Ireland

EU Canada trade deal that gives corporations huge power shot down by Irish Senate

The Seanad has voted against the EU Canada trade deal that the European Commission hope to bring in at the end of the month. The vote makes the Irish parliament first in the world to reject the deal and Friends of the Earth are calling on the Taoiseach Enda Kenny to respect the vote of the Seanad. This trade deal, the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement or CETA for short, is part of a new breed of trade deals that raise serious issues about the power of multinational companies. CETA, if it is allowed to go ahead, will see companies able to sue countries like Ireland for bringing in laws that damage their profits. Examples of this include: tobacco companies suing for new laws against cigarette packaging and energy companies suing over fracking bans.

By Ian Carey, ago

Know your birdsong! Click through our quick guide to the calls of common Irish birds

This is the time of year birds are at their loudest. During this relatively brief window from early April until the end of May birds are on the move. The summer brings about an influx of birds from the south moving into Ireland. Here is a selection of common Irish birds along with the their own distinctive bird songs. Information for this article was provided by the Bird Watch Ireland website.

By Conor Mulvihill, ago

A gallery of extinct Irish animals from St Patrick’s time

To commemorate St Patrick’s day we have created a compilation of mammals that have become extinct in Ireland since the fifth century when St Patrick was still alive. Quite a few of these animals disappeared from Ireland hundreds of years ago, while others only died out recently. Some of the species mentioned are still alive today in other parts of Europe and the world, but others have become completely extinct from this world. All the animals in list have become extinct in Ireland due to human activity. Hopefully analyzing how these animals became extinct can be used to preserve wildlife that currently inhabit Ireland, Europe and the world.

By Conor Mulvihill, ago