Objection to Proposed Retail Commercial Development on a Flood Plain in Skibbereen Town

MAIN GROUNDS OF OBJECTION

The full grounds of objection together with the arguments, reasons and considerations upon which these are based are set out below. For clarity and ease of reference we propose to deal with each individual element of the grounds for our clients’ objection and outline our response to each in turn.

2.1 Development on Floodplain

We respectfully submit that a moratorium on any such development should exist until the Office of Public Works (OPPW) complete the flood impact assessment and alleviation plan for the town of Skibbereen.

It is clear that the proposed site is located on a flood plain and under no circumstances should planning and development be considered until a thorough appraisal of the potential impact of such a development on a flood plain is examined in light of recent flooding of the town and in particular in the absence of OPW flood mitigation works for the town of Skibbereen. The applicants have clearly failed to address this major planning consideration in their application.

The Draft Planning System and Flood Risk Management Guidelines require the planning system at national, regional and local levels to:

• avoid development in areas at risk of flooding, such as floodplains, unless there are wider sustainability grounds that justify appropriate development; and where the flood risk can be reduced or managed to an acceptable level without increasing flood risk elsewhere;
• adopt a sequential approach to flood risk management and guide development away from areas that have been identified as being at risk through flood risk assessment. In areas of high risk, for example, you should see water-compatible developments such as docks and marinas, amenity open space, outdoor sports and recreation, while other more vulnerable development should be directed towards areas of minimal or no flood risk.
• incorporate flood risk assessment into the process of making decisions on planning applications and planning appeals.

We respectfully submit that the applicants have clearly failed to address these issues in their application.

2.2 Traffic Implications

Such a large scale development will attract large volumes of car-borne customers and require a high quality road network with spare capacity. Furthermore, it is clear that the proposed mixed-use retail and commercial development will result in traffic that would result in significant traffic congestion at the already busy access and link road to Skibbereen town as well as within the town centre.

The planning application has not examined the traffic implications and existing infrastructure to support this development.

The site of the proposed development does not serve the mobility needs of the wider community including the needs of pedestrian shoppers. No traffic mobility assessment has been undertaken for the proposed development which must ensure a high standard of access both by public transport, foot and private car so that the proposal is easily accessible by all sections of society, especially those that do not have access to a private car and of course the elderly.

This is particularly relevant where the site does not provide for public bus set-down or bus service in the vicinity of the proposed development. The site is neither accessible nor convenient for public transport facilities and contrary to the information provided in the planning report submitted, the site is located approximately 700m from the established town centre not less than 200m.

The applicants have clearly misrepresented the distance of the site for the proposed development from the established town centre. The established guidelines clearly state that the distance considered to be convenient for such a development is unlikely to be much more than 300-400 metres from the edge of the prime shopping area. The applicants have clearly failed to address these issues in their application.

Prior to even considering such a development a thorough traffic mobility and impact assessment must be undertaken in addition to a socio-economic impact assessment of the impact of such a development on the viability of the town centre to survive such a development.

The proposal is likely to result in a back-up of traffic onto the access road in and out of the retail development as well as onto the link road and roundabout thereby obstructing the free flow of traffic at this location and endangering public safety by reason of traffic hazard.

The applicants have clearly failed to address this issue in their application.

We further respectively submit that in the absence of a traffic impact assessment or mobility management plan for such a large-scale commercial retail development the planning application should be refused.

2.3 Retail Impact

It is our respectful submission that the applicants have failed to provide any reasonable grounds that would allow the Planning Authority to grant permission for the proposed development. We respectfully contend that the submitted documents do not demonstrate the true impact of the proposed development on the established commercial business centre of the town and local stores within the catchment area and the materially negative impact that the proposal will have on the business community which has already been substantially degraded in recent years due to the economic recession.

We respectfully submit that the assessment of current retail provision for the town is based on the Cork Strategic Retail Study, a survey of existing retail floor space conducted in the summer of 2007. The report does not examine the level of empty commercial retail space currently in the town and the impact of the proposed development on the remaining established businesses.

We respectfully submit that the retail impact assessment has based current expenditure in the town at 2006 levels set during the height of the economic boom in Ireland and is not based on current expenditure during the worst economic downturn in the history of the state. The applicants have clearly failed to address this issue in their application.

We respectfully submit that the retail impact assessment has not examined the cumulative impact of the proposed development with other recent retail developments such as Lidl on the commercial town centre. We respectfully submit that the cumulative impact would cause an adverse impact on the commercial viability and vitality of the town centre sufficient to undermine the quality of the town centre or its role in the economic ands social life of the community. Furthermore, the creation of 490 additional car parking spaces at this location outside the town would clearly not serve the need of the town centre as a whole but rather the exclusive use of this development. The introduction of pay parking in the town would subsequently encourage business drift from the town centre to where free parking was available and further commercially damage the viability of the established town centre businesses leading to inevitable closure and increased economic hardship for the business community in an already deepening period of economic recession. The applicants have clearly failed to address this issue in their application.

We respectfully submit that the proposed development does not support the development of the town centre as a viable business centre, does not address the current problems facing business in the commercial town centre nor present a realistic vision of how the community want the town centre to be developed.

We respectfully submit that the proposed development must be based on realistic appraisal of the need for such a development and the impact of such a development on existing businesses within the town.

In dealing with these matters, the Planning Authority should take account of the views of retailers, shoppers, property owners and the National Roads Authority. We respectfully submit that no such consultation has been undertaken. The purpose of the planning system includes the promotion of healthy town centres in the public interest. We respectfully submit that the proposed development does not support this objective.

In submitting evidence in relation to retail impact the applicant is required to address the following criteria and demonstrate whether or not the proposal would:

• Support the long-term strategy for town centres as established in the development plan and not materially diminish the prospect of attracting private sector investment into one or more town centres.
• Cause an adverse impact on one or more town centres, either singly or cumulatively with recent developments or other outstanding planning permissions, sufficient to undermine the quality of the centre or its role in the economic and social life of the community.
• Diminish the range of activities and services that a town centre can support.
• Cause an increase in the number of vacant properties in the primary retail area that is likely to persist in the long term.
• Ensure a high standard of access both by public transport, foot and private car so that the proposal is easily accessible by all sections of society.
• Link effectively with an existing town centre so that there is likely to be commercial synergy.

