theirishtimes--2020-12-19--Divisions in Green Party over CETA latest complication for Ryan

Eamon Ryan may want to change the world but he has to lead his party , too .
And that has not been easy since the Green Party returned to Government , with memories of the last period of office still raw for many .
The divisions appeared again this week when two of his TDs said they would vote against CETA , the EU-Canada trade agreement , and the issue will dominate the party ’ s policy council this week , too .
Meanwhile , there have been questions over his leadership , the direction the party has taken @ @ @ @ @ @ @ within the party .
There have also been several high-profile departures .
“ I would not deny or ignore that for a lot of people this has been a very difficult time , ” he responds , “ those that have left I wish them well and stay in touch .
Any complaints you listen to with rapt attention and address as quickly as you can ” .
“ Maybe I ’ m a born optimist , but I believe we have a tremendous opportunity to improve the daily quality of our lives @ @ @ @ @ @ @ change by virtue of the influence we have.
” Saying that he is focusing on those future wins , he went on : “ I can ’ t ignore that .
I can ’ t walk away from that responsibility .
I can ’ t not do the things I need to do to address it .
“ If there are differences on things like CETA , we have a common cause .
I keep on going back to that in terms of listening to people and listen to criticism and treat it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s what a lot of people have been complaining about , the lack of respect .
We share the common cause of addressing the ecological crisis and in doing that I think we , as Greens , will pull together.
” However , two-thirds of Green Party councillors have called for a national convention on the CETA trade deal , which the Coalition parties avoided mentioning in the programme for government because of the Greens ’ concerns .
Four motions on the subject go to the party ’ s policy council this weekend @ @ @ @ @ @ @ group of councillors , who needed a two-thirds majority to agree on the motion .
The free-trade agreement between Canada and the European Union should have been ratified in the Dáil after just a 55-minute debate on Tuesday , but was postponed until January .
The creation for an investor court system – that would allow firms to sue over regulatory decision that hit their profits unjustifiably – is particularly hated within the Greens .
A special convention , if called , would complicate matters for Ryan , though many in the party @ @ @ @ @ @ @ others in the leadership are trying to close down debate .

Green Party leader Eamon Ryan has faced questions over his leadership and the direction the party has taken in Government. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw
Eamon Ryan may want to change the world but he has to lead his party, too. And that has not been easy since the Green Party returned to Government, with memories of the last period of office still raw for many.
The divisions appeared again this week when two of his TDs said they would vote against CETA, the EU-Canada trade agreement, and the issue will dominate the party's policy council this week, too.
Meanwhile, there have been questions over his leadership, the direction the party has taken in Government, and allegations of bullying within the party. There have also been several high-profile departures.
“I would not deny or ignore that for a lot of people this has been a very difficult time,” he responds, “those that have left I wish them well and stay in touch. Any complaints you listen to with rapt attention and address as quickly as you can”.
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“Maybe I’m a born optimist, but I believe we have a tremendous opportunity to improve the daily quality of our lives by delivering practical improvements, and radical change by virtue of the influence we have.”
Criticism
Saying that he is focusing on those future wins, he went on: “I can’t ignore that. I can’t walk away from that responsibility. I can’t not do the things I need to do to address it.
“If there are differences on things like CETA, we have a common cause. I keep on going back to that in terms of listening to people and listen to criticism and treat it all with respect.
"That's what a lot of people have been complaining about, the lack of respect. We share the common cause of addressing the ecological crisis and in doing that I think we, as Greens, will pull together."
However, two-thirds of Green Party councillors have called for a national convention on the CETA trade deal, which the Coalition parties avoided mentioning in the programme for government because of the Greens’ concerns.
Four motions on the subject go to the party’s policy council this weekend, including one by the local Government group of councillors, who needed a two-thirds majority to agree on the motion.
Complicate matters
The free-trade agreement between Canada and the European Union should have been ratified in the Dáil after just a 55-minute debate on Tuesday, but was postponed until January.
