Thurles Information

Less Peat, More Wind Energy & Pandemic Restrictions Lead To Reduced Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions decreased by 3.6 % in 2020, less than the reduction seen in 2019.

Lockdown measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a 15.7 % decrease in Transport emissions, the largest sectoral emissions reduction.
Peat fuelled electricity generation decreased by 51 % in 2020. Together with a 15 % increase in wind generation – this led to a 7.9 % reduction in Energy Industry emissions.
Residential greenhouse gas emissions increased by 9.0 %, with a substantial increase in carbon intensive fossil fuel use driven by low fuel prices and working from home.
Agriculture emissions increased by 1.4 % in 2020, driven by increased activity in all areas, including a 3.2 % increase in the number of dairy cows.
While the overall reduction in emissions is welcome, the majority (almost 2 Mt) of the reduction was due to a short term decrease in transport emissions due to the Covid 19 pandemic, which is likely to be once-off.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has today published its provisional greenhouse gas emissions for Ireland for 2020. The figures show a reduction in emissions of 3.6 % compared to 2019, which although significant, is 0.4 % less than the reduction seen in 2019.
Significant emission reductions were recorded for the Energy Industries sector due mainly to reductions in peat fuelled electricity generation and increases in wind electricity generation. This reduction was despite a similar level of electricity demand to 2019, indicating the positive impact of a transition towards renewable energy in power generation emissions. The lockdown measures put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic lead to significant emissions reductions in the Transport sector but increases in the Residential sector.

The figures indicate that Ireland exceeded its 2020 annual EU emissions allocation by 6.7Mt and cumulatively exceeded its allocation over the lifetime of the 2013-2020 Effort Sharing Decision (ESD) by over 12 Mt. Emissions covered under the ESD in 2020 had only decreased by 7 % on the 2005 level compared to the overall target of a 20 per cent reduction.
Commenting on the figures Ms Laura Burke, (Director General, EPA) said:
“Greenhouse gas emissions decreased again in 2020 following the decrease seen in 2019, with a continuation of some positive trends in the data, such as the phasing out of peat burning in electricity generation. The behavioural changes required to deal with the COVID pandemic also led to a reduction in emissions in sectors such as transport, while there was an increase in emissions from the residential sector.”
The overall emission reduction in emissions during 2020, at a time of profound change to economic and social activity due to the Covid 19 pandemic highlight the scale of action needed across all parts of our economy and society to meet the 51 per cent emissions reduction by 2030 set within the 2021 Climate Act. Urgent action is also necessary to avoid a growth in greenhouse gas emissions during post-COVID economic recovery.”

The overall emission reduction was driven by two main factors, the reduced emissions intensity in electricity generation and decreased transport emissions as a result of the COVID lockdown measures. A summary of the main sectoral emission trends is below.

Energy Industries: Emissions in the Energy Industries sector decreased by 7.9%, or 0.74 Mt CO2eq in 2020, mainly due to a 51% decrease in peat used in electricity generation. This builds on the reductions seen in 2019, as a result of the phasing out of coal used in electricity generation.
Electricity generated from wind also played a part, increasing by 15.3% in 2020. The reduced peat use, and increased wind and hydro-electricity, resulted in an 8.1% decrease in the emissions intensity of power generation in 2020 to 295g CO2/kWh, a new record low. With peat and coal use at a relatively low level in 2020, further emissions reductions in line with the Climate Act ambition will depend largely on continued rapid deployment of renewable generation.

Agriculture: Agriculture emissions increased by 1.4%, or 0.3 Mt CO2eq in 2020 and have increased by 12% over the last 10 years. 2020 increases were driven by increased fertiliser nitrogen use (3.3%) increased numbers of livestock including dairy cows (3.2%), other cattle (0.6%), sheep (4.8%) and pigs (2.5%). In the last 10 years, dairy cow numbers have increased by 45.5% with a corresponding milk production increase of 60.3%. In the same 10-year period sheep numbers increased by 21.9%, pigs by 9.7% and poultry by 25.9%.

