Ireland generated 1.2 million tonnes of packaging waste in 2021.
Ireland is continuing to achieve high levels of recycling for glass (84%) and paper/cardboard (73%).
Plastics present a serious challenge. Only 28% of plastic packaging waste was recycled in 2021, a long way off the 2025 EU target of 50%. The majority of Ireland’s plastic packaging waste is being incinerated.
Ireland’s overall recycling rate fell from 62% in 2020 to 58% in 2021. It must reach 65% in 2025.
Fiscal measures to incentivise householders and businesses are also urgently needed. The new levy on waste sent for recovery, and increases to the landfill levy, will reward better practices of segregation of waste.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has today published its latest figures on packaging waste in Ireland.
Ireland is meeting current EU recycling targets and achieving high recycling rates for some streams such as glass, paper/cardboard and ferrous metals. However, in 2021, the overall recycling rate for packaging waste fell by 4% to 58%, putting the 2025 target of 65% at risk. While the quantity of packaging waste being recycled is increasing every year, it cannot keep up with the total increase in packaging waste being generated in the first place.
Plastic packaging waste recycling rates remain low, at 28%. Most plastic packaging waste was sent for incineration, with less than one third recycled. Ireland will face significant challenges in meeting the 2025 and 2030 recycling targets for plastic of 50% and 55%.
Commenting on the figures, Mr Micheal Lehane, (Director of the EPA’s Office of Environmental Sustainability) said: “Urgent measures are needed to reduce the quantity of packaging waste generated in Ireland each year. Our current rate of production and consumption of packaging represents a poor use of materials and energy and is a growing source of emissions. With Ireland’s packaging waste exceeding 1.2 million tonnes per year, we need to intensify efforts to avoid unnecessary packaging use in the first instance. Packaging waste can be avoided and reduced by replacing single use with reusable packaging, current examples include pallets, boxes and trays, and through better product design such as lightweighting packaging.”
Poor segregation practices at businesses and homes is leading to high volumes of packaging waste being diverted to energy recovery. This includes materials which can be recycled.
Improved separation by householders and businesses at source is needed to collect higher quantities of recyclable packaging materials. Ensuring waste charges to businesses and householders are clearly incentivising reduction and recycling of packaging wastes will support better separation of materials. Continued awareness and enforcement measures are also needed to support better behaviours.
Mr Warren Phelan, (Programme Manager of the EPA’s Circular Economy Programme) noted: “The fall from 62%to 58% recycling in 2021 is disappointing but not unexpected. Better practices are needed by householders and especially businesses, where there are significant opportunities to divert good quality materials from the residual bin. The new levy on waste sent for recovery, and increases to the landfill levy, will reward better practices of segregation provided customer charging is appropriately incentivised.”
The press release today issued by Fine Gael Minister for Justice Mrs Helen McEntee: it’s all just about future voter optics. Would this €10 million not have been better spent invested in health issues like Limerick University Hospital, which has been historically under funded by successive Fianna Fáil & Fianna Gael led governments? Why didn’t Minister for Justice Mrs Helen McEntee just give €1 million to those who are walking the streets of Dublin, currently causing a state of disorder, due to the total absence of authority and parental control? Same funding could have been granted on condition that these rude, crude, uneducated, and uncivilized, barbarous persons stay off the streets of Dublin!
Increased deployment of public order unit and other specialist units in Dublin City Centre.
Overtime will provide up to 48,500 extra Garda hours per month across all Dublin Garda Divisions
Days of Action to be held across Dublin, by Gardaí.
The Minister for Justice, Mrs Helen McEntee TD, has welcomed details announced by Ms Angela Willis, Assistant Garda Commissioner for the Dublin Metropolitan Region, of how the additional €10 million allocation to An Garda Síochána will be used to bolster high visibility policing in Dublin city.
Minister McEntee last month announced the additional funding for Garda overtime, to increase high visibility policing in the Dublin Metropolitan Region.
The Minister is committed to ensuring Dubliners working and living in our capital, and those who visit the city, are safe and feel safe. An enhanced visible policing presence is central to achieving this objective and Minister McEntee is in regular contact with An Garda Síochána in this regard.