The creation for an investor court system – that would allow firms to sue over regulatory decision that hit their profits unjustifiably – is particularly hated within the Greens.
A special convention, if called, would complicate matters for Ryan, though many in the party are unhappy believing that he, and others in the leadership are trying to close down debate.


theirishtimes--2020-12-19--Secret Facebook group reveals bitter tirades and abuse of Sinn Féin’s opponents

Though now invisible to others , the Facebook page , simply named Sinn Féin , is a well-visited site .
Many of its 16,000 members engage frequently , often with supportive messages for the party .
However , some often engage differently , delivering bitter tirades at Sinn Féin ’ s political opponents , including frequently expressed wishes that harm should befall others .
Set up seven years ago , it operated as a private group up until last summer when inquiries were made to Sinn Féin – not to the group itself – about its 10 rules of conduct @ @ @ @ @ @ @ four of the Facebook page stated : “ If you see something in the mainstream media that you want to share , then it would be best to copy and paste the article into the group .
If you share links , they get paid for every click on those links.
” The rule was removed after Sinn Féin ’ s press office was asked for comment on whether it supported such views .
After this , it looked as if the Facebook group had simply disappeared .
It did not feature in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Facebook users to the group just showed a blank page that said there were no members .
Closed groups are common on Facebook , letting current members view group content and see who else is in the group , and people are invited to join .
However , their existence can be found online .
Secret groups – and this is how they are described by Facebook – are hidden from searches , and so are invisible .
They , too , require an invitation to join .
Some people who were once @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the cold and unable to find it when they went looking .
They presumed it had been taken down by Facebook because , as sources said , there could have been content on there that might cause problems for the party .
When contacted early in December by The Irish Times , a spokeswoman for Facebook said : “ We ’ ve looked into this group and can confirm it is still live as a secret group .
Facebook has not removed the group.
” Inside the 16,000-strong group , there are multiple @ @ @ @ @ @ @ issues .
Some of it is routine , most of it is supportive of senior Sinn Féin figures and the party ’ s policies ; but much of it includes often vitriolic and abusive language .
Under a photo of Tánaiste Leo Varadkar and Michael Collins , commentators wrote that Collins would have “ cut Leo the liar ’ s throat , for sure ” or “ I know what Michael Collins would have done with a snitch like Leo the leak , one round , and a round well spent.
” Another @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the face , like most of the Irish would love to ” .
Other posts about Varadkar said he should be “ put in the bog ” or that he “ needs the belt of a shovel badly ” , “ the bigger and heavier the better ” .
Posts about Taoiseach Micheál Martin were also met with derisive messages with a member claiming he was “ nothing but a two-faced liar ” .
Members of the group included Sligo-Leitrim TD Martin Kenny and Clare TD Violet Anne Wynne , as well as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the group this week after The Irish Times contacted Sinn Féin with a series of questions about what was happening in the group and about the TDs ’ presence in there .
A Sinn Féin spokesman said : “ Sinn Féin does not operate any Facebook groups and Sinn Féin is not responsible for any of the content in this group or any other Facebook group .
“ There is an onus on social media platforms such as Facebook to tackle this type of content , which is clearly unacceptable , and in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have contacted Facebook to make it clear that Sinn Féin has nothing to do with this group and that they should remove it.
” Meanwhile , the TDs who have left the group have so far not responded to queries .
The group has been in existence since 2013 .
The administrators are three party activists who have featured on local Sinn Féin Facebook pages .
One of the activists campaigned intensively in Cavan during the February general election for Pauline Tully TD .
Two of them were also pictured in a group @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exactly a year ago at an event to commemorate the life of IRA volunteer Martin Savage .
The Facebook group declared itself the unofficial online supporters ’ group of Sinn Féin .
One of the group rules says that “ trolls , shills and spammers will be shown the door ” .