We respectfully submit that the proposed development does not comply with these criteria. The proposed development will not support the long-term strategy for town centres, will materially diminish private sector investment into the town centre, will cause adverse impact on one or more town centres in West Cork, will undermine the commercial viability of the town centre and its role in the economic and social life of the community.

We respectfully submit that the proposed development will diminish the range of activities and services that a town centre can support and cause an increase in the number of vacant properties in the primary retail area that is likely to persist in the long-term.

We respectfully submit that the proposed development does not provide a high standard of access both by public transport, foot and private car so that the proposal is easily accessible by all sections of society.

We respectfully submit that the proposed development does not link effectively with an existing town centre so that there is likely to be commercial synergy.

We respectfully submit that there is a significant unused retail space in the town at present and that the market cannot support the proposed development.

We respectfully submit that the proposed development will support the development of an unacceptable local monopoly effect on smaller retail shops in the established commercial town centre.

We respectfully submit that this proposal will clearly have a detrimental impact on the provision of services in the established town centre and is therefore inappropriate development for the sustainable development of the town.

In assessing the need for additional development as proposed it is important that the assessments are based on a realistic appraisal of both expenditure change and market requirements. Plans should be based on up-to-date information regarding existing retail floorspace and shopping patterns in the area.

We respectfully submit that the applicants have clearly failed to address these issues in their application. Furthermore, the development of additional large-scale regional retail centres on greenfield sites or outside established centres is not regarded as sustainable in relation to transport objectives. Consequently, there should be a general presumption against large-scale out-of-centre retail development such as that proposed.

We respectfully submit that the proposed development would be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.

2.4 Critical Infrastructure:

We respectfully submit that a moratorium on any such development should exist until the critical waste management infrastructure is provided for the town of Skibbereen.

We respectfully submit that the planning application has not examined the potential pollution load from such a development “population equivalent load’.

We respectfully submit that where no sewage treatment works have been built for the town there is an inability to treat the wastes arising.

We respectfully submit that the implications for waste management, in particular foul sewage treatment and storm water run-off have not been addressed.

We respectfully submit that major developments such as that proposed should not be permitted where the waste water treatment infrastructure is not available.

2.5 Planning precedent

We respectfully submit that there is a clear and unambiguous precedent set for the determination of the proposed development by the Planning Authority. An Bord Pleanála and Planning Authorities have refused a number of applications for developments on floodplains around the country, which should act as precedent for the refusal of the proposed development. Where planning was granted for such a development it would introduce a risk of potential liability on behalf of the Planning Authority for future damage.

2.6 Environmental Assessment

We respectfully submit that no environmental assessment has been undertaken on the site to establish the likely impact of the proposed development on the environment.

Factors such as biodiversity, species or flora and fauna on the site have not been examined.

No ambient noise assessment has been undertaken to examine the likely impact of the development on neighboring residential houses.

We respectfully submit that planning should be refused in light of the inadequacy of information provided.

3. CONCLUSION

The proposed development is located on a floodplain and was under several feet of water during the November 2009 flood of Skibbereen. We respectfully submit that a moratorium on any such development should exist until the OPW complete the flood impact assessment and alleviation plan for the town of Skibbereen.

The proposal will have an adversely negative impact on the existing established commercial town centre. The site location of the proposed development is in excess of 700m from the commercial town centre and is not accessible nor convenient for public transport facilities. The site of the proposed development does not serve the mobility needs of the wider community including the needs of pedestrian shoppers. We respectfully submit that a moratorium on any such development should exist until the critical waste management infrastructure is provided for the town of Skibbereen. We respectfully submit that the implications for waste management, in particular foul sewage treatment and storm water run-off have not been addressed for the development. We respectfully submit that major developments such as that proposed should not be permitted where the waste water treatment infrastructure is not available.

No traffic impact assessment has been provided for the proposed development. The creation of 490 additional car parking spaces at this location outside the town would clearly not serve the need of the town centre as a whole but rather the exclusive use of this development.

The introduction of pay-parking in the town would subsequently encourage business drift from the town centre to where free parking was available and further commercially damage the viability of the established town centre businesses leading to inevitable closure and increased economic hardship for the business community in an already deepening period of economic recession.

The proposal is likely to result in a back-up of traffic onto the access road in and out of the retail development as well as onto the link road and roundabout thereby obstructing the free flow of traffic at this location and endangering public safety by reason of traffic hazard.

We request the Planning Authority to conclude therefore that the proposal is contrary to the provisions of sections 90-95 of the Retail Planning Guidelines and therefore not in the interest of the proper planning and sustainable development of the area nor in the interest of the common good.

The application has failed to address our clients’ concerns in terms of its material impact on the viability of the existing commercial town centre and their associated stores, as well as its cumulative negative impact, due to its direct association with the Lidl supermarket, located outside the town centre. The proposal will adversely impact on the residential community adjacent to the development creating the potential for ambient light and noise nuisance. Furthermore, factors such as biodiversity, species or flora and fauna on the site have not been examined.

For all of the above reasons, to permit the proposed development would be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area including the protection of amenities therein.

We therefore respectfully request that Cork County Council refuse this current application on the grounds set out above.

Yours sincerely

Declan Waugh BSc. C.WEM. CEnv. MCIWEM. MIEMA. MCIWM. MIOA. Grad EI. ALI

EnviroManagement Services

TEDxWestCork - Declan Waugh - 04/17/10

NAMA; THE FRANKENSTEIN OF IRISH POLITICS

Ireland’s fascination with property and politics is matched only by its massive confusion of attitudes towards it. Our desire to own property must be linked inextricably with our history; one of plantations, occupation, evictions, penal servitude, migration and emigration.

The experiences of our forefathers must somehow remain in our genetic DNA that the Irish psyche over the past two generations remains so focused on owning property regardless of the financial and emotional pain that is inflicted on mortgage sufferers and society. Many people, in their quest for owning property and providing a home, thought they knew what they wanted but when they got it realised something else was missing; a community, proper infrastructure, schools, access to amenities, buses, shops and playgrounds. The long-term implications of the housing bubble, including living in the far-reaching commuter belt of cities with a lack of community facilities, building on flood plains and the lack of proper planning and development that have accompanied it, will be examined for generations to come in the wake of the Celtic tiger.