She welcomed the detail provided today by Assistant Commissioner Willis on how the additional €10 million is being spent, and will be spent, to provide consistent high visibility policing in the capital.
This includes:
Increased deployment of the Garda National Public Order Unit in the city centre, with €2m of the €10million dedicated to increased public order capacity An enhanced visible Garda presence at strategic locations in Dublin city centre Uniformed Gardaí supported in the city centre by the Garda Air Support Unit, the Garda Mounted Unit, the Garda Dog Unit, Regional Armed Response Units, and Road Policing Units to enhance visibility in the city centre Planned days of high impact operations in the city centre and across all DMR divisions High visibility patrols on the transport network and near transport services An enhanced Operation Citizen, including a focus on tackling street level drug dealing, anti-social behaviour and the seizure of alcohol in the city centre
Minister McEntee said: “As Minister for Justice I am committed to ensuring that Gardaí have the resources they need to build stronger, safer communities. This additional funding will help with the Garda commitment to continue to protect Dublin communities and ensure that the city is a safe place for all to live, work and visit.I am pleased that the plans now in place by the Garda Commissioner, Assistant Commissioner Willis and Garda management will deliver high visibility policing in the capital to support safety in Dublin. While policing alone cannot solve many of the factors which contribute to criminality or people feeling unsafe, high visibility policing is crucial to providing reassurance for all who live in, work in or visit our capital city. I also look forward in the coming weeks to launching the Community Safety Plan for Dublin’s north inner city. This plan, drawn up by the Community Safety Partnership which I established, recognises that increasing safety is not just the responsibility of An Garda Síochána alone. It also requires significant input from the local community and other State services, such as local authorities, health, education and others. But nobody knows better than local communities how to increase safety in their areas – and that is why the community is centrally involved in drawing up these plans.”
The North Inner City Local Community Safety Partnerships (LCSPs) is one of three pilots established by Minister McEntee, ahead of the rollout of the partnerships locally next year. The Dublin LCSP is due to publish its Community Safety Plan in the coming weeks.
Minister McEntee added: “In the coming weeks, I will also announce the latest round of funding grants under the Community Safety Innovation fund, which I established to reinvest the ill-gotten proceeds of crime as seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau into local projects to improve community safety.”
Budget 2023 also reflects the commitment of Government to ensuring that our communities are safe and that An Garda Síochána has the resources required to operate effectively. The budget provided by Government to the Garda Commissioner continues to increase to unprecedented levels, with an allocation of more than €2 billion for 2023.
Minister McEntee said that Garda recruitment is now accelerating after a Covid enforced pause, with new classes both entering and graduating from the Garda College in Templemore every three months.
The Minister said: “We are seeing numbers consistently increase in Templemore. 135 trainees entered the training college in February and another 154 in May. Another class of 174, the largest class since Covid, entered the college at the end of July, continuing the building momentum in recruitment. 100 new Gardaí have attested so far this year; another 470 will be in active training – and two more classes are due into Templemore in October and December. And I also look forward to attending the graduation of the next class in October, as well as working with colleagues in Government to ensure this strong pipeline of recruits is maintained. Along with Minister of State James Browne (Fianna Fáil), I am also committed to further expanding the number of Youth Diversion Programmes, which do hugely valuable work, across the country.”
Through the Youth Justice Strategy 2021-2027 the Department of Justice is broadening and deepening the services provided by the network of Youth Diversion Projects across the State.
This puts a focus on Early Intervention and Family Support programmes for children at risk, as well as access to appropriate Education, Training and Youth Services.
The Department of Justice is currently funding eight Youth Diversion Projects covering the Dublin City Centre area (specifically Dublin 1, 7 and 8) and is committed to expanding the number of YDPs across the country.
Funding for Youth Diversion Projects is provided by the Department of Justice and co-financed by the European Social Fund’s ESF+ Programme.
The ‘Boil Water Notice’issued on July 14th last, some five weeks ago, has today been lifted in Thurles and surrounding areas with immediate effect. However, residents should be aware that contaminated water may still remain in water pipes and header storage tanks for a short period, as static water is being refreshed.