Critics of the party , whether they are journalists or members of other political parties , are often referred to online as “ shills ” of the Government .
Another rule of the group asks members to “ refrain from dropping @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Despite this , many of the comments contained references to Opposition politicians being a “ c*** ” , “ p**** ” , “ parasite ” , “ dickhead ” , “ bellend ” , or “ evil b*****d ” .
The seventh rule was for “ no hate speech or bullying ” .
“ Make sure that everyone feels safe .
Bullying of any kind is not allowed and degrading comments about things such as race , religion , culture , sexual orientation , gender or identity will not be tolerated.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ references to the Tánaiste ’ s partner and comments that he should “ get out of our country now… with your boyfriend ” .
Earlier this year , Fianna Fáil senator Malcolm Byrne wrote to Dublin Mid-West TD Eoin Ó Broin about the same group .
Byrne was worried about posts which repeatedly referred to former Labour TD Joan Burton as a “ c**t ” and an “ ugly b***h ” and one post which said they would like to “ throw her out of a plane with no life jacket ” .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Education Simon Harris , one person asked for “ someone with corona ” to “ please go sneeze on the twat and do the country a favour ” .
In yet another ground rule , members of the group are asked to be “ kind and courteous ” .
“ Let ’ s treat everyone with respect .
Healthy debates are natural , but kindness is required.
” Undoubtedly , Sinn Féin has a major advantage over other parties .
It uses social media more creatively , and its members and supporters engage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to driving such messages “ viral ” in the crowded online world However , its very dominance online creates its own problems .
The recent controversies about Twitter and Facebook posts written by Brian Stanley and Martin Browne have brought the issue to a wider audience , not always favourably .
While academics found that Sinn Féin had about 10 times more engagement on Facebook during this year ’ s general election campaign than other political parties , historical messages sent by some party TDs have provided headaches for the leadership .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ election helped to bring new younger voters .
However , many of those , galvanised by issues such as the housing crisis , bridle when told that they must not speak out of turn with the party line , in the name of “ democratic socialism ” .

Though now invisible to others, the Facebook page, simply named Sinn Féin, is a well-visited site. Many of its 16,000 members engage frequently, often with supportive messages for the party.
However, some often engage differently, delivering bitter tirades at Sinn Féin’s political opponents, including frequently expressed wishes that harm should befall others.
Set up seven years ago, it operated as a private group up until last summer when inquiries were made to Sinn Féin – not to the group itself – about its 10 rules of conduct by the Sunday Business Post.
Rule four of the Facebook page stated: “If you see something in the mainstream media that you want to share, then it would be best to copy and paste the article into the group. If you share links, they get paid for every click on those links.”
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The rule was removed after Sinn Féin’s press office was asked for comment on whether it supported such views.
After this, it looked as if the Facebook group had simply disappeared. It did not feature in searches, and links which previously brought Facebook users to the group just showed a blank page that said there were no members.
Closed groups are common on Facebook letting current members view group content and see who else is in the group, and people are invited to join. However, their existence can be found online.
Secret groups – and this is how they are described by Facebook – are hidden from searches, and so are invisible. They, too, require an invitation to join.
Some people who were once in the group found themselves out in the cold and unable to find it when they went looking. They presumed it had been taken down by Facebook because, as sources said, there could have been content on there that might cause problems for the party.
When contacted early in December by The Irish Times, a spokeswoman for Facebook said: “We’ve looked into this group and can confirm it is still live as a secret group. Facebook has not removed the group.”
Inside the 16,000-strong group, there are multiple posts about policy and politics and party issues. Some of it is routine, most of it is supportive of senior Sinn Féin figures and the party’s policies; but much of it includes often vitriolic and abusive language.
Under a photo of Tánaiste Leo Varadkar and Michael Collins, commentators wrote that Collins would have "cut Leo the liar's throat, for sure" or "I know what Michael Collins would have done with a snitch like Leo the leak, one round, and a round well spent."
