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World Water Week 2017
“A greater focus on protecting our most pristine water environments is needed,” says EPA
Back in late April 2006 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) received results of analysis on river sediment, taken from the Drish River and the Rossestown River, (both tributaries of the River Suir here in North Tipperary,) from Anglo American Lisheen Mining Ltd, Killoran, Moyne, just 17 minutes drive (14.1 km / 8.76 mls) via the N75 from Thurles, in Co. Tipperary.
Same analytical results related to the monitoring of metals in river sediment. The results received by the EPA showed unsatisfactorily high levels of metals, including lead and zinc, in river sediment. While the water itself was deemed unpolluted, the EPA notified local farmers in the area that farm animals e.g. cattle and sheep, should not be allowed direct access to the affected stretches of the rivers. Dredging or other river works were forbidden at these locations.
Rural dwellers were informed that Anglo American Lisheen Mining Limited, (EPA Licence Reg. No. 550) were working with the EPA’s Office of Environmental Enforcement in relation to re-mediation, to eliminate any further risks of pollution. Only inquisitive individuals from that dreaded ‘green activist fringe’ were taking notes, but were threatened that up to 1,000 highly paid jobs would be put at risk, should formal environmental protest be publicly registered.
This year 2017 we have, thanks to “environmental radicals” and others of that same ‘green fringe’, now become more acutely aware of our natural environment, and rightly raise objection; demanding caution, when ‘Big Business’ arrives outside our doors using the popular catch phrase ‘Major Job Creation Opportunities’, e.g. Fracking and proposals to allow Irish Cement to burn tyres and other industrial waste at its Mungret, Co Limerick plant, its dioxins and Carbon monoxide fumes to be blown on Ireland’s prevailing wind, which travels from the south and west, to be rained down on our clean, food producing County of Tipperary.
The EPA has today released its latest national assessment of water quality in Ireland. The release coincides with World Water Week, which links scientific understanding with policy-making and positive action toward water-related challenges.
The EPA assessment covers the six-year period between 2010 and 2015 and is the first full, six-year, assessment of the status of our waters under the Water Framework Directive. The assessment concludes that while there has been little overall change in water quality in the six years up to the end of 2015, there has been:-
- a failure to meet the planned national target of 13 per cent improvement in water status for the six-year period;
- a failure to prevent deterioration of water status at hundreds of water bodies around the country, which cancels out the improvements in water status at a similar number of water bodies in other parts of the country;
- welcome progress relating to a continued reduction in the level of seriously polluted waters – only 6 river water bodies were categorised as “Bad” in 2010–2015 compared to 19 in 2007–2009; and
- a continued and unwelcome decline in the number of our pristine rivers – only 21 sites achieved the highest quality rating from 2013-2015 compared to over 500 sites in the late 1980s.
Overall, 91 per cent of groundwater bodies, 57 per cent of rivers, 46 per cent of lakes, 31 per cent of estuaries and 79 per cent of coastal waters were found to be of good quality under the Water Framework Directive. The Water Framework Directive, other than in exceptional circumstances, requires good water status for all water bodies.
The assessment is available on the EPA website and the accompanying data used in the water quality assessments are available on www.catchments.ie.
More recent localised information on water quality is available on-line through https://www.epa.ie.
It is not possibly fully perceived by residents of this State, but ‘surprise’, ‘surprise’ my friends, but any person who parks a car on any roadside,, with a ‘For Sale’ sign plastered across its windows and bearing a mobile phone number with which to contact the seller, can in fact be fined and / or have the offending vehicle impounded.
Such ‘For Sale’ vans, lorry’s and other vehicles parked regularly on our roadsides are seen as a distraction to other passing drivers (under Section 71 of the Roads Act 1993) and Gardaí are in fact duty bound, to seize all such vehicles, under the aforementioned legislation.
Section 71 of the Roads Act 1993 Reads:-
 VW Beetle For Sale !
