Business magnates Mr JP McManus and Mr John Magnier (Coolmore Stud, Co. Tipperary), together with Cork property developer Mr Michael O’Flynn, are partnering, to develop an 860-acre site in west Co. Dublin.
The Irish Times newspaper reports that this joint venture group, involving the aforementioned, are currently preparing a masterplan for this site, understood to be situated between Lucan and Castleknock. The venture is expected to deliver more than 5,000 new homes, together with a large public park and other amenities.
Planning consultants for the trio have already engaged in early-stage discussions with South Dublin County Council and Fingal County Council on their plan to develop this extensive landbank, which is currently being used, for the most part, for agricultural purposes.
We understand that this venture group plan to develop about 400 acres of this site for housing, with more than 5,000 units envisaged, subject to planning permission, with 20% of this accommodation to be offered for social and affordable housing.
About 265 acres of the site would be set aside for a Liffey Valley public park at Edmundsbury, which would be handed over for community use.
Unacceptable delays and the pace at which essential improvements in waste water treatment are being delivered is too slow, says EPA.
34 towns and villages release raw sewage into the environment every day, and a third of these will continue to do so after 2024.
12 large towns and cities did not meet waste water treatment standards set to protect our environment. These areas generate half of Ireland’s waste water.
Ireland will need substantial and sustained investment to bring public waste water treatment up to standard.
The EPA report on Urban Waste Water Treatment in 2020, released today, shows that the pace at which essential improvements in waste water treatment are being delivered is too slow.
Irish Water is making progress in resolving environmental issues and the number of priority areas has reduced from 148 to 97 over the past four years. However, there is still a long way to go to bring all deficient treatment systems up to standard.
There have been further delays in providing treatment for many of the 34 towns and villages discharging raw sewage, and as a result over one third of these areas will not receive treatment until after 2024.
River Suir, Thurles, Co. Tipperary
Investment in waste water infrastructure is bringing environmental benefits to some areas. The number of large towns and cities failing to meet EU treatment standards is down from 28 in 2017 to 12 in 2020. However, the final deadline for all large urban areas to meet these treatment standards was 2005.
Commenting on the report, Dr Tom Ryan, Director of the EPA’s Office of Environmental Enforcement said: “It is unacceptable that 15 years after the final deadline to comply, half of Ireland’s urban waste water is still not treated to the basic EU standards. There are repeated delays in providing proper treatment at many areas, and this continues to put our environment and people’s health at risk. It is clear that Ireland will still need substantial investment over many years to bring our public waste water treatment plants and public sewers up to standard. Irish Water must deliver the essential infrastructure in as timely a manner as possible and resolve the underlying causes for the delays in upgrading treatment systems.”
The EPA report identifies the priority areas where improvements are most urgently needed and will deliver the greatest environmental benefits.
Mr Noel Byrne, EPA Programme Manager said: “While we are seeing progress at some areas, it is very concerning that Irish Water still has no clear action plans setting out when and how it will improve treatment at many of the priority areas where waste water is threatening the quality of our rivers and coastal waters. It is essential that Irish Water improves treatment to resolve the environmental issues highlighted by the EPA and provides clear, site specific action plans and time frames to carry out this work.”
The report contains key actions recommended for Irish Water as follows:
Direct resources to the priority areas and ensure there is a clear plan and time frame to resolve the environmental issues at each area.
Resolve the underlying causes for delays in upgrading treatment systems and deliver upgrade works in as timely a manner as possible.
Complete the impact assessments for shellfish waters and address the information shortfalls on the condition and performance of collecting systems.
Mr Patrick Quirke from Breanshamore, in Co. Tipperary will learn, possibly on Tuesday next, whether his appeal regarding his conviction for murder has been successful.
The 52-year-old Mr Quirke has spent the past two years in Midlands Prison, Portlaoise, County Laois, where he is serving a life sentence for the murder of lorry driver and part-time Disc Jockey, Mr Bobby Ryan, in or about June 3rd 2011, at an unknown location. His guilt had been decided by a 10 – 2 jury verdict, following a 15-week trial.
