Environment - Thurles Information

EPA Announces €650,000 Funding Opportunity For Innovative Irish Businesses In Circular Economy.

The EPA’s Green Enterprise: Innovation for a Circular Economy fund worth €650,000 is now open for applications.
A circular economy aims to reduce waste at all stages of the economic cycle and ensure materials are used as efficiently as possible.
Circular business models contribute to a climate-neutral, resource-efficient economy.
Funding in the range of €50,000 to €100,000 will support development of circular solutions by Irish businesses.
The funding is aimed at projects in the areas of food, water and nutrients; packaging, textiles, plastics; construction and buildings; electronics and ICT; batteries and vehicles.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today launches its €650,000 funding opportunity for Irish enterprises to innovate, demonstrate and implement new circular economy approaches in their business models, moving away from the ‘Take Make Use Dispose’ economic model. Circular business models appeal to customers and consumers looking for sustainable options and contribute to a climate-neutral, resource-efficient economy. The EPA’s Green Enterprise: Innovation for a Circular Economy fund worth €650,000 is now open for applications.
Applications for project funding in the range of €50,000 to €100,000 are invited. This funding will support Irish businesses to develop circular solutions in product and service design, production and distribution, use of resources including raw materials, and in water, energy and waste reduction.
The fund is aimed at business-ready innovative projects targeting the areas of food, water and nutrients; packaging, textiles, plastics; construction and buildings; electronics and ICT; batteries and vehicles.

Speaking about the Green Enterprise: Innovation for a Circular Economy funding call, Ms Laura Burke, Director General of the EPA stated:
“Circular businesses reduce costs and environmental impact by reusing, repairing and recycling materials already in use. These approaches can advance the green transition, accelerate digital transformation and can deliver new jobs and skills as Ireland transitions to a more sustainable economy.
The EPA is inviting business and industry applicants from across Ireland’s economy with business-ready innovative projects targeting our priority areas of food, water and nutrients; packaging, textiles, plastics; construction and buildings; electronics and ICT; and batteries and vehicles”.

The EPA’s Green Enterprise: Innovation for a Circular Economy fund supports Irish enterprises to develop and demonstrate circular economy approaches, designing out waste and pollution and keeping products and materials in use for longer.

The types of projects being targeted include:

Use of eco-design to develop sustainable products.
Innovation to reduce the use of raw materials in product manufacturing.
Development and implementation of circular production processes (designing out waste, life cycle analysis),
Recycling, reuse and repair activities in the business and industry sector.
Circular services and business models (to transform consumption patterns, logistics and to foster reuse and repair).

Mr Warren Phelan, (Programme Manager, EPA) stated: “The Green Enterprise fund is an opportunity for Irish business to access finance in support of their innovative and circular business ideas. In the past the fund has supported business to pilot and test new enterprise activities creating new market opportunities and jobs as well as preventing wasted resources. We encourage businesses that are considering new circular activities to consider the support offered by the Green Enterprise fund”.

Some previously funded circular economy projects include:

A project to reduce food waste by using surplus bakery bread as a secondary raw material in brewing beer.
An innovative manufacturing process using recyclable, reinforced plastic for producing wind turbine blades and
Evaluating the potential to recover and use the biomass generated in fruit and vegetable supply chains to produce new food fibre ingredients.

The deadline for submission of proposals for Green Enterprise funding is 19th July 2022.

Further information is available on the EPA website, HERE
Contact: Emily Williamson, EPA Media Relations Office, Tel: 053 9170770, Email: media@epa.ie

Winner Of Thurles Shopping Centre Art Competition Announced.

The winner of the Thurles Shopping Centre Eco Art Competition has been announced this morning. The competition had been to design a scene for a wall mural, to fit in with a theme for Thurles Shopping Centre, based on “Wildlife”.

Huge congratulations now go to Ms Aoibhe Kojiol, aged 11 years; the outright winner of this Thurles Shopping Centre’s recent competition, first announced in mid-April of this year.

Ms Kojiol will now have her work enlarged and displayed on the entrance wall in this busy shopping complex and has already received her first prize of a €250 shopping voucher.

Thurles Shopping Centre would like to thank all of you young artists out there, for your magnificent response to the competition and are now looking forward to displaying Ms Kojiol’s art work, to further brighten up this busy, popular, market place.