The roots of the recent property bubble lie in the collaboration by many professions, from bankers, developers, politicians, economists, planning consultants, farmers and landowners to journalists, media professionals and ordinary members of the public. They created the conditions for the greatest financial fraud and community disservice in the history of this country and the Frankenstein financial situation we now face. The price for Cromwell’s settlement and forfeiture of 2,000,000 acres of Irish land was the dismantling of the irish economy and the relocation of thousands to west of the Shannon; the price for the Celtic Tiger we have yet to fully understand but like Cromwell it involved relocating and condemning tens of thousands of people into “development lands” with little infrastructure or prospects of sustainable employment and ultimately the imploding of the Irish economy.

We have witnessed over the past ten years catastrophic mismanagement of our economy. We have sold our souls to the devil and in the process brought this country to economic ruin. The truth is we are all guilty, some obviously more so than others. We have all been involved in the economic meltdown through our political affiliations, trade unions, business or commercial dealings; society universally bought into a giant pyramid scheme that has resulted ultimately in the financial collapse of our nation’s finances.

So is it right to blame our politicians? If so, who would have thought that the individuals right to vote would have such enormous power over our collective futures?

What we have witnessed over the recent years is a catastrophic failure of the political system in this country to face up to their collective responsibilities. Our political system relies on one basic imperative - the need to protect the political party and get re-elected. The Irish voter was willingly coerced into believing in a future that did not exist. Eventually the means of securing re-election by buying favour with the voters for short-term gain has finally come home to roost.

The wider legacies around which the current government and by and large the opposition parties have survived and sought power have been based on continued economic growth regardless of the long-term socio-economic or environmental impacts of their policies. This is no more evident than in the financial mismanagement of this nation over the past ten years. Fianna Fail now alienated and largely despised by the public were the most popular political party in the history of the state. They have remained the party of government for most of the past twenty-one years, eighteen long years to be precise.

FF’s durability in office in recent years is due in large part to the willingness of smaller political parties to share power in coalition thereby ensuring the continued domination of FF in Irish politics. In the end the smaller parties have always paid the price. There was always a substantial proportion of the population who were opposed to the policies of FF and they did not forget the betrayal of the smaller parties, waiting in the long grass to cast their vote of disapproval.

This occurred with the Labour Party, the Progressive Democrats and now the Green Party are exposed to the same recriminations. This is indeed ironic for the Green Party, for above all others they were the one political party that exposed the weaknesses of these same policies over their entire time in opposition. In recent coalition governments, the smaller party always saw themselves as the party of reform and watchdog over the excesses of FF. Their excesses were, as we now know only too well, never curbed. Their policies perpetuated a political and planning system bereft of the principles of sustainable development, that resulted in the monopolistic excesses that we now witness in NAMA and the billions of euros of bad debts held by a handful of powerful people.

Now the Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan has informed the nation that the state are buying €81 billion of toxic assets from the nations banks. So far the total cost of bailing out Anglo Irish Bank is €22.3 billion, what was a private bank for the wealthy and powerful has now become a financial black hole for the Irish economy. How did this happen?

In 2008, Cohen and Lenihan, backed by a discredited economics profession, assorted lobbyists, the construction industry, the discredited financial regulator and chief executives of Irish Banks, terrified the Government into providing a state guarantee for all deposits in Irish banks, singling out Anglo Irish Bank in particular, handing over billions of euros to provide short-term liquidity and nationalizing a private bank Anglo Irish Bank “in the national interest”. The Irish public has not yet grasped the nature and extent of this crime.

Brian Lehihan stated in the Dail this week that the former financial regulator had failed abysmally in their responsibilities. In December last year the Governor of the Irish Central Bank, Patrick Honohan, said that “ignorance and inattention” were at the heart of regulatory failure in Ireland. The question begs as to ignorance and inattention by whom? By our government and its appointees to position of power in this country including the previous finance Minster and financial regulator?

The Financial Regulator, Mr. Leary, the man who oversaw the culture of “ignorance and inattention” took early retirement and received a lump sum of €390,000 and an annual pension of €130,000 as part of his retirement package. Another taxpayer bailout and job well done with no accountability and no penalty for professional misconduct. Meanwhile Fianna Fail, the party of government that oversaw this mismanagement, ineptitude and incompetence of government at best and criminal behavior at worst, remain in power.

The consequences of their actions is that the innocent will pay for the sins of the guilty as the financial system crashes in on itself. We are now a nation of financial slaves. Those who conjured up this financial Frankenstein seek to be rescued from themselves by us the taxpayer who as ordinary people will be left to suffer the most from their mismanagement.

The root of this financial breakdown lies in the machinery of powerful lobbyists, bankers and developers, and its use of our political system as a powerful tool for and self-enrichment. When one says that money is power, one is simultaneously saying that money is political. The existence of the FF tent at the Galway races over the boom years of the Celtic Tiger says it all. The secret deals and private meetings for cash with leading politicians and political parties, from former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern to corporate donations to political parties set in motion a political system and parliament for sale to the highest bidder.

What is the result of all of this? We are now entering the period of the second Great Depression. Our banks are insolvent and some of our leading companies linked to these same financial institutions are also insolvent. The high court decision to appoint provisional administrators to Quinn Insurance was based on the financial regulator’s very serious concern that Quinn Insurance was unable to meet its liabilities to policyholders. This may in some way explain the delay policy holders have faced in receiving insurance compensation for the recent flooding in November last. It may also explain why Lehihan nationalized Anglo Irish Bank of which Quinn was a major shareholder.

Before this Government falls as indeed it surely will, there are two critical items that must be addressed, both of which are part of the revised Program for Government, the first is the new Planning Bill which will circumvent the role of local councilors rezoning lands for developers and the second is outlawing corporate donations to political parties. This is the legacy that the Green Party could leave for the betterment of Irish politics and society. However, neither time nor public opinion is on their side. They better work fast, the voters are waiting in the long grass and they won’t forget, they never will.

