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Immediate Release Large fines loom for the Government as the European Commission brings the Irish State back to court over its decade-long failure to carry out an environmental impact assessment for Ireland’s largest wind farm. The Environmental Pillar – a coalition of 28 national environmental organisations – welcomed the Commission’s decision which highlights the catastrophic failure by our Government to adhere …
The Government must support the straightforward and progressive policies in the Green Party’s Waste Reduction Bill to tackle our escalating plastic problem, the Oireachtas Environment Committee heard today. Speaking before the Committee this afternoon, Mindy O’Brien, the Coordinator of VOICE – a leading environmental charity focused on tackling plastic pollution – told the Committee that new measures need to be …
Immediate Release The State must step up its game to tackle plastic pollution in the wake of the UK’s pledge to eliminate plastic waste by 2042, Ireland’s leading environmental coalition has said. Measures in the UK’s new 25 Year Environment Plan launched by UK Prime Minister Theresa May this morning include extending the UK’s plastic bag levy, removing single use …
Immediate Release Ireland’s leading environmental coalition warmly welcomes the High Court’s recognition of environmental rights in the Irish Constitution. In a judgement earlier today, Mr Justice Barrett recognised for the first time a constitutional right to environmental protection “that is consistent with the human dignity and well-being of citizens at large”. [1] In his judgement, Mr Justice Barrett said that …
The State must stop incentivising farmers to engage in environmentally-damaging commercial timber schemes and shift support toward more sustainable native tree cover initiatives, Ireland’s leading environmental coalition has said. The comments from the Environmental Pillar – a coalition of 26 national environmental organisations – follows the recent launch of the Irish Farmers’ Association’s (IFA) Five Point Plan to Revitalise Farm …
The EPA’s damning indictment of our transport system’s contribution to poor air quality in Ireland underlies the urgent need to move away from polluting diesel and petrol vehicles. The environmental watchdog’s report on air quality in Ireland released today singles out traffic as a key pressure on air quality in our largest cities. [1] The transport sector accounts for 21 …
The Environmental Pillar welcomes the new Waste Tyre Management Regulations and calls on the Joint Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment to give them their full support. However, the Pillar has learned that the Joint Oireachteas Committee scrutinising the legislation is being lobbied by the tyre Industry and by some TDs in an attempt to block or water down …
The Environmental Pillar has expressed extreme disappointment at the exclusion of any measures to equalise the cost of diesel and petrol in Ireland in Budget 2018. We expected to at least see some moves toward disincentivising diesel use, given the growing body of evidence on the damaging impact of its use on our climate and health. Diesel fuel exhaust is one of the leading …
Immediate Release Ireland’s leading environmental coalition welcomes the Social Democrats inclusion of a levy on single-use and non-recyclable plastics in the party’s pre-Budget submission. Launched this morning, the party’s submission states that the two environmental levies would bring in €2 million in revenue, while also helping reduce the use of plastics across society. [1] The Pillar – a coalition of …
Immediate Release Ireland’s leading environmental coalition welcomes the Green Party’s support of its proposal to equalise the cost of diesel and petrol in Budget 2018. Launching its alternative budget this morning, the Greens also outlined their support for the Environmental Pillar’s proposal for the inclusion of an aggregates levy. [1][2] The Pillar – a coalition of 26 environmental organisations – welcomes this …
