Submissions

Environmental Pillar submission in response to the European Commission’s proposal for fishing opportunities for 2020 A consultation response from the Environmental Pillar in response to Minister Creed’s Sustainability Impact Assessment of the European Commission Proposal for fishing opportunities for 2020, as outlined in “Council Regulation fixing for 2020 the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks […]

The Environmental Pillar welcomes the opportunity to respond to the public consultation on Ireland’s draft National Biomethane Strategy. Environmental Pillar and the Stop Climate Chaos Ireland Submission to the consultation on Irelands draft National Biomethane Strategy (FINAL)

Research for the Environmental Pillar and An Taisce: part-funded by the European Environmental Bureau (EEB), through the Irish Environmental Network (IEN) Report by Paul R Price Additional inputs by Fintan Kelly (IEN) and Elaine McGoff (An Taisce) February 2024 NECP Agri final draft_2024-02-06

NECP 12 Recommendations for Agriculture in Ireland_202402026

The government stands at a significant crossroads, armed with a projected €65 billion surplus in the years ahead. This surplus presents a unique opportunity to future-proof Ireland with the establishment of a dedicated Climate and Nature Restoration Fund of €8bn to ensure that necessary investments in both climate and nature seen and unforeseen are guaranteed. […]

The Environmental Pillar and Sustainable Water Network (SWAN) welcome the review of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) (Agriculture) Regulations 2011 (SI 456) as an important step towards addressing the inadequacy of the current Regulations to assess environmental impact and ensure environmental protection. The current Regulations, introduced in 2011 with amendments in 2013 and 2017, are […]

This is a submission on behalf of the Environmental Pillar in response to the public  consultation on Coillte’s strategic vision for its future forest estate. Our submission is informed by the decades of experience of our members who are actively involved in woodland conservation, sustainable forestry management, regulation of the forestry sector and wider environmental […]

This is a submission on behalf of the Environmental Pillar in response to the public consultation on Ireland’s Forest Strategy (2022 – 2030) and the associated implementation plans, and the Strategic Environmental Assessment and Appropriate Assessment obligations pertaining. Click here to read the full Environmental Pillar submission on Irelands Draft Forest Strategy (2022 – 2030). […]

Submission on behalf of the Environmental Pillar on Ireland’s Fourth National Biodiversity Action Plan. In May 2019, Dáil Eireann declared a climate and biodiversity emergency making Ireland only the second country to do so. Despite this and a multitude of government commitments, targets and timelines we continue to see the health of the environment deteriorate […]

The Environmental Pillar’s submission covers the following areas:

The Framework
Avoid impacting biodiversity
Carbon Pricing and Cross-Cutting Issues
Transport
Agriculture, Land Use and Forestry
Buildings
Waste and the Circular Economy

Stop Climate Chaos Coalition and the Environmental Pillar. Joint-submission to: Ag-Climatise’ – A Draft National Climate & Air Roadmap for the Agriculture Sector to 2030 and Beyond January 2020 “With a particular focus on the importance of timely and robust mitigation and environmental action at national level, the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition and the Environmental […]

This is a submission on behalf of the Environmental Pillar in response to the call for submissions to the Citizens Assembly on Biodiversity Loss. The Environmental Pillar is an organisation that works to represent the views of 32 of Ireland’s leading environmental NGOs. We work to promote environmental sustainability and the protection of our natural […]

The Department of Climate Action is seeking views on the development of a new Waste Action Plan as part of the move to a more Circular Economy where resources are kept in use for as long as possible and then recycled or reused at the end of their service life.  The Environmental Pillar welcomes the […]

The Pillar’s detailed submission for the public consultation outlines our members’ core concerns with the proposed legislation, in particular the fact that the Bill proposes to: • Make it near impossible for ordinary people, citizens groups and environmental NGOs to qualify to get into the Court to take a challenge in the first place; [5] […]

The Stop Climate Chaos Coalition and the Environmental Pillar have carried out a detailed assessment of the Government’s Climate Action Plan and have launched a 20-page “end-of-term” Report on the Government: Will the new Climate Action Plan deliver the revolution the Minister promised? Link to Report: https://tinyurl.com/y58a9jzk Media Release New Climate Action Plan will not bring […]

The Environmental Pillar calls on the government to incorporate the Polluter Pays Principle, as appropriate, into all aspects of taxation and spending. This will have the effect of This will have the effect of broadening the tax base whilst enabling the moving of taxation from income to levies on consumption whilst at the same time removing […]

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 […]

The Environmental Pillar welcomes the opportunity to respond to the consultation on Consultation by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform on the “Principles to Guide Public Engagement on Policy and Services Development” [button href=”https://environmentalpillar.ie/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Environmental-Pillar-response-to-Draft-DPER-Consultation-Guidlines-1.pdf” title=”Title” target=”blank” shape=”square, rounded, pill” size=”mini, small, regular, large, x-large, jumbo”  icon_only=”true” info=”popover, tooltip” info_place=”top, right, bottom, left” info_trigger=”hover, click, focus” […]

The Environmental Pillar welcomes the opportunity to input into the draft National Mitigation Plan and looks forward to further input as the plan evolves. The Environmental Pillar strongly welcomes and supports the Ministers commitment to transition to a low carbon future. We anticipate that this will be implemented in a clear, directional robust national mitigation […]

This submission recommends ways of broadening the tax base and using the limited financial resources in a way that focuses on long term sustainability, whilst creating employment and stimulating the economy in the short term. Broadening the tax base can also reduce the complexity of the tax system, compliance costs and the costs of tax […]

In regard to the Draft NRP for Ireland, The Environmental Pillar highlight concerns raised around the failure to make Ireland’s tax system environmentally friendly and the lack of incorporation of environmental concerns into fiscal measures. In the last 4 years there has been almost no additional action to broaden the tax base in a manner that enhances […]

The Environmental Pillar welcomes the opportunity to input into this process. We were disappointed to see the FoodWise2025 strategy “launched” by such senior figures as Minister Coveney and the Taoiseach when the public consultation phase had yet to take place. We would note that FW2025 is an extension of the FoodHarvest2020 strategy. We welcome that […]