71.—(1) (a) Any person who, without lawful authority or the consent of a road authority—
(i) erects, places or retains a sign on a public road, or
(ii) erects, places or retains on a public road any caravan, vehicle or other structure or thing (whether on wheels or not) used for the purposes of advertising, the sale of goods, the provision of services or other similar purpose, shall be guilty of an offence.
(b) A consent under paragraph (a) may be given by the road authority subject to such conditions, restrictions or requirements as it thinks fit and any person who fails to comply with such conditions, restrictions or requirements shall be guilty of an offence.
(2) Without prejudice to the liability of any person under subsection (1), where there is a contravention of that subsection in the case of any sign or advertisement, the person on whose behalf the sign or advertisement is exhibited shall be deemed also to have contravened that subsection.
(3) Notwithstanding any other enactment, an authorised person may remove a sign, caravan, vehicle or other structure or thing to which subsection (1) applies.
(4) An authorised person may store, or procure the storage of, a sign, caravan, vehicle or other structure or thing removed by him under subsection (3).
(5) Where the name and address of the owner of a sign, caravan, vehicle or other structure or thing removed and stored under this section can be ascertained by reasonable inquiry, the road authority or the Commissioner shall serve a notice upon the owner informing him of its removal and storage and of the address of the place where it may be claimed and recovered, requiring him to claim and recover it within one month of the date of the service of the notice and informing him of the statutory consequences of his failure to do so.
(6) A sign, caravan, vehicle or other structure or thing removed and stored under this section shall be given to a person claiming it if, but only if, he makes a declaration in writing that he is the owner of the sign, caravan, vehicle or other structure or thing or is authorised by its owner to claim it and, at the discretion of the road authority concerned or the Commissioner, pays the amount of the expenditure reasonably incurred in removing and storing it.
(7) The road authority concerned or the Commissioner may dispose, or procure the disposal, of a sign, caravan, vehicle or other structure or thing removed and stored under this section if—
(a) the owner of the sign, caravan, vehicle or other structure or thing fails to claim it and remove it from the place where it is stored within one month of the date on which a notice under subsection (5) was served on him, or
(b) the name and address of the owner of the sign, caravan, vehicle or other structure or thing cannot be ascertained by reasonable inquiry.
(8) A sign, caravan, vehicle or other structure or thing shall not be disposed of under this section within six weeks of the date of its removal under this section.
(9) In this section – “authorised person” means:-
(a) a person authorised in writing by a road authority for the purposes of this section,
(b) a member of An Garda Síochána.
In this section – “sign” means:-
Any sign, hoarding or other structure used for the purposes of advertising.
(10) This section shall not apply to a sign which relates to a presidential election within the meaning of the Presidential Elections Act, 1937 , a general election or a bye-election, within the meaning, in each case, of the Electoral Act, 1923 , a local election, a referendum, within the meaning of the Referendum Act, 1942 , or an election of members of the European Parliament, unless the sign has been in position for seven days or longer after the latest day upon which the poll was taken for the election, bye-election or referendum concerned.
Now you can see why General Election and other Political Posters are permitted to take precedence over the ‘Health & Safety’ issues affecting already over taxed motorists; with giant posters often placed blocking roundabouts, long before and up to seven days after an election has taken place.
It would appear that “What’s sauce for the goose is not necessarily always sauce for the gander” after all.
 Earlier this year (May 2017 last), a large numbers of freshwater crayfish were reported as dead, on a stretch of the River Suir, downstream from Clonmel, in South Co. Tipperary.
Analysis, then carried out confirmed that the cause of this crayfish mortality was a water multicellular fungus or mold known as ‘Crayfish Plague’. The disease, which arrived possibly through imported crayfish from North America, or in ships ballast water, has left all agencies including the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS); Inland Fisheries Ireland; and Tipperary County Council, working to contain the outbreak.
Alas, yet another outbreak has been now been confirmed, this time on the Lorrha River, in North Tipperary. Dead freshwater crayfish have been located and DNA analysis confirm that the cause of death is again Crayfish Plague, according to the National Parks and Wildlife Service.