Another said Collins would “shoot Leo in the face, like most of the Irish would love to”. Other posts about Varadkar said he should be “put in the bog” or that he “needs the belt of a shovel badly”, “the bigger and heavier the better”.
Posts about Taoiseach Micheál Martin were also met with derisive messages with a member claiming he was “nothing but a two-faced liar”.
Posts about Leo Varadkar said he should be ‘put in the bog’ or that he ‘needs the belt of a shovel badly’, ‘the bigger and heavier the better’. Photograph: Julien Behal Photography
Members of the group included Sligo-Leitrim TD Martin Kenny and Clare TD Violet Anne Wynne, as well as multiple Sinn Féin councillors. They left the group this week after The Irish Times contacted Sinn Féin with a series of questions about what was happening in the group and about the TDs' presence in there.
A Sinn Féin spokesman said: “Sinn Féin does not operate any Facebook groups and Sinn Féin is not responsible for any of the content in this group or any other Facebook group.
“There is an onus on social media platforms such as Facebook to tackle this type of content, which is clearly unacceptable, and in violation of their own standards. We have contacted Facebook to make it clear that Sinn Féin has nothing to do with this group and that they should remove it.” Meanwhile, the TDs who have left the group have so far not responded to queries.
Administrators
The group has been in existence since 2013. The administrators are three party activists who have featured on local Sinn Féin Facebook pages.
One of the activists campaigned intensively in Cavan during the February general election for Pauline Tully TD. Two of them were also pictured in a group with party leader Mary Lou McDonald almost exactly a year ago at an event to commemorate the life of IRA volunteer Martin Savage.
The Facebook group declared itself the unofficial online supporters’ group of Sinn Féin. One of the group rules says that “trolls, shills and spammers will be shown the door”. Critics of the party, whether they are journalists or members of other political parties, are often referred to online as “shills” of the Government.
Another rule of the group asks members to “refrain from dropping f-bombs or c-bombs in your comments”. Despite this, many of the comments contained references to Opposition politicians being a “c***”, “p****”, “parasite”, “dickhead”, “bellend”, or “evil b*****d”.
The seventh rule was for “no hate speech or bullying”.
“Make sure that everyone feels safe. Bullying of any kind is not allowed and degrading comments about things such as race, religion, culture, sexual orientation, gender or identity will not be tolerated.” Again, despite this, there are references to the Tánaiste’s partner and comments that he should “get out of our country now… with your boyfriend”.
Earlier this year, Fianna Fáil senator Malcolm Byrne wrote to Dublin Mid-West TD Eoin Ó Broin about the very same group.
Byrne was worried about posts which repeatedly referred to former Labour TD Joan Burton as a "c**t" and an "ugly b***h" and one post which said they would like to "throw her out of a plane with no life jacket".
Under a post about Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris, one person asked for "someone with corona" to "please go sneeze on the twat and do the country a favour".
In yet another ground rule, members of the group are asked to be “kind and courteous”.
“Let’s treat everyone with respect. Healthy debates are natural, but kindness is required.”
Social media
Undoubtedly, Sinn Féin has a major advantage over other parties. It uses social media more creatively, and its members and supporters engage strongly with the content – the key to driving such messages “viral” in the crowded online world
However, its very dominance online creates its own problems. The recent controversies about Twitter and Facebook posts written by Brian Stanley and Martin Browne have brought the issue to a wider audience, not always favourably.
While academics found that Sinn Féin had about 10 times more engagement on Facebook during this year’s general election campaign than other political parties, historical messages sent by some party TDs have provided headaches for the leadership.
The party’s online dominance during the election helped to bring new younger voters. However, many of those, galvanised by issues such as the housing crisis, bridle when told that they must not speak out of turn with the party line, in the name of “democratic centralism”.


