Battery take back scheme begins September 26th

August 5th, 2008

From 26 September 2008 onwards all battery retailers will be required to take back, free of charge, waste batteries including rechargeable batteries including those incorporated into electrical and electronic equipment and/or battery packs. Any person depositing waste batteries at the premises of any battery retailer will not be obligated to purchase any product or products from the retailer concerned. more.

a years supply

a years supply

Brian Greene asks
why no wind up remote controls? no wind up! a shake of the trolls and there is enough power to beam a tiny IR signal 12feet!
will shops take back mobile phone batteries? no. but phone shops should.
what batteries are safe to dispose of for land fill? none
why not operate a money back scheme? like the soft drinks glass in the 1970’s
will new ipods have removable batteries according to this directive?

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128 miles from Sutton lies Sellafield

July 10th, 2008

One of our nearest Nuclear Plants Sellafield which lies 128 miles from Malahide – Howth will take 112 years to clean up at a cost of €92 billion euros according to a Westminster report released this week. As the site is still accepting orders of waste nuclear fuel from around the world the true cost and date may never be known.

Anti Nuclear campaigner Brian Greene who runs the ShutSellafield.com website says “The myth that Sellafield is a power plant is the biggest deception of all. The plant was first used in the race for the A-Bomb and now it is the world’s nuclear dumping ground taking shipments from all over the world via the Irish Sea.”

Brian Greene who is the Socialist Party candidate in next years local election for the Malahide – Howth area says “Having the worlds most used nuclear dump on our doorstep has always been worrying but the safety record at the plant has been getting worse. Last year was the 50th anniversary of the nuclear fire at Windscale, and now the plant & its decommissioning are being sold to for profit businesses in a privatisation programme. Safety is threatened by a squeeze on wages and a race to the bottom that sees the plants bosses attacking the workforce’s pay & conditions on an ongoing basis.”

“Nuclear power is being cited as a solution to peak oil & the speculated over priced oil situation. Nuclear power will not power a car. Until a satisfactory waste solution for radioactive material is found Nuclear Power is not the answer.” said Mr. Greene

128 miles away

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Fishermen to Hold Demonstration at Ports & Dáil Eireann

June 4th, 2008

I strongly support the actions taken by the FIF. Irish Fishermen must not be priced out of the sea by fuel taxes & costs nor cheap fish imports. Minister Brendan Smith TD and Minister of State Tony Killeen TD must act fast from Ireland’s perspective & secondly via the EU Maritime Affairs Commissioner & the wider European perspective, too many factors have grouped together on the livelihoods of fishermen & their families, and with out further delay action is demanded on this issue. Brian Greene 04/06/2008 (Howth Harbour).

Federation of Irish Fishermen to Hold Demonstration at Dail Eireann
On Thursday 5th of June 2008, members of the the Federation of Irish Fishermen (FIF) will hold a demonstration outside Leinster House in Kildare Street between 12 noon and 3 pm to highlight the effects that the current high fuel prices and cheap fish imports are having on the fishing industry.
The CEOs of the four main fish producing organisations will be available at this demonstration to give interviews.
Mr Michael Walsh, chairman FIF and CEO Irish South and East Fish Producers Organisation, 087 2582842
Mr Lorcán Ó Cinnéide, CEO Irish Fish Producers Organisation, 087 6299522
Mr Gerard O’Flynn, CEO Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation 086 2360001
Mr Sean O’Donoghue, CEO Killybegs Fishermens Organisation. 087 4196535

During this demonstration fishing vessels will be tied up in all major fishing ports around the coast.

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Howth developer’s land jumps by EUR20m after council vote

January 18th, 2008

from the Evening Herald. 

LAND owned by a developer in Dublin jumped by between EUR12m and EUR20m in value following a decision by Fingal county councillors.The councillors voted in favour of changing the county development plan to allow for a 64-home scheme on what has now become one of the most exclusive sites in the country.

The land, which was bought 11 years ago for an estimated £400,000 (EUR500,000), contains a disused sports hall, the stunning site overlooking Howth harbour had been zoned for recreational use.

But by a majority of 20 votes to three, councilors in Fingal changed the zoning to allow for residential development.

APPLICATION
Construction firm Pierse Contracting Ltd, which had lodged a planning application for the scheme, will now almost certainly get the go-ahead.

In return for the material contravention of the development plan, Pierse has pledged to pay the local authority EUR2m to build a new sports hall.

“It’s the most beautiful site. By us passing a material contravention on that site we are increasing its value by somewhere between EUR12m and EUR20m,” Anne Devitt (Fine Gael) said last night.

“I believe the 64 apartments will sell for more than EURlm each. I can’t understand how any council or community group would accept a community gain (EUR2m) of so little. Never have I seen such a poor gain for such a high-value return,” she added.

However, when it came to the vote she backed the material contravention.

A council report said the Edros site on Balscadden Road, south of the Martello Tower, “has been disused and abandoned as recreational space for the past number of years”.

County manager David O’Connor came down strongly in favour of the material contravention. He said he has never seen a “more straightforward, public way” of dealing with a planning proposal.

“There was a huge amount of work done by local people,” he added. But he slammed talk of EURlm apartments and the value of the land shooting up as a result of a contravention.

Most of the EURlm apartments around the city are empty, Mr O’Connor said, adding “to promulgate that type of myth in relation to this is a gross insult”.

Howth representatives Michael Joe Cosgrave (FG), Joan Maher and David Healy (Greens) all voted for the plan. “If we don’t go through with the material contravention here today (the developers) can site on that site and we don’t have a community centre,” Cllr Maher said.

The dissenting voices were Clare Daly (Socialist Party), Ruth Coppinger (Socialist Party) and Peter Coyle (Labour).

Penfacs, a local community group in Howth established by former county manager John Tierney, backed the proposal.

FACILITIES
Several councillors raised fears that if they did not back the plan then the developer would appeal Fingal’s decision to An Bord Pleanala.

The councillors said the board could give the go ahead to the scheme and the council would be left without the EUR2m for community facilities.

ZONING: The new development will have stunning views of the popular Howth Harbour if it gets the go-ahead

Cormac Murphy
Evening Herald 

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Posted in Howth, planning | No Comments »

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