Search For Thurles Man John Dunne, Stood Down Following Discovery Of Body.

The Thurles community is greatly saddened this evening on hearing the news that earlier today the search for Mr John Dunne was stood down.
Same followed the discovery of Mr Dunne’s body at the back of Lough Cummeenapeasta, Co. Kerry near steep ground, around Knocknapeasta (Hill of the serpent/monster).

Mr Dunne, a married father of one; head chef at the Horse & Jockey Hotel, Thurles and aged 61 years, was a resident of Saint John’s Park, (Dublin Rd), Wrensborough, Thurles, Co. Tipperary.
He was reported missing on Wednesday last, with the alarm raised at approximately 11:00pm, when Mr Dunne failed to return to his Bed & Breakfast accommodation.

Sadly, his body was located this morning following an extensive ground and air search, by members of the Kerry Mountain Rescue Team.

It was following media reports featuring his photograph, that rescuers were contacted last night by separate walking parties, latter who had spotted Mr Dunne on his travels at different times on Carrauntoohil and Cnoc na Toinne. Thus same information enabled rescuers to narrow the search to the eastern Reeks area.

A lover of nature and a keen gardener; Mr Dunne visited this area of Co. Kerry three or four times each year with his friend and was very familiar with this hilly walking terrain.

In ár gcroíthe go deo.

EPA Greenhouse Gas Emission Projections Highlight Need For Urgent Implementation Of Climate Plans.

EPA Projections data indicate that:

Total greenhouse gas emissions are estimated to have increased by 6% in 2021.
Planned policies and measures, if fully implemented, could deliver up to 28% (4% per annum) emissions reduction up to 2030.
Ireland can comply with its 2030 EU emissions reduction target only if all planned measures are implemented and delivered as planned.
The data projects that all sectors need to do significantly more to meet their 2030 National emissions reduction targets.
The challenge is particularly evident in the agriculture sector. Methane emissions will need to reduce by up to 30% to meet the lower range of its 2021 Climate Action Plan target.
Urgent implementation of all climate plans and policies, plus further new measures, are needed for Ireland to meet the 51% emissions reduction target and put Ireland on track for climate neutrality by 2050.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has today published its Greenhouse Gas emissions projections for the period 2021–2040.

The data shows that planned Climate policies and measures, if fully implemented, could deliver up to 28% (4 per cent per annum) emissions reduction up to 2030. As such Ireland could comply with its 2030 EU emissions reduction target only if all committed measures are implemented and delivered as planned and with full use of the permitted flexibilities.
Urgent implementation of all climate plans and polices, plus further new measures, are needed for Ireland to meet the 51% emissions reduction target and put Ireland on track for climate neutrality by 2050.

Speaking today at the EPA’s Climate Change Conference in Croke Park, Ms Laura Burke, (Director General, EPA) said: “These projections show the scale of policy development and implementation needed to match the ambition of our Climate Act 2021 and Carbon Budget targets. There is a significant gap between the ambition in the Climate Act and the realisation of the necessary actions to deliver on that ambition”.
Ms Burke added:
“The data shows that a step up in both the implementation of actions already set out in plans and policies and the identification of new measures is needed. All sectors have work to do, in particular the Agriculture sector. As the largest contributor of National emissions, more clarity is needed on how and when it will implement actions to reduce methane within the ever-shortening timeframe to 2030”.

The projections indicate that we have returned to pre-pandemic levels of activity, particularly in the transport sector, with associated levels of emissions. This return is likely to be exacerbated by a return to higher levels of coal used in electricity generation to meet growing national energy demand and current geopolitical impacts on energy.
Total greenhouse gas emissions are estimated to have increased by 6% in 2021. It is projected that the impact of reduction measures will result in emissions decreasing from 2023 onwards. The impact of measures on a sectoral basis include:

Agriculture
Under the with existing measures scenario emissions are projected to increase by 1.9% over the 2020-2030 period. A methane emissions reduction of almost 30% is required to achieve a 22% reduction in Agriculture emissions compared to 2018, as committed to in the 2021 Climate Action Plan. The sector must clearly set out how this will be achieved to address uncertainty regarding its ability to deliver even the lower end of the range of its sectoral targets within the ever-shortening time-frame to 2030.

