From 1 July, Irish Water is seeking to implement excessive-use water charges of up to €500 per year. This will come as no great surprise to those of us who highlighted the programme for government agreed between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael back in 2016. The Socialist Party opposed and warned about this element of the legislation at the time, as we knew that is could be used as a back door to the re-introduction of full water charges in the future. The legislation allows the government to lower the amount of water that is considered normal usage over time. Just like with tuition fees and bin charges, the amounts will be increased incrementally until the idea of direct payment for water becomes normalised, or at least this is their hope. read full story / add a comment

A challenge to the Government’s new regulations exempting industrial peat extraction from planning controls was heard in the High Court at a sitting yesterday in Cork. Scheduled for two days, Justice Garret Simons concluded proceeding in less than a day and reserved judgment for a week until Tuesday 23 July. read full story / add a comment

Vetaran fo Peace Tarak Kauff wrote the following introduction to a piece by Ken Mayers on the refusal of the High Court to allow them to return to the US while awaiting trial. Ken and Tarak are being charged as a result of their attempt to inspect a US contracted military place at Shannon Airport in March. read full story / add a comment

Challenge to planning exemption for industrial peat cutters opens in High Court in Cork

A challenge to the Government’s new regulations exempting industrial peat extraction from planning controls opens today (Monday 15 July) in the High Court.

Sitting in Cork over two days, Justice Garret Simons will hear the application by Friends of the Irish Environment for a stay on the operation of the Statutory Instruments signed into law by Ministers Richard Bruton and Eoin Murphy in January 2019. read full story / add a comment

People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett has said that small farmers who are due to stage a protest outside the Dáil this afternoon have his full support and the support of his party against the Mercosur Trade Deal which represents a “sickening betrayal by Fine Gael of small farmers and efforts the to address the climate emergency.” read full story / add a comment

Concerns that Ireland could meet its renewable energy targets by propping up Estonia’s oil shale industry with biomass co-firing

Friends of the Irish Environment have urged Minister for Climate Action Richard Bruton to ensure that Ireland does not purchase credits from Estonian co-firing of wood in oil shale power stations in order to meet our renewable energy target. [1] read full story / add a comment

UN Expert Report predicts ‘Climate apartheid’
Governments urged to act without delay

The UN’s Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Philip Alston, has dramatically highlighted the failure of governments, UN treaty bodies to recognise the impact of climate change on poverty and its social consequences in his recent report to the UN Human Rights Council, according to the environmental charity Friends of the Irish Environment.
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At the end of May, The Irish Times released a survey of young people between the ages of 16 and 21 conducted by Young Social Innovators. Sixty percent of those surveyed described their generation as stressed, anxious and depressed, while a mere 11% described it as motivated. With the housing crisis (which currently sees over 10,000 people in homelessness services), precarious work and the constant threat of climate change forever looming over them, it’s not surprising that the majority of young people are not exactly as hopeful about their future as they may once have been. read full story / add a comment

Indaver has advised CHASE by letter of plans to apply to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for an industrial emissions licence for their Ringaskiddy incinerator in the coming weeks, even though a decision has not yet been delivered following the CHASE High Court challenge to planning which closed on Monday 27 May 2019. (letter below) read full story / add a comment

Deputy Boyd Barrett says: “truly appalling and unacceptable” to have two-tier health facilitated in flagship children’s hospital

In a new twist in the National Children’s Hospital debacle today, the Minister for Health has confirmed to Deputy Boyd Barrett that the publicly funded hospital will contain a wing for private patients.

The private section of the hospital will have 8 consultation rooms, a play area and a feeding room as well as a reception and waiting area. read full story / add a comment

This press release was received approximately two week ago and relates to a local meeting on the rollout of 5G phone technology and it's potential health impacts. Unfortunately the press release was only dealt with after the event. But since this is an issue not widely discussed, we are publishing it anyhow as it contains some key questions and links to some further sites that given more background on the issue. -editor read full story / add a comment

European Citizens’ Initiative seeks end to aviation fuel tax exemption
8250 signatures required from Ireland within one year of May 15, 2019
Leaked EU Report shows benefits of ending airlines tax breaks.

