News

Environmental organisations are deeply concerned at the absence of a set charge for excessive water use in the pending report on the Future Funding of Domestic Water Services. The Environmental Pillar also believes that the Oireachtas Committee’s proposal for penalties for excessive water use will do next to nothing to curb wastage. The committee has […]

Whilst there is much that is welcome in the report, it includes one obvious and serious contradiction. It states that Excessive or wasteful use of water should be paid for directly by the user at tariffs determined by CER. It then goes on to make no real proposal on how to decide when there is […]

As part of the annual European Semester process, the European Commission published its Country Reports on each EU Member State, including Ireland, in February 2017. The Country Reports present the Commission’s analysis of the economic, social and environmental policies of each country, as well as national progress in delivering on both the five agreed Europe […]

The Environmental Pillar supports the Bill – The Prohibition of Extraction and Exploration of Onshore Petroleum 2016, and recommends that the Committee pass this Bill to the next stage of the Dáil without delay. As a network we are motivated by the mounting global and national peer reviewed evidence detailing the significant risks and negative […]

A coalition of Irish farmers, environmentalists, trade unionists, global justice groups and small business organisations have called on MEPs to oppose the EU Canada trade deal known as CETA. [1]   The groups co-signed a letter to members of a European Parliament committee [2] calling for rejection of the deal earlier this week.   The trade deal […]

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PRESS RELEASE Over 450 public interest groups from across Europe and Canada today urged legislators to vote against the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). The Environmental Pillar, a coalition of 28 Irish environmental NGOs, also joined the call for politicians to reject this trade deal. We have joined forces to defend people and planet […]

PRESS RELEASE Today a resolution to seek an opinion from the European Court of Justice on the compatibility of CETA with EU Treaties [1] was rejected by the European Parliament. The push to fast-track the controversial CETA trade deal continues with both the EU Trade Committee and the Conference of the Presidents over the last […]

Budget 2017 may have brought measures to move Ireland’s transport and energy sectors towards a low carbon future but action across all areas of policy is needed to put the country on a sustainable path. The Environmental Pillar, an advocacy coalition of 28 national environmental charities, are calling Budget 2017 a missed opportunity to prepare […]

Environmental groups are calling on the government to tax environmentally damaging practices to change behaviour and raise government revenue. Three simple measures, a levy on single-use items, a levy on the aggregates, and a levelling of the excise duty on petrol and diesel, would net the government in the region of €415m every year.* And […]

For immediate release The existing prohibition on cutting ANY hedgerows between March 1st and August 31st is an offence under the Wildlife acts, unless exempted The Environmental Pillar are reiterating that the cutting of hedgerows remains illegal during the month of August, and are calling for existing wildlife laws to be upheld and enforced. Almost 20,000 people have signed a […]

More regular flooding, aggressive storms and drought will be outcome of watering down our climate targets.    New European Climate Change targets have been revealed today and they have made it easier for Ireland because of how emissions and carbon is accounted for. The Environmental Pillar, a coalition of 28 Irish national environmental NGOs, warns […]

Irish cattle less climate-efficient than European average and emissions per head up from 1990 The Environmental Pillar and Stop Climate Chaos and have published a new report titled “Not So Green: Debunking the Myths around Irish Agriculture”. Drawing heavily on scientific evidence, the report challenges government and industry claims and shows that Ireland’s current agriculture and […]

The Environmental Pillar welcomed the proposals by officials in the Department of the Environment to Minister Coveney, to take measures to tackle the twin issues of litter and waste while also providing some extra revenue for the Environment Fund.
“By placing a cost on single use items we can encourage consumers and vendors to think about what will happen to the item when they are finished using it.” “We need to change the way that people think about ‘disposable’ packaging.” said Mindy O’Brien of VOICE, speaking on behalf of the Environmental Pillar.

Representatives of the Environmental Pillar will speak at the National Economic Dialogue about their vision for a resilient circular economy, based on Sustainable Development Goals – which can bring a strong buoyant economy with fairness and benefits for all. “We have to build our economy on solid foundations. This means reducing and ultimately eliminating the […]

Speaking at the opening session of the National Economic Dialogue, Cillian Lohan of the Environmental Pillar spoke about reducing and ultimately eliminating the concept of waste from all sectors. He said: “Almost all materials can be reused or remanufactured, which not only is beneficial for our environment but also creates jobs and wealth amongst communities […]

The Environmental Pillar welcomes the decision to include environment in the title of Minister Denis Naughton’s Department.   However the decision to leave National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) in another department could lead to the conservation of wildlife and habitats falling off the political agenda.   The title of the new department will now […]

Today the Government have failed to restore the Department of the Environment despite public outcry over its abolition. Taoiseach Enda Kenny has announced the new Junior Ministers but did not take the opportunity to address the problem of splitting up the functions of the Department of the Environment. The Environmental Pillar, an advocacy coalition of […]

The Programme for Government lacks the key clear goals we need to move our people and economy forward into a post carbon future.   The Environmental Pillar, an advocacy coalition of 28 Irish national environmental NGOs, does not believe that the Programme for Government goes far enough in tackling climate change and will force increasingly […]

The loss of a department responsible for the ‘Environment’ will damage Ireland’s natural environment. A healthy environment is essential to the well-being of the people of Ireland and to a thriving economy.   In the last 20 years Ireland has seen severe biodiversity loss, pressure on and pollution of water resources, and devastating impacts of severe […]

The Environmental Pillar today publish a series of twenty measures which if implemented could help prevent the worst effects of flooding. As communities around Ireland continue to deal with the aftermath of this winter’s devastating floods, the Environmental Pillar is calling for immediate measures to be taken to protect communities now and into the future. […]

The Environmental Pillar welcome the introduction of a bill today to ban fracking in Ireland. The Environmental Pillar, which is made up of 28 national environmental NGOs, are calling on TDs to support the proposed law which will prohibit the use of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in the exploration or extraction of oil and gas in […]

The Environmental Pillar welcome the publication today of the Energy White Paper which outlines a vision for an emission free future. The Environmental Pillar, which is made up of 28 national environmental groups, welcomes this as a first step in a road towards the end of the use of fossil fuels. With over 90 actions […]

The Environmental Pillar is calling on the government to bring in substantive land use changes to protect communities from increasingly frequent high rainfall events.