Transport
The end of COVID travel restrictions is projected to result in transport emissions increasing by 18-19 per cent from 2020 to 2022. Emissions from the sector are projected to reduce to 39 per cent below 2018 levels by 2030 if the additional measures set out in plans and policies are implemented. These include over 940,000 electric vehicles on the road by 2030, increased biofuel blend rates and measures to support more sustainable transport.

Energy
Increased coal use from 2021, as a result of unavailability of sufficient gas-fired generation to meet growing energy demand, followed by changes in relative fuel price threatens to undo some of the good work done over recent years and negatively impact achievement of National targets, particularly for the first carbon budget period. Despite this, increased renewable energy generation, if delivered as planned, can reduce Energy Industry emissions by 10% per annum from 2021-30, achieving up to 78% renewable electricity generation by 2030.

Home Heating
Spending more time at home due to home/office hybrid working and the increasing cost of fossil fuels has highlighted a need for improvements in home heating efficiency and better insulation. Current implemented policies and measures can only deliver a 24% reduction in emissions from this sector by 2030. This highlights the need for implementation of the additional policies and measures such as those in the Climate Action Plan, which include the installation of 680,000 heat-pumps by 2030 as well as retrofitting 500,000 homes. These are projected to achieve a 41.5% reduction in residential emissions in 2030 compared to 2018.

Commenting, Mr Stephen Treacy, (Senior Manager, EPA) said: “The message from the authors of the recent IPCC report on climate mitigation was clear – it’s now or never, if we want to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Without immediate and deep emissions reductions across all sectors, it will be impossible. In Ireland, implementation of measures has consistently lagged far behind planning. It is important that all planned actions are implemented as soon as possible while, in parallel, identifying actions to address the remaining gap to meet carbon budget limits”.
See full detail on the Greenhouse Gas Emission Projections 2021 to 2040 HERE and EPA Greenhouse Gas web resource on the EPA website HERE.

New EPA Radon Maps Show More Homes & Workplaces At Risk From Cancer-Causing Gas

The EPA has published new radon maps for Ireland that update the radon risk assessment for the country.
170,000 homes in the country are now predicted to be at risk from radon. This is an increase of 45,000 homes from the previous estimate in 2002.
Radon is a cancer-causing radioactive gas, and every year in Ireland 350 new lung cancer cases are linked to exposure to radon.
You can check if your home is at risk/the level of risk of your home through the new Eircode map search on the EPA website.
The EPA urges all householders and businesses, especially those in high radon areas, to test for radon.
Testing for radon is simple and fixing a radon problem will reduce the risk to your health from this radioactive gas.

New radon maps, launched by the Environmental Protection Agency today, at the National Radon Forum, show an increased risk from radon in Ireland, with 170,000 homes now predicted to be at risk of radon exposure above the national reference level. This is an increase of 45,000 homes, from the previous estimate in 2002. The new maps update the radon risk assessment for the country and show that large parts of the country – particularly in Munster and Connaught – have been found to be at increased risk from radon. The map is based on work completed by Trinity College Dublin, Geological Survey of Ireland and the Economic and Social Research Institute alongside the EPA.

Mr Michéal Lehane, (EPA Director), speaking at today’s National Radon Forum said: “Radon is a serious public health hazard. The new maps combine thousands of radon measurements, with detailed geological information, and are a significant revision of the previous map from 2002. More importantly, the new maps make it easy for everyone to find out the radon risk in their local area using the eircode search on the EPA website. We urge people to test for radon as this is the only way of protecting you and your family from this cancer-causing gas”.

Employers too have a responsibility to ensure that their employees are protected from exposure to this radioactive gas.
Ms Yvonne Mullooly, Assistant Chief Executive of the Health and Safety Authority (HSA), welcomed publication of the new radon maps saying:
“Employers in high radon areas are obliged to test their workplaces for radon. The new maps enable them to clearly identify where they are legally obliged to test, so allows for targeting of resources in the areas where the risk from radon is highest. The HSA will continue to support employers by providing information, and through our on-line risk assessment BeSMART tool www.BeSMART.ie.”
Radon testing is simple and inexpensive and, where necessary, reducing high radon levels in a building is also straightforward. The EPA provides a list of registered radon measurement services and publishes a list of registered contractors who offer a radon remediation service if high levels are found.
The maps are now available on the EPA’s website HERE and are searchable by Eircode and by address.