Environment « Thurles Information

EPA Publishes Guidelines On Information To Be Contained In Environmental Impact Assessment Reports.

The EPA has today published updated Guidelines for preparing Environmental Impact Assessment Reports (EIARs) for projects covered by the EIA Directive.
The Guidelines are a statutory document that should be regarded by those preparing EIARs and the decision makers considering the EIARs.
These guidelines should improve the quality of EIARs, making the overall process clearer and easier to understand and easier for the public to participate.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today published ‘Guidelines on the information to be contained in Environmental Impact Assessment Reports’.
The Guidelines are primarily intended to be an authoritative reference to those preparing Environmental Impact Assessment Reports (EIARs) for projects covered by the EIA Directive.

Clear, concise, unambiguous information is essential throughout these reports. The Guidelines contain the systematic approach, standard descriptive methods and effect descriptions that can be used by developers. This ensures that all the likely significant effects are adequately considered and clearly communicated.

Commenting on the publication of the Guidelines, Ms. Sharon Finegan, (Director, EPA’s Office of Environmental Sustainability) said: “With increased emphasis on the need for meaningful public participation in decisions relating to environmental issues, it is more important than ever to ensure that information is available to the public in a format that is clear, concise and accessible. The Guidelines should improve the quality of EIARs, make the overall process clearer and easier to understand and should make it easier for the public to participate”.

The Guidelines are a statutory document that should be regarded by those preparing EIARs and the decision makers considering the EIARs.
The Guidelines will assist competent authorities when considering EIARs during the decision-making processes prior to granting/refusing consent. The EPA’s updated Guidelines will result in better environmental protection by ensuring that the EIA process is more clear, accessible, and identifies effects early and accurately.
The Guidelines are available on the EPA’s website HERE.
Contact: Ms Emily Williamson, (EPA Media Relations Office), Tel: 053 9170770, Email: media@epa.ie

Littering Caused By Meaningless Bin Installations In Thurles Town.

“Sunday Morning Coming Down”

Early this bright, sunny, Sunday morning [as I “watched a small kid cussin’ at a can that he was kicking”.], Liberty Square and along the River Side Walk in Thurles looked like a promotion for the Song “Sunday Morning Coming Down” written by Kris Kristofferson.

The litter was everywhere, 90% caused, once again, more by the type of meaningless litter bins currently provided by our engineers on this €9m to €12m street fiasco, rather than the more irresponsible, prideless individuals we more often are wont to encounter.

Congratulations to the two ladies (representing No. 61 Scanlons News Agency (Nuachtanai) and Sos Beag – Coffee Shop), latter who both ventured out early, to clean the litter widely scattered in front of their respective shop fronts.

Here we have a new, admittedly only half updated town centre, now looking filthier than what it had previously replaced. We had previously warned about these tiny litter bins. We and others within our community, had also warned against the use of light grey Chinese granite on a surface accommodating motor vehicles, but council officials and their inexperienced and expensive town planners felt they knew better. Result on Liberty Square today, oil stains, rubber tyre stains and other liquid stain, all beginning to rear their ugly heads.

(Ask yourself; what idiot buys white carpet flooring for the shed?)

Meanwhile, local residents continue to leave bags of household waste beside litter bins on the River Side Walk and Thurles Park areas, south of the town, which would appear to be acceptable to our Municipal District Council officials.

(Where is the Thurles CCTV system taxpayers paid €100,000 to install?)

But today, Sunday, May 15th, 2022; it’s all about the Litter Bins and the failure and consistent waste of taxpayer’s money, by our Thurles Municipal District Council.

Major Objection To €30m Tipperary Solar Farm – Planning Granted By Tipp. Co.Co.

In all over 70 objections have now been lodged against a €30m Tipperary Solar Farm scheme granted permission by Tipperary County Council.
The solar farm was expected to produce in the region of 25 Megawatts of renewable energy, same sufficient, if fully achieved, to power 6,406 homes per year.

Some 26 parties are now appealing the council decision to An Bord Pleanála, with the Larry Goodman owned organic meat producer, “Good Herdsmen” understood to be one of these parties appealing.

Just last month, Tipperary County Council granted planning permission to a company known as “Renewable Energy Systems” for this development. Same is situated at Rathduff, Thomastown Demesne, South Co Tipperary, within 3km of Bansha village and 7.5km east of Tipperary town. Planning permission was granted after Tipperary County Council’s project planner concluded that it would not have any adverse impact on the character of the area or indeed on any adjoining properties in the vicinity of the development.