The news will be much welcomed by local residents, who have at great expense, been obliged to purchase water from local shops at a cost of €1.45 per 5 litre bottle, spending up to €5.80 per day over the past 35 day period.
No real explanation for the five week old ‘Boil Water Notice’ request has been forthcoming from the relevant Tipperary authorities and elected public representatives.
A land owner resident in South Co. Tipperary, named as Mr Milo Cuddihy, has been convicted of carrying out in-stream works on some 300 metres of the Lingaun River at Breanormore, Glenacunna, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary. The work undertaken, we understand, affected the habitats of resident fish, including populations of salmon, trout, lamprey and eel.
Realignment of Lingaun River bed and bank. Pic: Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI)
Ms Lynda Connor, South-Eastern River Basin District Director at Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) noted that this was an act of ecological destruction, and further declaring this action, by the defendant, as demonstrating a real disregard for the river, their fish species and the local habitat.
Ms Connor said “Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) would continue to prosecute such illegal activity in fulfilment of its remit to protect and conserve Ireland’s important inland fisheries resource. The decimation and removal of a river’s habitat can be devastating in terms of its effects on fish. It can also impact in-stream biodiversity, such as vegetation and insects.”
Mr Cuddihy had carried out the in-stream works on the interior of the river bed and its banks, at the Lingaun River, Co. Tipperary, destroying 300 metres of the river channel. IFI had learned of the issue first on January 28th 2023, and the case was heard at Carrick-on-Suir District Court on July 5th 2023 last, with Mr Cuddihy fined a total of €4,000, and directed to pay a further €750 in costs directly to IFI.
Ms Connor concluded by stating, quote; “Landowners need to seek all necessary and relevant information from their advisors, and from Inland Fisheries Ireland, before carrying out any works near, or on, a watercourse adjacent to their land. The appropriate window for any in-stream works is strictly between July and September, but only with the guidance and permission of IFI. During the closed season, from October to June, no works should take place in a river. IFI continues to encourage members of the public to report incidents such as this, and those of water pollution, fish kills, and illegal fishing to its 24/7 phone number, TEL: 0818 34 74 24.”
On April 13th, 2023, (Read HERE), we wrote about our concerns in relation to the state of roads within the immediate precincts of Thurles town. A copy of same was forwarded to Mr Joe MacGrath (Chief Executive of Tipperary County Council).
State of Barry’s Bridge (Thurles Suir Bridge), Thurles (N75) today, August 5th, 2023. Pic: G. Willoughby.
In a surprising reply, received from Mr Joe MacGrath, through his Secretary Ms Evelyn Harty; Mr MacGrath broke a 3 year silence to discuss road craters on Thurles streets. [His rare reply has now been framed ].
On Tuesday April 18th, 2023 Mr Joe MacGrath informed us that Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) would be along to fix the N75 bridge crossing in Thurles. Quote from Mr MacGrath: “The second photo is on the N75 bridge crossing in Thurles. TII has programmed works for this section of road, which we expect will be undertaken by the end of May”. It is now August 5th 2023 and 10 weeks later no sign of Transport Infrastructure Ireland, hence we suspect when it comes to statements made by Mr Joe MacGrath as Chief Executive of Tipperary County Council “The tail appears to continue to wag the dog”
Currently every Monday morning, in two of the craters on Thurles Bridge (Barry’s Bridge), cold tarmac is tapped down with the back of a shovel. Within a 24 hour period it has been transformed into a gravel patch, causing further damage to the area and allowing collected surface water to seep through into the bridge’s main arch structure.
The end of this month, starting August 30th, primary and secondary school children will begin travelling back to our excellent educational facilities. If repairs are not undertaken and completed before the end of this month (August 2023), school traffic in combination with roadworks will ‘drive’ everyone to despair. Local residents can then stand and further watch the destruction and ruination of businesses within an now neglected Thurles Town centre.
A copy of this blog has been sent to Mr Joe MacGrath, Chief Executive at Tipperary Co. Council.
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