Planning in Ireland

Mount Congreve Estate, Waterford
The National Roads Authority wants to drive a motorway or a dual carriageway through the estate, within 50 yards of the world famous gardens, destroying thousands of 100-300 year old trees, and tens of thousands of younger trees from the garden's vital shelterbelt. Many of Mount Congreve's plants are delicate exotics, and will suffer badly if exposed to Ireland's windy climate.

The authorities have already succeeded in the usual Divide and Conquer policy - "The road is going through anyway - no choice (why not??) - either it goes through someone's village or it goes through the estate - which do you want?" This is like giving someone the "choice" of being hit on the mouth or hit on the nose

Links : -
Letter to Irish Times 1
Letter to Irish Times 2

LATEST NEWS is that the powers that be have changed their minds and rerouted the motorway, but now local people are understandably outraged that their homes and environment take second place to "a bunch of flowers and trees". Until society gives up the lunatic obsession with speeding everywhere all the time in cars, these problems will continue.

On a related subject, it now appears that all these billion pound new motorways are going to be toll roads. The consumer/taxpayer is going to be made pay most of the cost of smashing these roads through the countryside and made pay again to use them (As much as �8 for a Dublin - Waterford round trip). It's now obvious why the less damaging alternative of widening the existing road network was rejected - it's political suicide to force the public to pay for roads they already use for free, so the only way for the crooks in the politician/council official/"developer"/builder/banker/ golden circles to gouge more money out of the road-using consumer/taxpayer is to build brand new roads, and to hell with the environment, the climate, small communities, farmers, ancient raths and burial sites, and to hell with developing some kind of decent bus and rail network.
Glen of The Downs, Co. Wicklow.
The Gulags are alive and well, and now located in Ireland. In mid February 2000, 13 anti-roads protestors were imprisoned, not for any crime they'd committed, but because they refused to give undertakings not to interfere with tree felling. In other words, they were imprisoned for "thought crimes". Shades of Stalin/Mao or 1984. Most of the protestors gave undertakings after a few weeks, but four remained in prison until early April. Apparently, they could all have been kept in prison INDEFINITELY, and were only released because the tree-felling was almost complete. So, a legal system that allowed the corruption of rich and powerful golden circles to flourish unchecked for decades, and that hasn't convicted, never mind imprisoned, a single corrupt politician, businessman or official, in spite of all the revelations of the past few years, gets real tough with a handful of penniless activists who didn't even have access to legal aid.

Links : -
(You may need to scroll to find the relevant letter)
Colm Toibin (Sunday Independent)
Cork Examiner Article
Letter from Christy Moore/Luka Bloom
Letter to Irish Times 3
Letter to Irish Times 4
Letter to Irish Times 5
Letter to Irish Times 6
Stradbally, Co. Waterford.
One of the most beautiful and picturesque villages and beaches I've seen in my life, Stradbally always scored very highly in Ireland's Tidy Towns, winning its category on a number of occasions. Now, Waterford County Council has given planning permission for a giant piggery factory farm, an Bord Pleanala has upheld the decision, and the County Council has voted down a motion that attempted to revoke the decision. Maybe it's all a big joke?
River Pollution
Yet another report catalogues yet another decline in the water quality of Ireland's rivers. And yet again, the powers that be shout "Something must be done!" and do nothing.
It can't all be blamed on the Government/Big Business/The Farmers/The Planners/Corruption. A recent Government commissioned environmental survey showed that many Irish people were two-faced in their attitudes to pollution. While 68% agree that pollution is "an urgent and immediate problem", a large proportion of that 68% won't lift a finger to do anything whatever about this "urgent and immediate problem"! (Almost 50% of the total surveyed are litter bugs, a similar percentage ignore environmental labelling, 60% don't consider the environment in their choice of car, and over 70% make no effort to cut back on driving or occasionally switch to public transport for the sake of the environment).New car sales in Ireland are at record levels, and this is bellowed from the rooftops as being a great thing. Yet, the greatest moaners about "the traffic" are car drivers!
The decline of rural Ireland.
Read article by John McGahern
(Author of "The Dark" and "Amongst Women")
in The Irish Independent.

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It's not all doom and gloom, of course.

IN SPITE OF ALL THE ABOVE, HOWEVER, IRELAND IS STILL A COUNTRY WELL WORTH VISITING!

The above is a "warts'n'all" account. Most countries have problems - you just don't hear about them in their Tourist Board blurbs.
More by luck than design, Waterford City has largely been spared the kind of destruction visited by an criminally ignorant and corrupt establishment on Dublin, and many of its old buildings and streetscapes are still intact. Recently, in spite of the huge increase in car numbers, parts of Waterford City center have even been pedestrianised!
Dr. Rory Harrington and others, by using reed bed filtration systems, are making Dunhill, Co. Waterford streams fit to drink again. A minor miracle, considering the current level of water pollution in Ireland, and the hopeless official response.
Castlecove.....5 women put their dying Co. Kerry village on the map, recently winning 2 "Green Oscars" in Japan.
Fenor Bog.....A local community gets together to purchase and conserve a unique Waterford wetland.
Irish Seed Savers Association.....Since 1900, 75% of agricultural seed varieties have been lost. This small group is working to save what's left. Full Article

List of Seed Saving/Organic Growing organisations (Worldwide)

MORE TO COME

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