theirishtimes--2020-12-19--Eamon Ryan: ‘By 2030, there won’t be new cars other than electric’

With every Eamon Ryan interview you are reminded of the pronouncement of Lincoln Steffens returning from Soviet Russia in 1919 .
“ I have seen the future and it works.
” For as long as Ryan has been in public life he has been talking up the way life will be better when fossil fuels and the addiction to cars are ditched , replaced by a lifestyle that can be sustained by the Earth .
Eleven years ago , in March 2009 , Ryan visited a San Francisco factory where an exciting new electric car , as yet unproven , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ built .
Its name was Tesla .
There , he visited the headquarters of technology company Cisco to witness executives talking to colleagues back in Galway using a teleconference system called “ telepresence ” .
It was as if the people from Galway were in the same room .
Its big selling point was that if the technology became a normal part of work then wasteful commuting could be cut down It was slightly before its time .
Today , we call such meetings Zoom .
Ryan , then minister for communications and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , in the face of doubters , that they would be widely embraced quickly .
Well , they have .
But it has taken over a decade – and a gigantic global pandemic caused by the Covid-19 crisis – for both technologies to become settled .
Now Ryan is Minister for Transport , Environment , Climate Change and Communications in a government that must cut greenhouse gases by over 50 per cent – or 7 per cent per annum – over the next decade .
That cut is enormous .
There are no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ targets are met then it will mean drastic changes in people ’ s lives , in their work , how they travel and where they live .
Once more , the Green Party leader sets out a vision of a radically changed Ireland .
One that will be opposed .
This time , though , he has a huge ministry with a multi-billion-euro budget behind him .
Speaking in his offices in the Department of Transport off Leeson Street , Ryan lays out his ideas in considerable detail – the kind of society @ @ @ @ @ @ @ emerge , if those targets are to be met .
First , there is the need to halve Ireland ’ s annual emissions of 60 million tonnes of carbon dioxide down to 30 million .
The first “ big chunks ” will come from the end of Moneypoint ’ s coal-powered power station and Bord na Móna ’ s peat-fired plants .
Bord na Móna will stop taking peat out for horticulture and gardens , too .
Meanwhile , half a million Irish homes will be retrofitted to improve their BER ratings over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and cheaper to heat – a staggering share of the national housing stock .
Ryan has €250 million to spend on this next year on social housing , lower-income housing and then private homes .
But it will take two or three years to get it fully up and running .
First , the State must invest in apprenticeships to train people up , which will create thousands of new jobs , but it must deliver too on long-term payment plans for those who are helped .
He runs through the portfolio , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ savings quickly as he goes : four million tonnes from Moneypoint ; four million tonnes from Bord na Móna closures ; eight million from more efficient industry .
Four million more tonnes will be required from agriculture ; six million from transport .
So what of agriculture ?
Fianna Fáil Minister Charlie McConalogue launched a new plan last week which provided for zero reduction in the national herd .
How will they get reductions in the biggest emitting sector without touching the herd ?
Ryan says McConalogue ’ s plan is an old @ @ @ @ @ @ @ year by a plan that will result in a smaller national herd .
“ We have to double the ambition .
Agriculture can ’ t be absolved and can not be an opt-out .
.
.
We are going to do significantly more and Charlie McConalogue knows that .
The idea of pumping up the volume and massive expansion of the herd makes no sense .
“ It does make sense to move to a less intensive system of farming and have a smaller herd.
” In turn , farmers will get paid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in future .
This may be inevitable and required , but it will not be popular in an industry fearful of change .
“ The key question is can we get a higher income ?
Can we get a whole generation of young people and pay them better to look after our land ?
” he says .
“ It is a very different vision , a move away from intensification to a sustainable system ” where Common Agriculture Policy payments will increasingly support ecological protection and biodiversity .
Allied to that , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ throughout the State will be re-wetted within a decade , simply by removing the drains .
They will become a carbon sink .
The first Bord na Móna project to re-wet 33,000 hectares starts soon .
