Environment Minister Alex Attwood has been accused of presiding over a “broken planning system” after a damning report by Unesco criticised the handling of a planned £100m golf resort development that threatens the setting of the Giant’s Causeway. The minister gave the green light to the Bushmills Dunes golf resort and spa early last year, overriding a recommendation by his own department’s NI Environment Agency that Unesco (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation) should be consulted.

// Read More //

An unprecedented stocktake of UK wildlife has revealed that most species are struggling and that one in three have halved in number in the past half century. The unique report, based on scientific analysis of tens of millions of observations from volunteers, shows that from woodland to farmland and from freshwater streams to the sea, many animals, birds, insects, fish and plants are in trouble. The causes include the intensification of farming, with the consequent loss of meadows, hedgerows and ponds and increased pesticide use, as well as building development, overfishing and climate change. Three in every five of the 3,148 species analysed for the report have declined in the last 50 years and one in 10 are at risk of extinction.

// Read More //

Global warming is melting snow and ice on the world’s highest mountain at an accelerating rate, researchers have claimed. A study by a team led by a Nepali scientist at the University of Milan has found that glaciers on or around Mount Everest have shrunk by 13% in the last 50 years with the snow line 180 metres higher than it was 50 years ago. The glaciers are disappearing faster every year, it says. The 60th anniversary of the first ascent of the 8,848 metre (29,028ft) peak by Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay will be celebrated next week.

// Read More //

PROFESSOR Mark Costello, chair of World Register of Marine Species and President of International Association of Biological Oceanography has written to the Minister for Marine, Simon Coveney, advising him of recent incorrect information in the media regarding whether sea lice from salmon farms can cause problems on wild fish, according to Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE).

In his letter, he explained that while he does “not normally get involved in such debates” he “was surprised at some of the incorrect information about whether sea lice from salmon farms can cause problems on wild fish” and felt it important “that I provide you with best scientific information”.

// Read More //

As the Cabinet moves closer to a decision on the sale of Coillte’s harvesting rights, a Swedish forestry expert has outlined how his country had to reverse its privatisation of State woodlands.

Failure of industry to take responsibility for regeneration of forestry was one of the main reasons for the recognition that privatisation had been a mistake, Olof Johannson, vice–president of Sveaskog, told The Irish Times.

Threats to the public’s right of access to forestry was also a factor, he said, even though right of access is guaranteed to both public and privately owned woodland under Swedish law.

// Read More //

A town council is demanding junior environment minister Jan O’Sullivan resign after she issued a directive ordering the dezoning of land in a suspected floodplain.
The site in Midleton, Co Cork, close to the Owenacurra River, had been designated by the town council for mixed use/town development.

But following an Office of Public Works’ survey in 2009 the site, known as Watersedge, was earmarked a flood risk under an amendment to the Planning and Development Act 2000.

Members of Midleton Town Council are angry Ms O’Sullivan declined invitations to visit the town and further claimed Cork County Council was implicit in badly misinforming her.

// Read More //

A renowned international marine biology expert has written to Simon Coveney, the fisheries minister, about “incorrect information” that is allegedly being circulated about the effects of sea lice on wild salmon. The letter comes as the Department of Agriculture, Marine, and Food decides whether to give the green light to two planned organic salmon farms. One is a private commercial concern in Bantry Bay, and the other, off Inis Oirr, is being developed by state agency Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM).

// Read More //

The Mahon tribunal specified a quasi–judicial role for the watchdog. Without this, the post will lack necessary teeth

From page 4 It is now 18 years since a Newry firm of solicitors placed an advertisement in The Irish Times offering a £10,000 reward to anyone who could provide evidence of corruption in the planning process that would lead to the conviction of those involved.

Why Newry? Because the sponsors tried and failed to get solicitors in Dublin to act for them – the whole issue was too hot to handle. Across the Border, however, there were no such sensitivities, so Donnelly Neary & Donnelly readily agreed to act as the legal conduit.

// Read More //

When the history of humanity’s struggle to combat climate change is written, few characters will play as prominent a role as Charles David Keeling. A geochemist, Keeling developed an accurate method of measuring CO2 in the atmosphere, and in 1958 began recording background levels of the gas at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii. That was the start of the famous Keeling Curve, which has tracked the steady rise of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Those levels have soared from 315 parts per million when Keeling began, to a grim milestone reached last week, as atmospheric concentrations exceeded 400 parts per million.

// Read More //

Richard Benyon, the UK’s fisheries minister, has vowed to drive “ambitious and radical reform” of the EU’s common fisheries policy at a key meeting in Brussels this week. In an interview with the Guardian, he listed three main goals for the UK – to ensure that a new proposal for fishing to be carried on strictly within a “maximum sustainable yield” that would be legally binding; a ban on the discarding of edible fish at sea, and a devolution of key aspects of managing fishing quota to member states, instead of being controlled entirely from Brussels.

// Read More //

Environmentalists hailed a “victory for bees” yesterday after the European Union voted for a ban on the nerve–agent pesticides blamed for the dramatic decline global bee populations. Despite fierce lobbying by the chemicals industry and opposition by countries including Britain, 15 of the 27 member states voted for a two–year restriction on neonicotinoid insecticides. That gave the European Commission the support it needed to push through an EU–wide ban on using three neonicotinoids on crops attractive to bees.