In his biography of Oliver Cromwell, John Morley assesses Cromwell’s place in Irish history in these words: “...to everyone it will at least be intelligible how his name has come to be hated in the tenacious heart of Ireland. What is called his settlement aggravated Irish misery to a degree that cannot be measured, and before the end of a single generation events at Limerick and the Boyne showed how hollow and ineffectual, as well as how mischievous, the Cromwellian settlement had been.”

What will future historians write about Fianna Fail, the celtic tiger years and the Frankenstein called NAMA they created.

UN World Water Day

Date: 22nd March, 2010
Time: 8.00pm


Venue: Rochestown Park Hotel, Cork


Admission:

Free. All welcome

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is coordinating the organization of the World Water Day 2010 campaign on behalf of UN-Water and in collaboration with FAO, UNDP, UNECE, UNICEF, UNESCO, UN-Habitat, WHO, and the UN-Water Decade Programme on Advocacy and Communication as well as with partner organizations such as International Water Association, World Wide Fund for Nature, World Water Council and Cork Environmental Forum.

March 22^nd 2010 will mark a global event on water management with events and presentations taking place throughout across the planet in every continent. Cork Environmental Forum in association with Engineers Ireland are hosting a water seminar at Rochestown Park Hotel, Cork.

About the speakers:

Declan Waugh, Director EnviroManagement Services and founder of Partnership for Change, has twenty years experience in environmental management, research, impact assessment, environmental auditing and risk assessment, waste management, planning and development, contaminated site investigation and management of environmental risk. He has spent ten years working in environmental management of the mining industry and ten years working as an environmental consultant managing a wide variety of infrastructure projects and green tech projects in addition to being a noted environmental researcher. The title of his presentation is ‘Flood risk management: An examination of the Bandon Flood event of Nov 19th 2009 including land use planning and disaster management’.

Weather, climate and water resources can have a devastating impact on socio-economic development and on the well-being of humankind. According to the World Meteorological Organization weather and climate-related extreme events, such as tornadoes, thunderstorms, storms, cyclones, floods and drought, account for nearly 75 per cent of all disasters. They can lead to an enormous toll of human suffering, loss of life, infrastructure and economic damage. How we monitor these events, try and predict their occurrence and ultimately plan and prepare for extreme weather events and issuing timely warnings are essential to mitigate the disastrous impact of such events on a population and economy.

Declan’s presentation will examine what we may have learnt from the recent extreme flooding which occurred in November 2009, an event that caused enormous social and economic impact on both urban and rural communities across Ireland.

Tony Cain, principal of H2O Consult, has 20 years experience in the design and construction of sewerage systems in the UK and Ireland. He has particular experience in the hydraulic analysis and detailed design of sustainable drainage systems and road drainage systems and was the drainage design manager for a €1 billion programme of road construction works in Ireland including N6, N7 and the M50PPP project. He has recently set-up his own company, H2O Consult, to deliver sustainable water management solutions in Ireland. He is also a member of the management committee of Cork Environmental Forum and has recently been nominated by SWAN for appointment to the South West River Basin District Management Plan Advisory Council. The title of his presentation is ‘Sustainable drainage systems and rainwater harvesting: An overview of the types, design, environmental benefits of SUDS and rainwater harvesting systems’.

Contact: Kevin Murray, chair, Cork region
E: bellagiokm@gmail.com

Note: This event is run in association with Cork Environmental Forum.

Biofuels and Food Security

An internal report by the World Bank on the link between biofuels and food prices argues that the drive for biofuels by American and European governments has pushed up food prices by 75% in stark contrast with U.S claims that using crops for fuel, rather than food, has only pushed prices up by 2-3%.

All other factors including rising demand for food from China and India, back-to-back droughts in Australia had only a marginal impact on food prices according to the report.

The reports states that without the increase in biofuels, global wheat and maize stocks would not have declined appreciably and price increases due to other factors would have been moderate.

The rise in prices has caused food riots in several countries and lead to banning of grain and other food exports. The implication of this report, then, is that crop-derived fuels have been the ultimate cause of food riots, starvation and high prices around the world.

The World Bank’s index of food prices increased 140 percent from January 2002 to February 2008. This increase was caused by a confluence of factors but the most important was the large increase in biofuels production in the U.S and EU. Without the increase in biofuels, global wheat and maize stocks would not have declined appreciably and price increases due to other factors would have been moderate.

The combination of higher energy prices and related increases in fertilizer prices, the decline in the dollar caused food prices to increase by about 35 % from the January 2002 until Feb 2008 and the remaining three quarters of the 140 percent actual increase was due to biofuels.

One-quarter of all the maize and other grain crops grown in the US now ends up as biofuel in cars rather than being used to feed people. Increased biofuel production has increased demand for food crops and been the major cause of the increase in food prices. Allmost all of the increase in global maize production from 2004 to 2007 went for biofuels in the U.S and the net effect was that the increase in global consumption fro the other uses came from stocks. Global maize production increased 55 million tons from 2004 to 2007 according to the USDA and biofuels use in the U.S increased 50 million tons. Global consumption for all other uses increased 33 million tons, which caused global to decline by 27 million tons and maize prices to more than double. Maize for biofuels accounted for 25 percent of U.S production in the 2007/2008 crop year according to the USDA and 11 percent of global production.

The report concluded that rapid income growth in developing countries has not lead to large increases in global grain consumption and was not a major factor responsible for the large grain price increases.

The Future Is What We Make It.

The facts are, our economy has been destroyed, our financial sector is collapsed and we are witnessing a rising tide of unemployment and dispossession. So far despite the billions spend on corrupt and failed financial institutions there are no indications of improvements and we are to expect worse to come. I imagine therefore there are many of you all asking the same question I am, how did we get here? what have we learnt? and what do we do now?

Do we try and rebuild on the same designs and system failures? do we continue with a political system and class that has failed this country? do we still believe in this government?

The answer must be clear, we do not.

When a situation becomes untenable we must exercise our will and reason to act, we must consider the imperative. Our imperative is our society, our community, our shared history and determination not to surrender to defeat, our imperative is believing in the next generation but also providing the foundation for civic leadership and ethical government.