Residential: Greenhouse gas emissions from the Residential sector increased by 9.0% or 0.59 Mt CO2eq as many people worked from home due to the COVID lockdown measures. The impact of this increased demand was exacerbated by low fuel prices. Coal use increased by 6%, peat by 3% and Kerosene by 19%. Natural gas use decreased marginally by -0.3%. Overall since 2014, emissions per household have gradually increased, indicating that an acceleration of energy efficiency retrofit and renewable energy deployment is needed to avoid a continued increase in emissions from the sector.

Transport: Greenhouse gas emissions from the Transport sector decreased by 15.7% or 1.92 Mt CO2eq in 2020, driven by the impact of COVID restrictions on passenger car and public transport usage. At the end of 2020, there were just under 26,000 battery electric (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric (PHEVs) vehicles in Ireland, highlighting the extent of the challenge in meeting the over 936,000 EVs by 2030 Climate Action plan target. Freight transport emissions didn’t decrease as significantly as passenger transport emissions and accounted for almost 40% of road transport emissions in 2020. Options to decarbonise freight transport emissions therefore also need to be progressed with urgency. International aviation emissions to and from Ireland decreased by 65%. Although not part of Ireland’s total greenhouse gas emissions by international agreement, this reduction represents over 2 Mt CO2 eq. less greenhouse gas in the atmosphere.

Commenting, Mr Stephen Treacy, (Senior Manager, EPA) said:
“The latest Inventory numbers show that the 2013-2020 EU Effort Sharing (ESD) target has been missed by a wide margin, with ESD emissions in 2020 just 7%% below the 2005 level, despite the COVID impact on 2020 emissions. In too many sectors, greenhouse gas emissions are still closely coupled with activity and output, a connection that will need to be broken in order for Ireland to meet the Climate Act target or the increased EU ‘fit for 55’ ambition.”

Full detail on the Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventory 1990 to 2020 is available on the EPA website and the EPA Greenhouse Gas web resource is also available online.

Criminal Assets Bureau Search Tipperary Motor Dealership.

As part of an on-going money laundering and proceeds of crime investigation, the Criminal Assets Bureau conducted a search of one motor dealership here in Co. Tipperary this morning, Thursday 21st October 2021.

This operation carried out this morning was linked to a recent CAB search operation conducted at a motor dealership in Dublin 15, on September 6th last, during which seven high value vehicles were seized and the subsequent seizure of a Jaguar I Pace (All Electric vehicle), valued at some €80,000, on September 28th 2021.

Today’s Co. Tipperary exploration by CAB involved the search of a motor dealership by 24 Criminal Assets Bureau officers.

Eleven vehicles in total were seized and removed from today’s search site, four of which were detained for customs/VRT offences.

The seized vehicles included: – 5 x Audi Q7; 2 x Range Rover; 2 x BMW X5; 1 x Audi A4 and 1 x VW Passat.
In addition to these high value vehicles take possession of; €11,000 in cash was also seized.

This morning’s operation was conducted as part of an on-going money laundering and proceeds of crime investigation targeting assets linked to a significant East European Organised Crime Group (OCG), same operating within the jurisdiction of this State.

Oct. 30th -“Pumpkin Fest” Arrives To Holycross Market.

Halloween is coming to Holycross with an extra special “Holycross Pumpkin Fest” taking place on October 30th.

A host of spooky and spectacular events promise to entertain young and old and guarantee the very best in family fun.

For strong and skilled conker fighters, participants are sought for a “Conker Championship” with a trophy and prizes for the winners.

Ruadhán Gormally, the incredibly talented Galway born puppet maker, who was recently featured on the Ryan Tubridy Show, will be there on the day, to entertain and delight with a collection of his best puppets.
Not to be missed kids.

On October 30th, there will be an extended opening time from 1:00pm to 4:00pm, with lots of extra music, tricks, treats and other shenanigans for children and adults, in honour of this truly Irish tradition.
Yes, that’s right! Halloween, is an Irish tradition, owing its origins to the Celts and first celebrated over 2000 years ago.

The Celts celebrated the end of Harvest on the last day of October as part of a holiday called Samhain. They believed that on this day, spirits came and killed their crops.
To keep the spirits happy and at bay, the Celts left out food to treat the spirits and danced and dressed up wearing masks and costumes to keep the spirits entertained.