// Read More //

Peter Sweetman and an environmental protection company claim the project will result in irreversible destruction of a woodland habitat

In proceedings against An Bord Pleanála and the State, the applicants claim the planning board failed to adequately assess whether the site was a priority natural habitat as defined by the European habitats directive

Permission for construction of a bypass around the town of Killaloe is being challenged in the High Court.

The development, which includes a new bridge over the River Shannon, means loss of woodlands and species associated with that ecosystem, including otters, salmon, lamprey, swans, and kingfishers, it is claimed.

// Read More //

Scientist warns minister of sea lice dangers

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
Monday, May 13, 2013, 23:50 (GMT + 9)

The chair of the World Register of Marine Species has sent a letter to Fisheries Minister Simon Coveney warning him of recent incorrect data released in the media about the potential effect of sea lice from salmon farms on wild fish stocks. The writer insists that surface waters push sea lice into contact with wild salmon.

Marine Ecology Professor at the University of Auckland Mark Costello –– who is also the president of the International Association of Biological Oceanography and the Marine and Freshwater Editor of the journal Biological Conservation –– noted that salmon lice from aquaculture farms “have proven difficult to control on farms, especially large farms” and have been “linked to mass fatal parasite infestations on wild salmon and trout in Ireland, Scotland, Norway and Canada.”

// Read More //

Two Donegal landowners have been interviewed regarding possible water pollution and illegal waste disposal at a lake where 33 swans were found dead in the past week.

A spokesman for the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) confirmed that one landowner has been cautioned as investigations continue to establish the cause of death of the birds at New Lake, Dunfanaghy.

Early reports suggest the birds died as a result of poisoning caused by a pollutant in the water.

However, a spokesperson for the department said it was too early to say what caused the multiple deaths. 

// Read More //

Contentious plans for a €20m windfarm near a small village in west Clare have been put on hold.

The move follows a series of submissions by locals, including action groups, along with An Taisce, Birdwatch Ireland, and the Department of the Environment.

Clare Winds Ltd is seeking planning for the 13–turbine windfarm, 4km from the village of Kilmihil. On completion, the site would have the capacity to power 14,270 households, the applicants claim.

The tip height of the turbines is 450ft high — more than 50 ft higher than Dublin’s Spire.

// Read More //

Fishermen in Irish seas who commit minor offences will not be crimin–alised or face confiscation of their catch or equipment.

Proposals launched yesterday by Fianna Fáil aim to decriminalise some sea fishery offences committed by Irish–registered vessels.

Under a proposed bill to be brought to the Seanad, trawler skippers would face administrative penalties and fines of €400 as opposed to more serious measures under current EU fishery laws.

The Government last night indicated it would consider the proposals to ease fines.

// Read More //

Local authorities are being reminded by Minister of State for Planning Jan O’Sullivan that they have a statutory duty to enforce planning laws, particularly in cases involving “large–scale unauthorised development”.

Following on from the announcement last week that the Government intends to establish an independent planning regulator, Ms O’Sullivan will today issue a new policy directive on planning enforcement to all local authorities.

“Ireland’s performance on planning enforcement has been patchy and we need to address that,” she said. “Those responsible for breaching planning legislation need to know that they will face the consequences of their actions and . . . that the system has teeth.”

// Read More //

Following an appeal by Pat Swords, the Commissioner for Environmental Information (detailed here) ruled that the Department of the Environment was not within its rights to charge search and retrieval fees on his request, as this was essentially contrary to the Access to Information on the Environment (AIE) 2007/2011 Regulations.

The Department had 8 weeks in which to appeal that decision to the High Court, if they disagreed.

The Department has confirmed to TheStory.ie that they have not pursued an appeal.

// Read More //

Two men accused of illegally cutting turf in an EU–protected bog face trial in the circuit court after a district judge declined jurisdiction.
Agricultural contractor John O’Connor, 50, and his employee Christopher McCarthy, 26, both of Kilbaha, Moyvane, Co Kerry, appeared at Listowel District Court charged with illegally cutting turf at Moanveanlagh bog, near Listowel, on May 20 last year.

They are being supported by the Turf Cutters and Contractors Association (TCCA). Upwards of 80 protesters from Kerry, Clare, Kildare, Galway, and Roscommon gathered on the streets outside the courthouse holding placards.

State solicitor Edward O’Sullivan said the raised bog was in a special area of conservation (SAC) in which turf cutting was prohibited under the European Community’s Birds and Natural Habitats Regulations.

// Read More //

The contamination of Roscommon’s water supply is due to an animal–related organism, tests have revealed.
Up to 6,000 people in Roscommon town and surrounds are being affected by the discovery of cryptosporidium in the local water supply. A boil water notice has been in place since April 25th.
The contamination can cause cryptosporidiosis—a gut infection caused by a parasite and resulting in a diarrhoea–type illness. People in the area have been advised by Roscommon County Council and the HSE to boil all water for drinking, preparation of salads and for use in brushing teeth. Both bodies have set up an Incident Response Team to deal with the outbreak and to minimise the risk to the public.
9 May 2013
The Irish Times
BRIAN MCDONALD

// Read More //