This government supported by its senior civil servant’s is built on a foundation of shame, on guilt and promotion of corruption; protecting the interest of the few while violating the interests of its citizens. Civil society must protect its members and defend their rights and common interests.

It is imperative that we as citizens decide that this government has had its day.

This government has to fall, the political system is broken, the same system allowed the election of this government and now protects those that are responsible for laying the foundations of our current crisis, a system that lets those responsible walk free, with generous pensions and bonuses protecting government workers, state appointees and top civil servants on massive salaries and benefits.

Our political system does not deserve to be defended but rather taken apart and put back together again. It has proven to be very creative at letting people off the hook for criminal behaviour, no one has yet to be held accountable for all its many failures, it is a system designed to facilitate failure and criminal behaviour, its allows the law to be bent, the rules to be broken, no one to be held accountable.

In order for us to get out of this disaster, each of us has to look to the future, to work for our collective interests not self interest, to built an ethical future that will inspire the next generation, we need to remove the element of fear, apathy and anger and build a future of hope, support and a brighter vision for modern Ireland.

THE FUTURE IS WHAT WE MAKE IT.

NOW IS THE TIME TO SAY WE HAVE HAD ENOUGH.

No Accountability without Transparency for Mismanagement of Financial Industry in Ireland

Klaus Regling, German economist and co-author of an upcoming report into the banking crisis yesterday told the Finance Committee that the reason the banking sector in Asia survived the financial crisis better than Ireland and all western economies is that their financial regulators responded to changes in the marketplace by introducing restrictions to control unsustainable lending practices by banks (to prevent a property bubble) in addition to the Financial regulatory preventing banks from undertaking off balance sheet transactions.

Furthermore he said that Asian Banks unlike their Irish or European equivalents largely did not invest in or buy products that they didn’t understand thereby reducing their exposure to risk and financial loss.

Former International Monetary Fund (IMF) Deputy Director Max Watson will collaborate with Klaus Regling in investigating the banking crisis and will submit a report to the Minister for Finance.

Their report will be considered with a review by the Governor of the Central Bank in forming the basis for a Commission of Investigation.

It will be interesting to see if Mr Regling will lay any blame on the Financial Regulator or the former Minister for Finance, Brian Cowen T.D. for not ensuring proper public sector governance of the Financial Regulator, the Central bank or the banking industry in Ireland.

The chief executive of the financial regulator, Pat Neary took early retirement over the handling of the regulator’s investigation into the €87 million in secret (off balance sheet) directors’ loans at Anglo Irish Bank.

The Financial Regulator was warned by the German regulator, Bafin, as early as 2004 that Sachsen LB's troubled Irish subsidiaries were involved in highly risky and under-scrutinised transactions worth as much as €30bn or 20 times the parent bank's capitalisation. Despite the warning, in 2007 the Regulator approved another Sachsen investment vehicle and two months later the stable of off-balance sheet companies needed a €17.3bn bail-out from the German association of savings banks to keep Sachsen afloat.

In August 2009 the head of the German Financial Regulator told the Reichstag Finance Committee that the failure of the Depfa Bank, which was completely supervised by the Irish Financial Regulator, lead to the collapse of its German parent which forced Berlin to bail it out at a cost of €102 billion.

In December last year the Governor of the Irish Central Bank, Patrick Honohan, said that “ignorance and inattention” were at the heart of regulatory failure in Ireland.

Overall responsibility should lie with the previous government, the Toiseach Mr. Bertie Ahern T.D., the then Minister for Finance Mr. Brian Cowen T.D., and the collective Cabinet.

As for accountability for the person in charge of the Financial Regulator Mr. Leary, the man who oversaw the culture of “ignorance and inattention” well he took early retirement and received a lump sum of €390,000 and an annual pension of €130,000 as part of his retirement package.

Fianna Fail the party of government, the political party that oversaw this mismanagement, ineptitude, incompetence of government at best and criminal behavior at worst meanwhile remain in government and we are supposed to trust them to get us out of this mess.

No accountability, no transparency, no chance of those responsible for regulation and public sector management ever being held to task for not doing their job.

Sounds all to familiar….

The Future of Green Politics in Ireland

I am writing this as someone who is a committed "green" but resigned from the Green Party in November for many reasons including NAMA but more particularly as it was apparent that my membership of the party was obstructing my work in the community as an environmental activist and scientist. It became apparent to me personally that in the current times membership of the Green Party had become a major obstacle to delivering the message of sustainability to the wider community, both within the public and private sector. Rather than fighting battles on sustainability I was fighting battles for the government many of which I inherently opposed.

My immediate concern being that to keep the wider message alive in the advent of collapse of the Green Party support, society needs to have people who will work with all political parties to progress sustainability and the greening of irish politics across all political parties. I was willing to stand for the party in the local elections, but not being successfully I now needed to remove myself from the party in order to remain objective in the public eye.

I have witnessed the slow erosion and collapse of public support for the Green Party both during the last local elections and more particularly in the past ten months.

This must be extremely difficult to comprehend by members of the party and elected TDs all of whom have given enormous commitment to try and change Irish politics for the betterment of Irish society. However the party have allowed divisions to grow within its ranks, it has not listened to its members effectively, has alienated many and many more have resigned from the party in protest. This must be of the utmost concern for the political leadership.

The Green Party are the political leaders of the Green movement in Ireland, yet their ability to connect with the wider community through effective public communications has failed. This must be acknowledged first and foremost if you desire for the Green Party and green politics to grow and develop.

If the leadership of the Party ignore this fact the Green Party will certainly follow the route of the National League Party (1926-1931), Farmers Party (1922 and 1932) the National Centre Party (1932-1933), National Corporate Party (1935-1937), Clann na Talmhan (1938- 1965), Socialist Labour Party(1977-1982), Socalist Party of Ireland (1971-1982) the Progressive Democrats (1985-2009), Democratic Left (1992-1999) and many other political parties that floundered on the rocks of public opinion and changing political circumstances.

The most urgent issue that the Green Party must undertake at this moment is its public image. The public do not see its elected members as "real" people. The public do not fully understand its elected representatives, their motivations, desires, their passion for a new political order and commitment to work for future generations.

