|
|
 A European Commission funded proposal to clean up one of Ireland’s most populated salmon rivers was recently unveiled in the Strand Hotel, Ennis Road, Limerick.
The European Commission has agreed to fund the proposal to the tune of €1.75 million to repair the environmental damage done to the Mulkear river and its many smaller tributaries.
Rising in the Slievefelim and Silvermines mountains in North Tipperary, the Mulkear joins the river Shannon just below Annacotty in County Limerick and has a catchment area which covers some 650sq km. The river has been identified as home to a large variety of rare habitats and protected species and has been designated as a special area of conservation under the EU habitats directive.
This fund provided for the Mulkear project will be spent on improving these habitats for species such as Atlantic salmon, latter which have spawned in the river for many thousands of years. The river is also a natural habitat for the native European otter and lamprey eels.
The Mulkear river ranks among Ireland’s most populated salmon rivers and is home to some 15 fish species as well as being an important habitat for the native Kingfisher and the White-clawed crayfish.
In recent decades the non native giant Asian Hogweed and Japanese Knotweed have partially invaded stretches of the river and this project aims to reverse this unnatural damage.
The Shannon Regional Fisheries Board will lead other project partners, which include the Office of Public Works, The National Parks and Wildlife Service, Farming Organisations and the County Councils in Limerick and Tipperary, in this exciting environmental project.
 Michael Finneran Mr. Michael Finneran, T.D., Minister for Housing, Urban Renewal and Developing Areas, has announced a capital provision of €100 million for grants to improve or extend the private homes of older people and people with a disability in 2010.
This allocation does not include expenditure by local authorities on improving and extending their own social housing stock.
The allocation represents a 31% increase on the initial allocations to local authorities over the previous year, 2009.
In relation to Tipperary, the initial allocation provides a figure of €1,651,250 for North Tipperary and €3,126,666 for South Tipperary County Councils.
These grants will be administered by the named local authorities in accordance with a framework laid down in statutory regulations, which, as far as is practicable, is designed to give an appropriate degree of flexibility to local authorities in addressing the housing needs of older people and people with a disability in their jurisdiction.
The Department provides recoupments to the relevant authorities as follows:
66% of costs in respect of claims received on foot of Disabled Persons & Essential Repairs Grant Schemes.
80% of costs in respect of claims received under the new Adaptation Grant Schemes for Older People and People with a Disability.
The news will be much welcomed by older residents and those people with a disability in the county.
Presented by Teagasc and the Irish Bioenergy Association, the National Bio-Energy Conference 2010 will take place at the Tipperary Institute (TI) in Thurles on the 18th February 2010.
 Teagasc and IrBEA The theme of the 2010 Conference – ‘Developing and Financing Bio-energy‘ – is appropriate, given the challenges currently faced at the different stages of developing a bio-energy project.
The line-up of expert panel speakers, will see bio-energy business developers tell the story behind their respective projects, whether this be based on wood energy, cereal crops or bio-fuels.
This conference is of interest to a broad audience including, farmers/landowners, consumers with large energy requirements, project developers, policy makers/regulators, legal advisers/consultants, business analysts/planners, economists/financial advisers technical/engineering managers, finance directors/financial controllers and finally energy purchasers/facilities managers.
Attendance fees include lunch and refreshments served during the conference.
Conference Fee: (For IrBEA and Teagasc members) – €50 .
Conference Fee: (For non-IrBEA and Teagasc members, and delegates registering on the day) – €100 .
To download the Conference brochure and to reserve a place at this Conference – Click Here
 Organic Farming Training courses given by Teagasc for farmers in Tipperary, who are considering converting to organic farming, will take place later this month here in Thurles Co.Tipperary and across the country.
This follows a strong uptake of the Teagasc organic training courses held during the autumn of 2009.
Organic farming continuous to grow steadily here in Ireland with presently 1,532 organic operators cultivating some 48,911 hectares of land. Growth is expected to increase further due to strong demand for organic Irish produce, the suitability of many farms to organic conversion, and Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Scheme incentives.
The new training courses are FETAC (Further Education and Training Awards Council) accredited to Level 5 standard and will be run for one day per week over a five-week period, commencing Monday, January 25. The courses involve both indoor sessions and visits to successful local organic farms.
Training topics over these five weeks will include the principles of organic production, organic standards and regulations, and the economics and market opportunities for produce. Admission is €200 per person or family and pre-booking is essential.
Six local authorities including North Tipperary and South Tipperary, have been testing drinking water after 210 tonnes of urea were spread on national roads in order to melt snow and ice during the recent cold spell.
 This followed advice from the National Emergency Response Co-Ordination Committee (NERCC) who advised the National Roads Authority (NRA) to source 600 tonnes of Urea for use as a de-icer on an emergency basis.
Expressed Sequence Tags (EST’s) should reveal shortly if public supplies of drinking water have been contaminated.
Being solid, Urea is colourless, odorless, neither acidic nor alkaline, highly soluble in water and is widely used in fertilizers as a convenient source of nitrogen. Urea can be irritating to skin, eyes, and the respiratory tract. Repeated or prolonged contact with Urea in fertilizer form on the skin may cause dermatitis, however the substance is regarded as relatively non-toxic.
It is now feared that ice and snow, melted by the Urea, may have found its way into natural water sources, some of which may supply drinking water to households.
Alarms were first triggered at the Leixlip, Co Kildare’s water treatment plant last weekend when high levels of nitrates were detected in the water supply.
On Tuesday last, local authorities were contacted and asked to test drinking water in their areas to determine whether their supplies had become contaminated.
|
Support Us Help keep Thurles.info online by donating below. Thank you.
Total Donated 2026: €300.00
Thank You!
Daily Thurles Mass Livestream
|
Recent Comments