Another Fine Gael/Labour Party Pre Election Position Watered Away

Adams condemns Irish Water debacle

13 January, 2014 - by Gerry Adams TD

Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams TD has called on the Irish government to make Irish Water compliant with the Freedom of Information Act and to move speedily to ensure that all relevant information about the establishment of Irish Water is accessible and available to the public.

The Sinn Féin Louth and East Meath TD said:

“The debacle around Irish Water is symptomatic of the failures of the Fine Gael and Labour government. Both parties came to power condemning the bad politics of Fianna Fáil and promising greater transparency and openness and accountability in government. Instead there has been a litany of broken promises and u-turns and the guillotine has seen significant use in the Dáil as the government has sought to stifle debate and push through its legislation.

“In government Fine Gael and Labour abolished water charges. In opposition they rejected water charges but now in government again they are reintroducing them. It is also worth noting that Fianna Fáil agreed to impose water charges under an EU-IMF arrangement but is now opposed to them.

“From the very beginning of the project, Irish water has wasted good money after bad;

· It has received €500m from the Pension Reserve Fund to install water meters

· This was followed by over €200m in the recent budget

· Only to be followed by a further allocation from the local government fund

“Then, this week Irish Water admitted that the company has spent €50m of public money on private consultants.

“People across the state are angry at this huge outlay of public money. Such public anger is understandable considering the level of experience regarding water supply that already exists in the 34 local councils.

“Rather than spend this enormous amount of money on private consultants, Irish Water should have given this work to local authority staff. This would have been an immediate saving to the taxpayer.

“We learned on Sunday, through a confidential report obtained by RTÉ's This Week programme that the Government expected Irish Water would be established using Bord Gáis' "existing operational capacity" in the specific areas of IT, asset management, customer billing systems, and other key functions.

“However, according to tender documents published on the European tendering system, the Official Journal of the European Union, the services that Irish Water has acquired from external consultants include asset management services, customer services, and other IT functions — the very services the report said should be deployed by Bord Gáis.

“So, major questions now need to be asked regarding the payment of €50 million of public money on private consultants.

“Sinn Féin intends raising this issue in the Dáil when it returns on Wednesday.”

Concluding Gerry Adams said:

“Water charges are an integral part of the government’s austerity strategy. They are an unacceptable additional stealth charge on households. The installation of water meters, their cost and the water charges that will follow will add significantly to the burden on families. This regressive tax, coupled with the others already imposed by this government, are crippling households and families.

Sinn Féin is fundamentally opposed to the introduction of water charges, to the privatisation of water and sewerage service provision.

In the north Sinn Féin has prevented the introduction of water charges and the privatisation of the water services and will continue to do so.”

Sinn Féin Mountmellick - Serving The Community 

More Power For Common Sense

theJournal.ie 9/1/2014

Permission refused for Offaly wind farm

An Bord Pleanála said the ten 110 metre wind turbines at Cloghan would injure the visual amenities of the area.

AN OFFALY COUNTY Council decision to grant planning permission to a proposed wind farm in Cloghan has been overturned.

On receipt of an appeal, An Bord Pleanála ruled that the 10 wind turbines would impact on the visual landscape of the area.

The planning application outlined a development which would include 110-metre tall turbines, with rotor diameters of up to 120 metres, giving them a maximum tip height of up to 170 metres.

(For context, Liberty Hall – once Dublin’s tallest building – is just 59 metres. And the Dublin Spire is 120 metres tall).

Both the National Roads Authority and a private citizen had appealed the local authority’s decision with the planning board.

Ruling on the matter, the inspector said he took into consideration the nature of the environment, including the open nature of the immediately-adjoining lands, as well as the size and scale of the proposed turbines.

“It is considered that a wind farm development of the scale proposed would create a significant visual intrusion in this landscape by reason of the height and spatial extent of the proposed turbines which would be excessively dominant and visually obtrusive when viewed from the surrounding countryside and villages,” the report said.

The inspector also noted the close proximity of the proposed turbines to the number of residential properties in the vicinity, as well as the welfare of wildfowl in the area.

“The proposed development could result in collision of birds with the proposed wind farm. The proposed development is therefore deemed contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area,” the report concluded.

A number of other similar developments are being planned for the midlands, much of which could be considered ‘open landscape’ as described by the inspector.

Carthy welcomes An Bord Pleanála decision on Offaly wind farm

9 January, 2014 - by Matt Carthy (EU candidate) 

The Sinn Féin candidate for the Midlands North West EU consitutency, Matt Carthy, has welcomed the decision by An Bord Pleanála to overturn permission for a proposed wind farm in Cloghan, Co. Offaly.

Commenting on the decision Carthy said:

“Today’s decision by An Bord Pleanála to overturn planning permission for a proposed wind farm in Cloghan is a victory for community campaigners who have worked tirelessly to voice concerns and opposition to the project.

“The fact that the board cited impact on the visual landscape of the area vindicates what campaigners have been saying all along about the impact that such projects could have on tourism and on the environment.

“Sinn Féin is calling on the government to introduce a moratorium on the construction of wind farms pending the framing of a full range of regulations. We are also calling for a National Wind Energy Strategy which would include planning regulations with regard to wind farms, the public consultation process that must be carried out prior to the erection of wind turbines, the sale of the energy from wind turbines and the taxation levels on wind energy.

“We want to see alternative energy sources utilised but only in conjunction with local communities that will be affected by the supporting infrastructure developments.  Furthermore the energy resources of Ireland must be used for the benefit of the Irish people and not simply developed for the private profit of multi-national investors.”

Sinn Féin Mountmellick – Serving The Community

Health Must Come Before Profit And Spin

Health concerns surrounding EirGrid project must be taken seriously by government – Ní Riada

8 January, 2014 - by Liadh Ní Riada (EU candidate) 

Sinn Féin’s EU candidate for the constituency of Ireland South, Liadh Ní Riada, has today called on the government to take the health concerns surrounding the EirGrid Grid Link project seriously.

Ní Riada stated that the Government’s messaging regarding such health concerns has been mixed, flippant and shows a real disrespect towards the affected communities.

Ms Ní Riada said:

“The health concerns surrounding the EirGrid project are very credible. However, the government has chosen to adopt quite a flippant attitude to these concerns.

“Minister Rabbitte has consistently dismissed the worries of communities while his colleague Health Minister James Reilly has aired his concerns regarding the electromagnetic fields created by power lines. The fact that two senior Ministers have completely antagonistic positions on such an important matter is, to my mind, evidence that the government has not taken these health concerns seriously at all.

“A 2005 study conducted by Oxford Professor Draper found that living within 200 metres of high-voltage power-lines increases a child’s chance of getting cancer by 69%. Earlier research shows cancer clusters associated with high voltage power-lines. People living in close proximity were found to have a higher chance of suffering from lung cancer and leukaemia.”

“This isn’t political spin. These are the results of serious academic research. Surely the government has a responsibility to treat such studies with a greater degree of respect and consideration.

“By arrogantly dismissing these concerns, the Government and EirGrid are playing fast and loose with the health of many people.

“I certainly hope that Minister Rabbitte’s dismissal is not just another case of something one does only when there is an election in view.

“The health concerns regarding the Grid Link project cannot be marginalised. I am calling on the government to respect affected communities and treat these concerns with the seriousness that they deserve.”

Sinn Féin Mountmellick – Serving The Community