They are rather seen as indifferent, aloof, critical, lacking human interaction skills, humour, charisma, unemotionally introverted, pessimistic, the twittering class. Too serious by far to invite to a party, lacking any sense of emotion or fun.

It is of paramount importance that the public see the human and personal side to the Green Party as a political movement, it needs to showcase its values, humanity, what motivates the party, its people, fears, desires for the future, as a political movement it need to win hearts and minds. It needs to show that the Green Party are more than a political party rather a lifestyle and environmental movement that it critical to the future of humanity, in many respects a party beyond politics.

Right now as a political party it is disconnected with the Public, as a movement it is not engaging with the public but rather its own political supporters, many of whom are divided. The party is in freefall, disentangling, the signs are ominous that it may not survive the the next election. Action must be taken swiftly to ensure that the Green Party will survive, prosper and grow.

People need to see Green TD's, away from the office, away from suits and Leinster house. They need to show in some respects their human side, their anguishes, strengths and weaknesses.

In the meantime the Party need to present a movement that in public shows that is not afraid of the next general election, that it believes that the irish public want political change and that the Green party are the only party that can offer this change.

The Party are losing this PR battle and if they do not change and act quickly I fear the GP in Ireland will become extinct before it has any opportunity to address the most important issues of our generation. This indeed would be a terrible loss for the people of Ireland.

What Future For Democracy

How will humanity deal with the many challenges we face this century including competition for finite resources, food, energy, population control, migration, security, healthcare, protection of our natural resources, soil, water, clean air, the marine environment, our threat to the planet's biodiversity, the implications of climate change and our ongoing blind obsession with economic growth above all else?

It is becoming apparent to me that to address these overwhelming problems, to deal with climate change and energy security, to actually make a meaningful difference then everyone in the developed world needs to make large, rapid and uncomfortable cuts in their standard of living.

Making small sacrifices may reduce our own carbon footprint but the reduction required is so enormous that this alone will only play a small part in any solution.

It is unlikely that we will ever elect politicians with a manifesto of banning most long haul flights, reducing meat consumption, car ownership and promoting sustainable food production that returns the populace to eating only in season food grown in the locality. Who would support the end of convenience foods, supermarket dominance and cheap food imported from the far off corners of the world?

The day will come when we will have to deal with building sustainable communities. Do we wait for the tidal wave of wars and diminished resources before acting? Do we wait for a natural culling of the human population before taking action?

Turning the habits and addictions of the world's population around is a task that many feel is impossible. Yet if we don’t act what will the future hold? How will the next generation deal with the disasters they will undoubtedly face? What advise can we give them? How will we prepare them? Is their any solution we can provide them?

Are we even willing to examine the impacts of our lifestyles and consumption on future generations? Do we even really care about the next generation?

It would appear from the evidence at hand that we do not. The UNEP conference in Copenhagen was an abject failure. We still question the validity of climate change science even when the evidence is clear. We appear unwilling disinterested and unconcerned about the future, yet we all hope that it will be better than today.

It appears to be evident that urging people to act for the common good simply does not work. As a species we appear too selfish or ignorant to act responsibly. So what will the solution be if indeed there is one?

Historically democracy has only flourished as long as the promise of continued economic growth, security and more for everybody has been the goal. Our future now appears to clearly show that this may not be possible for much longer.

So the question must be asked, for how long can democracy survive as we know it?

The recent past has clearly shown us the limits of sustainability, we have witnessed how for a market to survive we must restrain development. The economic crisis is a visible example of how the pillars of civilisation depend on a strong foundation of protecting the common interest. In the past two years here in Ireland we have been faced with many challenges and each challenge offers an opportunity for change. Yet change has not come. Our Government have invested our futures in a failed economic model that may ultimately bring most of our world's biodiversity to the brink of extinction. Our Government could have provided the seed of change for the rest of the world to follow, we could have dismantled our economic model and transformed it into something new. Instead our economy is broken, we have 450,000 people on social welfare drawing benefit but not providing any service to the state. We also have one of the largest growing population of pensioners who also benefit from the state and a dwindling population of workers bearing the cost for everyone.

This is completely unsustainable and isn’t working, we are only surviving as a nation by obtaining international loans to the tune of over €20 billion this year to fill our budget deficit and pay our public sector. As our nation's debt continues to skyrocket at the rate of €400 million a week the very foundations of our state weaken. We must accept that out economic system is broken; we have builders and developers who cannot access credit and who owe billions in loans to banks, we have banks that can no longer lend and businesses that can no longer survive without credit and finally we have more people becoming unemployed. In many respects we are experiencing Government that can no longer govern, a political system that stumbles from one crisis to the next that is no longer in control of their destiny but controlled by events outside their control.

Where will it all end?

It may be that in our generation we will see that our cherished democratic system is no longer capable of resolving our current predicament. What then for the future?

Do we just wait to see what happens or take our future into our own hands?

If we must act what changes would you demand? We don’t have much time...

How To Save Our Political System

This is my view written on the back of a piece of paper on what we need to do to save the political system in Ireland before we fall into an abyss.

1. Pay County Councilors €50,000 a year inclusive of expenses, pay city councillors €30,000 annually. Either can remain in office for no more than 2 terms. They become temporary employees of the Local Authorities with a full time contract for the duration and are provided with offices and support staff from within local authorities.

2. TDs can be elected twice only and their salaries are to be capped at €100,000 including expenses for which they must attend Dail 4 days a week not 3.

3. Exceptional TDs who have run their period may be brought onto the Cabinet by the Taoiseach or as members of a strategic group, this is limited to 1 senior minister and 2 junior ministers.

4. The Dail set up an all party strategic group that feeds support on policy and legislation to all ministers. All TDs must sit on a minimum of one policy group. This is what they should work at when in the Dail, not local politics. They may be permitted to work on local politics/issues but it must feed into national policy.This way we can ensure that we get the best out of our TDs without them worrying if they will get re-elected.It will also ensure people are mentored into more senior positions and that fresh blood and ideas keep the political system working.
5. County and City Local Authority Managers should be elected. Get rid of mayors altogether.

Something must be done and done quickly for if we continue on the road we are on it will lead only to anarchy as people, politicians included, continue to walk away from politics.