Not surprisingly, the founder and Managing Director of the ‘Good Herdsmen’, Mr John Purcell, who operate’s a 350-acre organic farm adjacent to the proposed site of this solar farm has claimed, in an objection, that the planned solar farm will indeed have an adverse effect their business.

Managing Director Mr Purcell has stated that the solar panels proposed would have the potential to cause a catastrophic visual impact on the area and would ruin the image that nature and his own organic farm have created, thus killing the vision of everything he has established todate. He claims that the promoters of this solar farm propose to metamorphose 107 acres of Golden Vale land, latter the richest farmland in Europe, into what he calls “a sea of plastic and metal panels”.

ABP’s organic beef brand, “Good Herdsmen” operating their factory in Cahir, currently employ 20 personnel with a further 6 employed on its organic farm, toiling on its day to day operations.

Others to appeal this County Council decision include:- South Tipperary Solar Farm Concern Group; Margaret Kennedy; Caitriona Bn Ui Annraghain;, Caroline and John Bourke; Denis Pollard Jnr; Maria Bailey; Michael & Mary Joyce; Chris Bailey;, VESI Environmental Limited and Carol, Emma and Daisy Welsh.

A decision on this appeal is expected by the end of August 2022.

Funding Approved For Flood Mitigation Works At Holycross, Thurles.

The Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works, Mr Patrick O’Donovan, has announced the approval of Tipperary County Council’s application under the Office of Public Works’ Minor Flood Mitigation Works and Coastal Protection Scheme.

Under this scheme, the Office of Public Works (OPW) has approved funding of €77,400 to construct a new, 315-metre-long surface water storm drain, including manholes, chambers and civils works, with outfall to existing open drain at Holycross, Thurles, Co. Tipperary.

The Minor Flood Mitigation Works and Coastal Protection Scheme was introduced by the Office of Public Works back in 2009.

The purpose of the scheme is to provide funding to Local Authorities to undertake minor flood mitigation works or studies to address localised flooding and coastal protection problems within their administrative areas. The scheme generally applies where a solution can be readily identified and achieved in a short time frame.

Under the scheme, applications are considered for projects that are estimated to cost not more than €750,000 in each instance. Funding of up to 90% of the cost is available for approved projects. Applications are assessed by the OPW, having regard to the specific economic, social and environmental criteria of the scheme, including a cost benefit ratio.

Works that are normally the responsibility of the local authorities will generally not be considered for OPW funding. Where such works would also mitigate the risk of flooding to properties, partial funding may be considered by OPW.

The Local Authorities must be satisfied that the works will not have a significant impact on flood risk elsewhere.

The commencement and progression of any works, for which funding is approved, is a matter for each Local Authority concerned.

EPA Climate Change Lecture Series – The Role Of Communications In Driving Climate Action.

A Must View for all Elected Representatives in Co. Tipperary.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is delighted to welcome Dr. Anthony Leiserowitz, founder and Director of the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and a Senior Research Scientist at the Yale School of the Environment.

The public lecture will take place on tomorrow, Thursday 28th, at 7:15 pm at the EPIC Museum Dublin and will also be streamed online.

This lecture forms part of the National Dialogue on Climate Action.
Dr. Anthony Leiserowitz will consider the role of the public, consumers and political will as an enabler of climate actions.

While there is an ample supply of climate solutions to support the transition to climate neutrality and resilience, sufficient demand has been lacking. Drawing on recent international surveys, including here in Ireland, Dr. Leiserowitz will provide an overview of how changing public beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours can both compel and constrain climate action by governments, companies, and individuals.
Ms Laura Burke, EPA Director General said, “We are delighted to welcome Dr. Anthony Leiserowitz, a leading international expert on public climate change and environmental beliefs, attitudes, policy preferences and behaviour, and also expert on the psychological, cultural, and political factors that shape them.
The EPA has worked closely with Dr. Leiserowitz and his team on our Climate Change in the Irish Mind study. This valuable project will help to understand how Irish people perceive this environmental challenge, and this can fundamentally change how we all communicate on the topic. The findings demonstrate that the Irish people overwhelmingly recognise the threat, feel personally affected by it and want to see real change.”
She further added
“Effective public engagement on climate action is essential as Ireland designs and implements actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across all economic sectors by 51% by 2030”.

You can register for this free event HERE. The event will also be recorded and uploaded to the EPA YouTube channel, following this event.
You can also follow the discussion on Twitter using the hashtag #ClimateLecture2022
Further information: Ms Emily Williamson, EPA Media Relations Office 053-9170770 (24 hours) or media@epa.ie