created. The £12m project will offer farmers in 42 countries a "soil health diagnosis" and advice on improving crop yields.
Scientists from the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) will take soil samples from across the continent and analyse nutrient levels. These will be combined with satellite data to build a high-resolution map, to be disseminated freely to poor farmers by local extension workers. Read more. |
| Light pollution forms 'eco-traps' |
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 An international team of researchers has found another form of light pollution that could have an adverse effect on wildlife. The scientists showed that as well as direct light sources, polarised light also triggered potentially dangerous changes in many species' behaviour.
They added that road surfaces and glass buildings were among the main sources of this form of light pollution.
The findings appear in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. Co-author Bruce Robertson, an ecologist from Michigan State University, US, said polarised light from structures within the built environment overwhelmed natural cues that controlled animal behaviour. Read more. | |
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