More to follow later....

Putting the Cart Before The Horse Again: Environmental Management in West Cork

After years of procrastination and little headway I was delighted to read in the Southern Star Newspaper and other local print media of the proposals by Clonakilty Chamber of Tourism for addressing the enrichment and eutrophication of coastal waters in Courtmacsherry and Clonakilty bay and environs that result in the environmental scourge of sea lettuce which despoils our beaches and coastal environment.

In addressing the sea lettuce problem a number of factors must be examined:

• the first being what is the cause of the sea lettuce problem and
• subsequently what solution is required to protect our local economy and environment, bays, and beaches from the presence of rotting sea lettuce.

It would appear that from reports in the press that the proposed solution is:

• to harvest the sea lettuce from the beaches, bays and mudflats;
• to dewater and dry the sea lettuce and process it into a power and transport it to Galway as a raw material for animal feed.

One must however examine any proposal in light of how will it address the problem of nutrient enrichment and protection of our coastal environment?

This proposal will address neither. The proposal does nothing to deal with the problem of pollution of surface waters that is in itself the cause of sea lettuce in the first place. The proposed “solution” will require amongst other items the construction of a large drier, dewatering and processing plant and the haulage of by-product to Galway. It will also require the provision of a waste water treatment plant to treat the process waters and where insufficient sea lettuce may be collected in the area, the possible importation of sea lettuce from china, transportation to Clonakilty for processing and subsequent haulage to Galway for final packaging. The process in itself is energy intensive from waste collection to transport and processing. But will the proposal prevent eutrophication of our coastal waters? It will most certainly not.

The proposal while addressing the fouling of our beaches does not provide a sustainable solution to the problem, rather a cosmetic band aid to remove the offending sea lettuce from our environment without addressing the lack of waste treatment infrastructure and treatment of industrial, domestic and agricultural waste that is the source of the problem.

It must be noted that the existence of sea lettuce on our beaches and estuaries in West Cork is a direct result of the coastline being used a dumping ground for our collective wastes, wastes that contain inorganic nutrients in particular nitrogen and phosphate.

The problem of sea lettuce can becomes particular difficult when effluents are discharged into semi enclosed bays such as Countmacsherry and Clonakilty bay. This can become destructive to the environment (as we have witnessed) when the discharges involve mudflats that are exposed at low tides.

The response of seagrass to high levels of nutrients (eutrophication) is well documented. Generally speaking the higher levels of nitrogen in the environment will result in higher levels of sea grass biomass. The problem of seagrass and continued deterioration of our coastal waters will not however be dealt with until we have addressed management of our waste from towns, villages, industry and agriculture in particular landspreading of waste and fertiliser application.

Harvesting of sea lettuce is not a solution to the problem, it provides nothing more than a temporary band-aid to relieve the most sensitive amenity areas, it addresses the symptoms of eutrophication nor the cure and in some cases the harvesting of the sea lecttuce may pose other environmental and socio economic problems.

It must be acknowledged that the euthrophication of Clonakilty and Courtmacsherry bay is a result of rapid urbanisation without proper controls put in place to address waste management. There are no waste water system existing for Courtmacsherry, Timoleague, and the plant in Clonakilty as mentioned is totally inadequate to deal with the volume of waste generated. Furthermore both bays are surrounded by agricultural lands which themselves contribute to euthrophication by the spreading of fertiliser and slurry providing much needed nutrients to further aid the spread of macro algae.

Only by a reduction in nutrient loading into our coastal waters can one deal with the problem of macro algae and sea lettuce properly.

Clonakilty waste water treatment plant (WWTP) currently only has the capacity to treat the pollution equivalent (nutrient loading) of 5000 people; at the height of the summer the waste load generated in Clonakilty requiring treatment is equal to about 24,000 people, what this means in essence is that the plant is overloaded by more than 500%. On a typical day the waste generated in Clonakilty would be in the region of a population load of 8000 people. In essence untreated waste is discharged into our coastal environment from Clonakilty WWTP generally speaking 24hrs a day 246 days of the year, with the maximum during the summer months when the problem with macro algae and sea lettuce is at its worst.

Cork County Council currently have plans to upgrade the sewage treatment works in Clonakilty but these plans do not provide for tertiary treatment to remove the excessive nutrients that cause eutrophication. Given the eutrophication in the bay this is totally inadequate. The application for a licence for the proposed development has now been with the Environmental Protection Agency since 2007 and the Agency have sought for further information to be provided by Cork County Council. Information that has yet to be provided.

The Water Framework Directive requires that all coastal and inland water must be brought back to good quality standards. Only by developing an integrated waste management system to deal with all the wastes generated in the environs of Courtmacsherry, Timoleague and Clonakilty can we hope to develop tourism and manage our natural resources sustainable.

This must be done in consultation with Regulatory Authorities including the EPA and National Parks and Wildlife service and the Department of the Environment. The responsibility lies with the County Council as the authority with responsibility for planning and development in addition to operation of waste water treatment infrastructure.

Building a sea lettuce processing plant is not the answer to the problem, the answer is investment in waste water treatment infrastructure.

Until the public see such investment we will continue to witness the devastating impact of poor waste management on our environment which will continue to degrade our water environment, tourism, fishing and amenities.

The fate of our coastal waters lies not in harvesting sea lettuce but in managing our waste.

Declan Waugh

Chartered Water Manager and Environmental Scientist

The kidnapping of Haiti

The Theft of Haite: John Pilger

I was forwarded this article and on first impression thought, what's this another conspiracy theory? another rant about President Obama and hidden US military secret intentions for world domination? Well yes it is but Mr. Pilger however poses some interesting questions, read it and in the weeks and months ahead watch the space that is Haiti.

The theft of Haiti has been swift and crude. On 22 January, the United States secured “formal approval” from the United Nations to take over all air and sea ports in Haiti, and to “secure” roads. No Haitian signed the agreement, which has no basis in law. Power rules in an American naval blockade and the arrival of 13,000 marines, special forces, spooks and mercenaries, none with humanitarian relief training.