It has been more than one year since Mr Quirke’s appeal against the court’s decision regarding the infamous love-rival killing in Co. Tipperary was first lodged. The Covid-19 pandemic, coupled with some 52 submissions of appeal by Mr Quirke, led to the unprecedented delay in the appeal case. However, it is understood that both defence and prosecution counsel were informed, on Wednesday last, that a judgment would be delivered early next week. If successful in his appeal, Mr Quirke’s conviction for the murder of Mr Ryan, will now be overturned.
The trial of Mr Quirke, in 2019 was the longest in the history of the Irish State, with the victim missing for some 22 months, before his body was eventually found in a disused run-off tank on Ms Mary Lowry’s land at Fawnagown, Co Tipperary, in April 2013.
Issues during the trial were raised about how Gardaí had handled the discovery of Mr Ryan’s body, with the court hearing details of how part of a concrete capping slab fell into the tank, possibly causing damage to the body of deceased in the process.
Halloween is coming to Holycross with an extra special “Holycross Pumpkin Fest” taking place on October 30th.
A host of spooky and spectacular events promise to entertain young and old and guarantee the very best in family fun.
For strong and skilled conker fighters, participants are sought for a “Conker Championship” with a trophy and prizes for the winners.
Ruadhán Gormally, the incredibly talented Galway born puppet maker, who was recently featured on the Ryan Tubridy Show, will be there on the day, to entertain and delight with a collection of his best puppets.
Not to be missed kids.
On October 30th, there will be an extended opening time from 1:00pm to 4:00pm, with lots of extra music, tricks, treats and other shenanigans for children and adults, in honour of this truly Irish tradition. Yes, that’s right! Halloween, is an Irish tradition, owing its origins to the Celts and first celebrated over 2000 years ago.
The Celts celebrated the end of Harvest on the last day of October as part of a holiday called Samhain. They believed that on this day, spirits came and killed their crops. To keep the spirits happy and at bay, the Celts left out food to treat the spirits and danced and dressed up wearing masks and costumes to keep the spirits entertained.
When Christianity arrived in Ireland, this tradition evolved. ‘All Souls’ Day‘ begun to be celebrated on November 2nd to honour the dead. November 1st became a day to honour the Saints or All Saints Day, also known as, All Hallow’s Day. October 31st became All Hallow’s Eve, which eventually morphed into the word Halloween.
Hundreds of years later, Halloween is celebrated all around the world, with children and adults alike, still dressing up, enjoying treats and telling ghost stories, and they owe it all to the Irish.
Delighted to read that, at last, the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) have gotten up from their office seats, to secure convictions against persons responsible for the destruction of hedgerows and woodland, during this same bird-nesting season.
Separate cases have been heard recently in Ballina District Court and in Nenagh District Court, both taken under section 40 of the Wildlife (Amendment) Act of 2000, with the NPWS stating that a number of similar cases are also before the courts.
At a recent sitting of Ballina District Court, a Mayo farmer has been fined €4,000, and received a 20% penalty to his farm payments, for the destruction of vegetation over an area of around 1.9 acres, during the bird-nesting season. At Nenagh District Court, Co. Tipperary, yet another Galway farmer was also convicted and fined €3,000 for destroying 755 metres of hedgerows, and 0.7 acres of scrub woodland, at a farm here in Co. Tipperary.
NPWS has stated that it has noted an increase in the number of such reports of the complete removal of hedgerows and vegetation on lands not cultivated, during the statutory bird-nesting season. NPWS now state it is fully committed to investigating such areas, where this destruction is reported.
In Nenagh District Court, the remarks made by Judge Ms Elizabeth McGrath, should be heralded throughout this island. She stated that “section 40 is not a bureaucratic law, and exists to protect birds and their habitat.”
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