When Christianity arrived in Ireland, this tradition evolved. ‘All Souls’ Day‘ begun to be celebrated on November 2nd to honour the dead. November 1st became a day to honour the Saints or All Saints Day, also known as, All Hallow’s Day. October 31st became All Hallow’s Eve, which eventually morphed into the word Halloween.

Hundreds of years later, Halloween is celebrated all around the world, with children and adults alike, still dressing up, enjoying treats and telling ghost stories, and they owe it all to the Irish.

Covid-19 Cases In Past 24 Hours At 3,080 On Island Of Ireland.

The Department of Health has confirmed 2,029 new cases of Covid-19 over the past 24 hours, here in the Republic of Ireland.

There are 448 patients with the virus in our hospitals, 88 of whom remain in intensive care.

Professor Seamus O’Reilly has confirmed that emergency departments are full. He said there are also staffing problems due to breakthrough Covid-19 infections among vaccinated healthcare workers; which indicates that immunity from the virus is waning.
The HSE is now expected to begin vaccinating around 800,000 people, aged between 60-80 years with booster jabs, within the next 7 days.

HSE National Lead for Vaccination Mr Damien McCallion said that in the last 14 days, around 1,000 people a day have come forward for first time vaccination. Yesterday, he said, 2,500 registered, which involved all age groups. This news comes as ICU figures show that 52% of patients were not vaccinated, 41% are fully vaccinated, with 5% partially vaccinated.

Meanwhile, in Northern Ireland, the Department of Health has reported 1,051 additional cases of Covid-19 and four deaths in the past 24 hours.

As we come into the bank holiday weekend, take particular care with the three Cs – Crowded places with many people nearby, Close contact settings, especially where people may not be vaccinated, and Confined and enclosed spaces with poor ventilation.

FSAI Issue Warning Regarding Sweets Containing Cannabis.

Growing availability in Ireland of food products, in particular jelly sweets containing significant amounts of illicit narcotic drug THC.

Yesterday, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) urged the public, especially parents and guardians, to be extremely vigilant to the dangers of inadvertent consumption, particularly by children, of cannabis edibles; same products such as jelly sweets containing the psychoactive cannabis component known as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

There is growing availability in Ireland of food products, in particular jelly sweets that contain significant amounts of the illicit narcotic drug THC. The FSAI issues this warning in advance of the Halloween festivities next week where small children, teenagers and adults will be celebrating and where there is an increased risk of people, particularly children, unwittingly consuming these types of products that are intentionally packaged to resemble popular brands of jellies in order to avoid detection.

Cannabis edibles are illegal food products containing THC and come in many forms, but primarily jelly sweets. THC is a controlled substance in Ireland with a zero tolerance under the Misuse of Drugs Act, 1977. Furthermore, in food, THC is considered a contaminant, with no permitted threshold in EU or Irish food law.

The FSAI states that the high concentrations (up to 50mg/jelly) of THC in these illicit edible sweets can pose serious health risks, particularly to teenagers and children of all ages whose neurological, physical and physiological development could be impacted negatively.

Depending on the THC concentration, eating one of these jellies can mean ingesting a level of THC that is 5-10 times higher than that inhaled when smoking cannabis.

The real concern is that children are not aware of the dangers and if they manage to gain access to a bag of these jellies, they will rarely eat just one and therefore, overdosing is a very likely outcome. Unlike the almost immediate effects from smoking cannabis, there is at least a thirty-minute time delay from consumption of cannabis edibles, until the initial effects are felt. This poses a serious risk to those who have eaten these jellies who might mistakenly believe that they need to consume several jellies to feel an effect and then find they have overdosed when it is too late. Cannabis toxicity can cause cognitive and motor impairment and in the case of children this can be extreme, lasting up to 24 to 36 hours after consumption.

This call by the FSAI follows reports of the first cases of paediatric cannabis poisoning in Ireland with six children, all under the age of ten, hospitalised after accidentally consuming these illegal jelly sweets. In addition, there have also been reports of teenagers falling seriously ill, and in some cases requiring hospitalisation after having seizures and becoming unconscious from overdosing on these cannabis edibles.

Dr Pamela Byrne, (Chief Executive, FSAI) says the accidental consumption of edible cannabis products by children is extremely worrying.