The airport in the capital, Port-au-Prince, is now an American military base and relief flights have been re-routed to the Dominican Republic. All flights stopped for three hours for the arrival of Hillary Clinton. Critically injured Haitians waited unaided as 800 American residents in Haiti were fed, watered and evacuated. Six days passed before the US Air Force dropped bottled water to people suffering thirst and dehydration.

The first TV reports played a critical role, giving the impression of widespread criminal mayhem. Matt Frei, the BBC reporter dispatched from Washington, seemed on the point of hyperventilation as he brayed about the “violence” and need for “security”. In spite of the demonstrable dignity of the earthquake victims, and evidence of citizens’ groups toiling unaided to rescue people, and even an American general’s assessment that the violence in Haiti was considerably less than before the earthquake, Frei claimed that “looting is the only industry” and “the dignity of Haiti’s past is long forgotten.” Thus, a history of unerring US violence and exploitation in Haiti was consigned to the victims. “There’s no doubt,” reported Frei in the aftermath of America’s bloody invasion of Iraq in 2003, “that the desire to bring good, to bring American values to the rest of the world, and especially now to the Middle East.. is now increasingly tied up with military power.”

In a sense, he was right. Never before in so-called peacetime have human relations been as militarised by rapacious power. Never before has an American president subordinated his government to the military establishment of his discredited predecessor, as Barack Obama has done. In pursuing George W. Bush’s policy of war and domination, Obama has sought from Congress an unprecedented military budget in excess of $700 billion. He has become, in effect, the spokesman for a military coup.

For the people of Haiti the implications are clear, if grotesque. With US troops in control of their country, Obama has appointed George W. Bush to the “relief effort”: a parody surely lifted from Graham Greene’s The Comedians, set in Papa Doc’s Haiti. As president, Bush’s relief effort following Hurricane Katrina in 2005 amounted to an ethnic cleansing of many of New Orleans’ black population. In 2004, he ordered the kidnapping of the democratically-elected prime minister of Haiti, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and exiled him in Africa. The popular Aristide had had the temerity to legislate modest reforms, such as a minimum wage for those who toil in Haiti’s sweatshops.

When I was last in Haiti, I watched very young girls stooped in front of whirring, hissing, binding machines at the Port-au-Prince Superior Baseball Plant. Many had swollen eyes and lacerated arms. I produced a camera and was thrown out. Haiti is where America makes the equipment for its hallowed national game, for next to nothing. Haiti is where Walt Disney contractors make Mickey Mouse pjamas, for next to nothing. The US controls Haiti’s sugar, bauxite and sisal. Rice-growing was replaced by imported American rice, driving people into the cities and towns and jerry-built housing. Years after year, Haiti was invaded by US marines, infamous for atrocities that have been their specialty from the Philippines to Afghanistan.

Bill Clinton is another comedian, having got himself appointed the UN’s man in Haiti. Once fawned upon by the BBC as “Mr. Nice Guy... bringing democracy back to a sad and troubled land”, Clinton is Haiti’s most notorious privateer, demanding de-regulation of the economy for the benefit of the sweatshop barons. Lately, he has been promoting a $55m deal to turn the north of Haiti into an American-annexed “tourist playground”.

Not for tourists is the US building its fifth biggest embassy in Port-au-Prince. Oil was found in Haiti’s waters decades ago and the US has kept it in reserve until the Middle East begins to run dry. More urgently, an occupied Haiti has a strategic importance in Washington’s “rollback” plans for Latin America. The goal is the overthrow of the popular democracies in Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador, control of Venezuela’s abundant oil reserves and sabotage of the growing regional cooperation that has given millions their first taste of an economic and social justice long denied by US-sponsored regimes.

The first rollback success came last year with the coup against President Jose Manuel Zelaya in Honduras who also dared advocate a minimum wage and that the rich pay tax. Obama’s secret support for the illegal regime carries a clear warning to vulnerable governments in central America. Last October, the regime in Colombia, long bankrolled by Washington and supported by death squads, handed the US seven military bases to, according to US air force documents, “combat anti-US governments in the region”.

Media propaganda has laid the ground for what may well be Obama’s next war. On 14 December, researchers at the University of West England published first findings of a ten-year study of the BBC’s reporting of Venezuela. Of 304 BBC reports, only three mentioned any of the historic reforms of the Chavez government, while the majority denigrated Chavez’s extraordinary democratic record, at one point comparing him to Hitler.

Such distortion and its attendant servitude to western power are rife across the Anglo-American corporate media. People who struggle for a better life, or for life itself, from Venezuela to Honduras to Haiti, deserve our support.

John Pilger

28 Jan 2010

Ireland Incorporated investing in bad debt

I was just checking out what the national debt of the US currently stood at as we approach 2010. What I learnt is that it stands at around 12 trillion dollars that’s about 70% of GDP. That's a lot of debt, a hell of a lot of money to owe anybody. However what I also found in this exercise, which was most interesting and quite frankly most worrying, is that Ireland owns 38 billion in US Treasury securities.

This is rather frightening when compared to other much larger economies and what level of US debt or us treasury securities they deem an acceptable risk. Lets look at the figures: Norway (29billion), France (24 billion), Italy (17 billion) Sweden (16 billion), Canada (20 billion), Netherlands(21 billion), Belgium (15 billion) and Australia with 10 billion.

How does Ireland compare to economies such as Australia? Well in a nutshell we don’t. Coal exports alone in Australia are worth 25 billion annually to their economy. What is obvious here is that we see countries with much larger populations and economies than Ireland, countries such as Norway, France, Sweden, Canada investing much less than Ireland in US Treasury securities.

Why? because foreign investors in the US Dollar have seen huge losses in their investments. It’s too big a risk.

I would like to know who is responsible for this? is it the central bank, Government, National Pension Fund?

I would also like to know why this money isn’t invested in essential infrastructure investments here in Ireland, developing renewable energy, IT, research and development, it looks to me that whoever is managing this fund is not willing to invest here at home.

This money if properly invested could turn this country around in a very short time. As it stands it's just losing value, as the dollar and US national debt continues to spiral our of control. We are investing in a country that is living way beyond its means to repay its national debt, a country that is insolvent and the risk of overexposure on this investment is enormous.

38 billion invested in US treasury securities would go a long way to sorting out the mess we are in right now.