A group of students from across the EU are seeking one million signatures supporting an end to the kerosene tax exemption for aviation within the EU. The supporters are invoking an EU Instrument that allows citizens to suggest concrete legal changes in any field where the European Commission has power to legislate. read full story / add a comment

This short interview from the Socialist Party of the National Ambulance Service Representative Assocation branch secretary is about the background to the ambulance strike and what the issues are about and gives the Union a chance to present their case.
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Irish Cement Factory’s burning Aughinish red mud ‘not fully assessed’
Details of green house gas reductions not justified in burning waste

The assessment of the use of toxic waste including red mud from Aughinish Aluminum as a fuel for the Irish Cement factory in Limerick has not been properly assessed, according to the environmental charity Friends of the Irish Environment. read full story / add a comment

Coveney appeal rejected over Cork’s toxic Haulbowline Site
TD to challenge Táiniste over his knowledge of 2017 Report detailing ongoing environmental pollution

As Táiniste Simon Coveney appeals to environmental campaigners not ‘to turn what is a hugely positive story in Cork harbour into something negative’, Clare Daly, Independent TD, has tabled a Parliamentary Question asking him ‘When he was made aware of the Report ‘‘Former Haulbowline Factory, Haulbowline Island, Cork’’ commissioned by his Agents for the clean-up of the abandoned steel works on Haulbowline Island, Cork County Council, and dated March 2017’. read full story / add a comment

State must notify public of Haulbowline contamination or face High Court

The State must erect signage at the entrance to Haulbowline Island and the new East Tip park notifying the public of the health risk from toxic airborne dust, fibres, and gases within 28 days or face the High Court for failing to fulfil its obligations under the Access to Information on the Environment Regulations. read full story / add a comment

Irish Parliament (Dáil) votes 36-60 to reject a Sinn Féin bill which aimed to insert a constitutional right to housing. This time last year we learnt that one in every five TDs (public representatives in the Irish Dáil [parliament]) – are actually landlords (“30 of Ireland’s 158 TDs are landlords. That includes at least four out of 15 of the current Cabinet.” Global Rights, May, 2018) “The question, of course that follows, in a country that seems to have an enormous problem with either controlling the housing (or any other) market (or property developers themselves, or the banks or other “powerful” groups within society): is there a conflict of interest? read full story / add a comment

These local elections on Fri 24th May are more important than ever. The reason is that up and down the country Fine Gael with help from Fianna Fail have allowed corporate vulture funds through various government breaks to them to buy up valuable tracts of land and to buy up thousands and thousands of apartments and homes. And the result is they are screwing people for rent. read full story / add a comment

The European elections are this Friday on May 24th and there are good reasons to consider your vote very carefully because it does make a difference because practically every bit of law passed in the EU has to be adopted by Ireland at some point. It is a great way for politicans here to say the "EU forced us to..."
They said that one about the attempt to privatise water during that campaign.

It can be safely assumed that most people are for internet freedom, protection of the environment and in particular to live in places with unpolluted water, clean air and safe from exposure to toxic chemicals. These are all no brainers. In the area of military we have seen how years of bringing democracy to the Middle East by bombing them has resulted in devastation and huge waves of human refugees and immigration and time and time again the nefarious activities of the intellegence agencies of the big powers like USA, UK, France and NATO show them to be heavily linked to the various terrorist groups, via training, funding and weapons supply through third party countries like Saudi Arabia and Qatar in order to disrupt and overthrown regimes they don't like. So do people really want Ireland to drop it's neutrality and get aboard these very costly military adventures and volunteer it's soldiers for basically ordained mass murder? At a guess, the answer is probably no. read full story / add a comment

It’s that time of year again, when politicians come knocking on doors looking for your vote. This May there will be European and Local elections in Ireland north and south. While domestic issues are, as always, likely to dominate the discussions, we believe it is vitally important that the issue of Palestine is kept firmly in the minds and mouths of all our politicians. The very essence of the Palestine solidarity movement is to ‘think globally, act locally’ – and we have seen impressive local support for Palestinian freedom by many local councils over the past decade. We need to make sure that Palestine is and remains an election issue! read full story / add a comment