If there are smaller , less-intensively operated farms , then there will also be far more forestry .
Today , just over a tenth of the State ( 770,000 hectares ) is planted .
Ryan wants that increased to 30 per cent by the second half of the century .
That means planting 20,000 hectares of new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what happens today .
Equally , that does not mean more Sitka spruce on bog or mountains : “ We can ’ t put forests where we have put them before on peatlands , as we need to restore the bogs for carbon storage .
“ We can ’ t just surround counties in deep dark coniferous woods and cut off communities , ” he says .
Instead , a new way of doing things that ensures that forests help biodiversity , not kill it , is needed .
Instead , new forests @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and include deciduous trees .
There ’ s also a plan to encourage farms to devote a hectare to tree-planting and wild flowers .
Meanwhile , changing transport habits , he admits , will not be easy , and will take time .
Part of the solution , but only part of it , will come from electric cars and e-scooters .
Part of it will come if Covid-19 marks a permanent shift to more home-working .
Part of it , too , will come from better , more plentiful public transport , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what ’ s going to be different by 2030 ?
Transport can only be tackled if the State plans better .
Housing and everything else must be led by transport , not the other way round .
“ It only works when you have transport-led development , ” he says , “ a commitment to compact development , where life is in the centre of cities and towns , where you have the ‘ 15-minute city ’ .
“ Everything is close by and I don ’ t need a car and if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it from a car-sharing system .
Investment will be in public and active travel , rather than roads.
” On electric cars , Ryan believes the 2020s will be the decade of change : “ I have been talking about this for 10 years but we are on the cusp of a real transformation .
“ By the end of this decade there won ’ t be new cars other than electric .
It ’ s game over for fossil fuel , ” says the Green Party leader , with a degree of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the Greens , must get more public transport and ride-sharing .
That could include , he suggests , letting postal vans in places .
“ What ’ s going to come out of Covid changes is that not that many people will be commuting long-distance from rural Ireland .
We will have enterprise hubs in towns and villages throughout , ” he says .
High-speed broadband will be a reality in every home within five years : “ It ’ s not all about heading to the big city but also about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Cities outside of Dublin – Cork , Limerick , Waterford and Galway – need Luas-style trams or more accurately “ electric urban trains ” which will radically alter where people want to live .
In Waterford , the city ’ s station is being moved up the quays closer to the city , with a new foot and cycling and public transport bridge bringing commuters and visitors straight into the heart of the city centre .
“ In Galway we will fast-track the twin tracking from Athenry to Galway .
That will allow @ @ @ @ @ @ @ building new development in Galway around [ stations ] .
“ In Cork , I am saying that we build now .
We can upgrade the Midleton to Mallow and have eight stations along the line at Glounthaune , Carrigtuohill , Tivoli , Kent Station , Blarney , Monard , and Mallow .
“ If you build a new station at Tivoli you can put in 10,000 people within walking distance of Patrick Street on a stunning location near the river with an electric rail train to the centre.
” In Limerick , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Foynes as a port and freight line , but include stations for commuters at Patrickswell and Adare and at Crescent shopping centre .
“ You could use Ballysimon on the east side , as well as Limerick Junction and Nenagh , with an upgraded station in Castleconnell and Annacotty , ” he declares .
“ On the Limerick to Ennis line , a railway station can be built at Moyross , at Six Mile Bridge and at Shannon , ” he says .
But is the funding available ?
Yes , he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ billion to €3 billion per year on transport infrastructure .
“ Let ’ s put it into these railway systems and walking and cycling .
In Limerick , just 3 per cent live in the historic core .
If those changes are made it will revive Limerick and make it a greater city than it is.
” In Dublin , he sees the changes in Dún Laoghaire , where the council took one lane from motorists and gave it to cyclists , being used all over the city .
