VERY IMPORTANT to stop this legislation by Minister Murphy as it will effect our ability to take a court case/ judicial review. Environmental groups outline shock at proposed planning Bill. Proposed legislative changes would make it almost impossible for citizens and environmental groups to challenge poor planning decisions in the courts. Ireland’s leading environmental coalition is shocked at the Minister for Housing’s attempt to introduce new planning legislation that would make it near impossible to challenge planning decisions in the courts and hold public authorities and the Government to account. The Environmental Pillar – a coalition of national environmental organisations – learned over the weekend of worrying developments with the Housing and Planning and Development Bill 2019 that is being brought forward by Minister Eoghan Murphy TD. In sum, the proposed Bill will add numerous challenging requirements and restrictions that will make it very hard for ordinary citizens and environmental NGOs to achieve the necessary “standing” to take cases. The changes proposed in the Bill would also add to the complexity of the court process and increases the risks of exposure to significant costs to those seeking to challenge bad planning decisions. This legislation would row back on major changes introduced just a few years ago to enable ordinary people, their organisations, and environmental NGOs to challenge bad environmental decisions. Those changes were already long overdue and necessary to comply with EU law and the Aarhus Convention. The Heads of the Bill sent to the Joint Oireachtas Committee for Housing, Planning and Local Government last week are very blunt that the proposed changes are designed to make it more difficult to engage in the legal process and appears to favour developer’s interests at the cost of environmental rights. The most worrying aspects (some of which are further explored below) of the proposed Bill are: • Complete change to existing cost rules for environmental cases from a system where costs should “not be prohibitively expensive” to a cost cap rules system with court discretion. This exposes the public and eNGOs to much higher costs and uncertainty, ensuring that many will be dissuaded from bringing a case in the first place and makes it harder to engage lawyers • Change in standing rights requirements for applicants from “sufficient interest” to “substantial interest” and a requirement that they must be “directly affected by a proposed development” and “in a way which is peculiar or personal”. This is in addition to a new requirement that the applicant must have had prior participation in the planning process. • Extension of the minimum time that an NGO must be in existence before it can challenge a planning decision from 12 months to 3 years, thereby essentially ruling out newly established citizen-led NGOs concerned with local environmental issues from bringing challenges • Insertion of a new requirement that NGOs must have a minimum of 100 affiliated members, thereby ruling out the vast majority of Irish groups from bringing challenges. • Increased requirements for the “leave” stage (where you get court permission to challenge). The Heads of the Bill propose going back to the abandoned “on notice” system and adding to the tests and complexity of the leave – this adds to the costs, duration and difficulty of court proceedings. “This legislation would row back on major changes introduced just a few years ago to enable ordinary people and small but committed environmental NGOs to legally challenge bad environmental decisions, without fear of incurring eye-watering costs and extensive obstacles to accessing justice.” “The explanation for the Bill is blatant about making it harder to challenge decisions, with the Department arguing that challenges cause delays. It is bad decisions, and flawed legislation however, that are the real issue driving litigation in this country and this Bill does nothing to address that. “Given the context of costs in our Irish planning system, the size and nature of organisations and the costs in our courts, this Bill is an extermination of environmental democracy and oversight. It is particularly chilling that it comes at a time when environmental protection has never been more important, and citizens and groups are mobilising in a powerful Green Wave given the endless failures of this Government and administration.

Market traders are experiencing a number of difficulties in our working conditions. We are dismayed and disappointed at the negative response from the Council. It is clear to us that there is no appreciation or understanding of the importance and value of the market to the city. Severe flooding in Churchyard Street , where Galway Market is located, has become a worsening issue over the past few years and gullies regularly overflow on rainy days, resulting in dismal conditions for both traders and visitors. It is becoming increasingly difficult for the traders to protect their stock and to maintain a business. As well as the flooding issues, loose paving stones in the area are a trip hazard for traders and public alike. We recently discovered that the Galway market area is excluded from the upgrading of the city centre pedestrianised zone and there is no plans to resurface the area or carry out much needed repair work to clear overloaded drains. These drains are connected to the mains sewerage system and when they overflow, they are a very unsavoury health hazard to the traders and the public. Despite repeated requests to the City Manager we have been unable to obtain a meeting with him or senior officials to discuss our issues. We urgently need to address this issue, which has become not only a hindrance to business but also a matter of public safety. This is a video about the situation - https://youtu.be/03MdmAeW97M

There are 22 children in the Killenagh/Ballygarrett area seeking school transport to Creagh College in Gorey, approximately 16km away. Half of the parents in our group have already built their lives around the fact that the children can be brought to Creagh College by the School Transport system. Some of these children are going into 6th year. This is an additional stress on an already stressful year for any student. We’ve looked into private busses and it is simply not affordable at €40-€50 per week per child. Some families have 3 children in the school and most of us will have multiple children over the coming years. We have been advised that €4m would solve this situation nationally. We need a solution locally in two weeks. We need action NOW!! #22forcreaghbus

Clondalkin is over 1,000 years old and is attracting more and more visitors to view its heritage. In this regard the proposed nursing home is wholly inappropriate. The four storey building would block the view of the limestone convent while the proposed brick finish is not at all in keeping with local architecture. In addition an antique stone wall on Convent Rd., would be knocked not to mention the additional traffic that would ensue in an already gridlocked village. The grounds and cloisters of the convent include an endangered species of bird, the Swift, which would be threatened by the construction. Such a development would detrimentally affect the historic character of Clondalkin and one of its most important heritage sites.

TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DISTRESSED BORROWERS ARE CURRENTLY AFFECTED WITH A FURTHER 100,000-PLUS COMING DOWN THE TRACKS, NOW BEING DESCRIBED BY THE CENTRAL BANK AS NPE’S (NON-PERFORMING EXPOSURES)

There has been a number of serious and fatal accidents involving vehicles and pedestrians in Macroom town. Acting as a speed table, raised pedestrian crossings, has the added benefit of not only slowing traffic but making it easier to see pedestrians crossing the road. Speed zones where speeds are set at 30 km/h (or 20 mph) as they are found to be effective at reducing crashes increasing pedestrian safety and increasing community cohesion.

Bird Habitat is the last remaining natural area in Ennis town, and it is the center of attraction for our local community. The river bend in the center of town hosts various Birds, including; the Canadian geese and Greylag goose that have mixed with the Local Domestic goose, they are an affectionately viewed by us 'Ennis-eans' and passers by enjoy the entertaining display of the Mute Swans, Herons and Mallard ducks. We want our appreciation of nature as an inheritance for our future generation. Not only that, the Birds on the river Fergus enhance town's tourists attraction and are a center of interest for local business. Feeding the birds are a relaxing activity from the stress, and a quite time out for kids and parents on their way to and from the buzz of life.

Mining is a threat to the health and well being of the natural environment and that of the local community. Mining is a process that is hugely destructive to land, water and air and to all who require these for their continued healthy existence. In this era of Climate Emergency and rapid species loss the granting of licenses to prospect is very much a step in the wrong direction. It is at odds with the responsibilities of this government at this crucial time for the planet and all that live in it.

When construction of the new harbour at Greystones, Co Wicklow, began, all harbour users, including the traditional fishermen and their boats, had their moorings and other facilities removed while the project was being built. When the harbour was complete, the other users such as leisure clubs were provided with full facilities including new clubhouses, boat yards, storage and so forth. But the fishermen and their boats were excluded. This was despite the promises and guarantees we were given before we left in 2008 and on many occasions since, and in spite of the fact that provision of facilities to commercial fishers was included in the planning approval granted by Bord Pleanala. In 2014, Wicklow County Council issued harbour by-laws which effectively excluded the fishing fleet. The by-laws give a nod to mooring rights but, by imposing other conditions that are impossible to meet, effectively barred the fishing fleet from Greystones Harbour and transformed this traditional community harbour into a purely leisure boating facility. We, the fishing families of Greystones, do not accept this expulsion and have launched our new campaign to ensure that we can return from ten years of exile to our home port, with full rights to moor, land our catch, store bait and other equipment, and generally carry on our trade as we and our predecessors have traditionally done in Greystones for hundreds of years.

 For more than ten years now, we have had to moor at Dun Laoghaire, with huge disruption to our family and social lives. We have to drive to Dun Laoghaire each morning, drive our boats back to our traditional fishing grounds near our home port, then land our catch at Dun Laoghaire before we ready our boats for the next day and FINALLY drive home to Greystones, usually well after eight in the evening after a pre-dawn start. Family life and time with our children have both suffered as a result. And being exiled to Dun Laoghaire adds €150 each week in fuel costs alone. Please sign this petition, which will be presented to the Minister for the Environment, the Minister for the Marine, and to the chief executive of Wicklow County Council. Your support can help ensure that we can come home at last, and that our skippers and crew can resume a normal existence. We now must negotiate with Wicklow County Council, and every person stepping forward to support our cause will influence how they deal with us and bring a positive outcome closer. Bring the boats home!

For over 150 years Greystones harbour and marina have been used by local fishermen. Their livelihoods are now under threat as Wicklow County Council are attempting to get rid of the local fishing workers. The local fishermen have been there a long time and are a part of traditional Greystones. We should be trying to protect these traditions rather than exile them.

Our local libraries are an amazing resource. Weekends are a great time to go to study, take your children, and browse around as there is lots to do there. When a bank holiday weekend comes around the local library shuts that preceding Saturday. I have gone to my local library on lots of Saturdays during the year planning to have some quiet study space only to realise as its a bank holiday they are shut! I imagine there are many people out there who have had this experience. This wonderful resource should be open particularly at a bank holiday weekend allowing people access to the wonderful facilities.

Because it is disrespectful, depressing and completely wrong. It is not the answer and the only people who would ever have to live like this are those who can't currently afford the ridiculous rent levels. Stop pushing people out of Dublin & think about the kind of cities and communities we want - not what developers want.