July 23rd, 2019 An Bord Pleanála has refused permission for the ESB to convert its peat plant at Shannonbridge in Co Offaly to co-fire with biomass due to biodiversity and climate concerns. The decision from the planning authority puts a major dent in the semi-state’s plans to change the set-up Read more…
July 23rd, 2019 An Bord Pleanála has overturned a decision from Limerick City and County Council that blocked a resident from covering her roof with solar panels. In a landmark decision on an appeal from Elzbieta Joanna Pasinska of Gouldavoher Estate in Doradoyle, An Bord Pleanála has overruled its Inspector Read more…
July 17th, 2019 A challenge to new peat regulations exempting industrial-scale extraction from the need for planning permission was heard in the courts this week. The case brought by Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE) was heard at a High Court sitting in Cork on Monday, with Mr Justice Garret Read more…
July 16th, 2019 A Hen Harrier, one of Ireland’s most threatened birds of prey, was killed on a wind farm in Co Kerry in April, according to the Irish Raptor Study Group (IRSG). The rare female Hen Harrier was killed after colliding with a wind turbine near Knockrour East, according Read more…
July 12th, 2019 The Minister for Climate Action has rejected criticism from the Irish Petroleum Industry Association (IPIA) over plans to finance the €500 million Climate Action Fund using oil levies. Last year, the Government announced that the National Oil Reserves Agency (NORA) levy would be re-purposed so that any Read more…
July 12th, 2019 An Taisce has called on the Department for Climate Action to protect Connemara’s natural amenities by re-evaluating its intention to issue a licence for mineral exploration in Co Galway to a Canadian company. The Department has said that it “intends” to grant a licence to Ontario-based firm Read more…
July 12th, 2019 An Irish environmental group has raised concerns with the Government over possible cross border impacts from proposed fracking operations in the North. Friends of the Irish Environment contacted the Department of Planning last week on the closing day of a public consultation in the North for an Read more…
July 11th, 2019 Addressing skills shortages will be essential in order to meet retrofitting targets outlined in the Government’s new climate plan, the Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action has heard. Under the newly launched Climate Action Plan to Tackle Climate Breakdown, the Government has proposed upgrading 500,000 homes to a Read more…
July 4th, 2019 Deputy Bríd Smith has slammed the Government’s “utter hypocrisy” on climate action after it emerged today that it will not issue a money message to progress her stalled Bill to halt new licences for fossil fuel exploration. The Bill, which the Dáil has twice voted to progress Read more…
July 4th, 2019 Divesting from the ESB’s coal supplier in Colombia on human rights grounds would send a strong international and regional message, a Stop Blood Coal coalition spokesperson has said. Speaking yesterday at a briefing in the Dáil, Clodagh Daly of the coalition said that a humans rights-led Irish Read more…