The disease was first discovered here in Ireland in 1987, for the first time; however, based on known current information and research, some 100% mortality of this crayfish population is expected. This situation in turn will create major consequences for the future ecology of this stretch of the Lorrha River, since no resistance to this disease, as yet to date, has been discovered in relation to the native European crayfish population.
All person entering Irish rivers, for any reason, are now once again being urged to observe the practice of ‘Check, Clean and Dry’, when leaving or entering fresh water areas. Wet gear, including boats, waterproof clothing and other associated equipment used, should be checked for mud, silt and plant material, before disinfecting or washing; using boiling water, and before allowing a drying period of at least 24 hours. Like ballast water, ensure also that water introduced internally in boats and other water craft, are also treated. This procedure is essential in the prevention of the spread of Crayfish Plague to other, as yet, unaffected fresh water areas.
 The results are out on Wednesday next for some 2,200 students across Tipperary, who sat their Leaving Cert, just last June.
If you are uncertain about your Leaving Certificate Results and what they actually mean for your future personally; please note that an Exam Helpline (2017), kindly sponsored by eir and provided by the National Parent’s Council Post Primary (NPCpp), will open on Wednesday morning, August 16th, 2017.
This helpline will offer, in complete confidence, advice, information and support to all students / parents, latter seeking advice by phoning free-phone 1800 265 165.
This helpline will be open from 10.00am on Wednesday next; (See below), to accept calls from students / parents seeking up-to-date information on the available choices open to all students. This free-phone helpline will open for 2.5 days during the week of the results having been issued, and a further 2.5 days the following week, after the CAO First Round Offers have been release.
Helpline Opening Hours for Aug. 2017 (Week 1), are:-
Wednesday, August 16th: 10.00am-7.00pm; – Thursday, August 17th: 10.00am-7.00pm; – Friday, August 18th: 10.00am-1.00pm.
Helpline Opening Hours for Aug. 2017 (Week 2), are:-
Monday, August 21st: 8.00am-7.00pm; – Tuesday, August 22nd: 8.00am-7.00pm; – Wednesday, August 23rd: 8.00am-1.00pm.
The National Parent’s Council Helpline, through experienced guidance counsellors, will offer expert advice to students / parents, thus enabling both to make informed choices regarding 3rd Level Courses; Leaving Cert Appeals and Repeats; CAO Procedures; Offer Failures and Financing.
We wish all student the very best of luck.
For those of our readers, parents, who have young children; latter who are beginning for the first time to access ‘Personal Computers’ (PC’s) or ‘Laptops’, you may wish to take note regarding the following.
In an effort to halt the viewing, by young minds, of shall we say certain questionable content online, there is an alternative; its name is KidRex.org; a Google powered, kid friendly, search engine and an alternative to the more widely used Mozilla Firefox.
This most certainly should become an alternative, particularly for students in schools which rightly encourage young people on how to correctly make use of the internet. Here they can learn how to locate online information, without the unremitting worry by teachers and parents, regarding what young minds may accidentally stumble upon.
KidRex combines Google’s Safe Search with their own database of questionable sites, locking everything into child appropriate searches, while maintaining its own database of inappropriate websites.
You are advised to check regularly to insure that KidRex remains up and running, thus ensuring that your children have the best web surfing experience possible.
Important Note: To ensure that the young people in your care are protected, it will be necessary to make KidRex.org your ‘default browser’ on all your PC’s and Laptops which you allow them to access. To do this, please follow the these 3 simple instructions:-
(1) Open your ‘Menu’ (See Image above – Find three parallel flat lines positioned top right of your Google search panel, shown here above in a red box), by clicking left with your Mouse.
(2) Find an icon marked ‘Options’ (Dead Centre) and activate same, also by left clicking with mouse.
(3) The page which now opens will be headlined ‘General’, (Again see image above). Next copy and paste the following link http://www.kidrex.org/ into the second text panel, clearly marked Home Page, thus removing link http://www.google.ie/.
Do nothing else; simply close the page and your default search engine should now remain KidRex.org on that particular appliance. To change it back, simply reverse this simple procedure at any time.
Happy, Safe Surfing everyone.
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