Bus Connects , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the capital , is just as much about cycling as it is about buses : “ You could easily call it the cycling project , ” he says In Rathmines in Dublin , for example , Bus Connects will make it a community again , not just a road used by cars , with bicycle lanes and public transport getting priority : “ That will make it safer for kids going to school , ” he says .
A third of the morning rush-hour is caused by “ us driving our kids to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would be ] on a bike , or walking , or on a bus ” .
More greenways will be created , too , on the back of successful ones in Waterford and elsewhere .
The Bord Pleanála decision that cleared the way for the South Kerry Greenway will help others , such as the Galway-Clifden greenway that have also run into planning difficulties .
“ Greenways are not just for tourism , they are for local people , in my opinion , ” he says .
“ The [ proposed ] greenway @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , on electric bikes is utterly commutable .
“ The route will come in by Corrib village and through NUIG down Eglington Canal and then go down to O ’ Brien ’ s Bridge .
It will then go out to Salthill and right around the coast to Barna and loop right back up to Moycullen .
.
.
“ It ’ s not just for tourists , it ’ s for people who live in Knocknacarra or Moycullen to get into Galway city , ” he says .
Meanwhile , another big @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be the number of offshore wind farms .
In a decade , and certainly within 20 years , there will be few places in Ireland where people will look out to sea and see no turbines .
Offshore wind provides substantially more energy than turbines located on land .
“ My target is to produce 30 GigaWatts of power [ about six times the energy needs of the State ] around the coast .
“ We have a competitive advantage in Ireland , ” he says .
“ We have a sea area @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the best winds in the world.
” That means Ireland will be able to export energy at a profit .
It will start late next year with auctions for wind power companies to build on shallow banks off the coast of Dublin .
There will be later auctions for the Celtic Sea and then for the western coast .
The challenge in the Atlantic waters is that the ocean is very deep .
However , Ryan points out that floating turbines are already on the market and are already becoming less expensive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ irregular and hard-to-predict wind energy be stored ?
Ryan says better interconnectors to the North , the UK and France will help , as will hydrogen storage .
Turbines off the west coast will need good ports with deep water and better access , so the ports of Foynes , Killybegs and Cork will need work to accommodate traffic .
His core argument is that an annual 7 per cent reduction in emissions will result in radical change in how people live their lives .
“ It will be transformative , ” says @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are now seeing when they wake .
It is strange that in these Covid times , and all the bad things with it , people are realising how important their environment is and , for the first time , are beginning to appreciate and value it .
”

Green Party leader Eamon Ryan: “Can we get a whole generation of young people and pay them better to look after our land?” Photograph: Alan Betson
With every Eamon Ryan interview you are reminded of the pronouncement of Lincoln Steffens returning from Soviet Russia in 1919. "I have seen the future and it works."
For as long as Ryan has been in public life he has been talking up the way life will be better when fossil fuels and the addiction to cars are ditched, replaced by a lifestyle that can be sustained by the Earth.
Eleven years ago, in March 2009, Ryan visited a San Francisco factory where an exciting new electric car, as yet unproven, with a range of 400km was being built.
Its name was Tesla.
READ MORE
There, he visited the headquarters of technology company Cisco to witness executives talking to colleagues back in Galway using a teleconference system called "telepresence".
It was as if the people from Galway were in the same room. Its big selling point was that if the technology became a normal part of work then wasteful commuting could be cut down
It was slightly before its time. Today, we call such meetings Zoom.
Ryan, then minister for communications and energy, enthused about both, forecasting, in the face of doubters, that they would be widely embraced quickly.
Well, they have. But it has taken over a decade – and a gigantic global pandemic caused by the Covid-19 crisis – for both technologies to become settled.
Now Ryan is Minister for Transport, Environment, Climate Change and Communications in a government that must cut greenhouse gases by over 50 per cent – or 7 per cent per annum – over the next decade.
That cut is enormous. There are no two ways about it. If those targets are met then it will mean drastic changes in people’s lives, in their work, how they travel and where they live.
Once more, the Green Party leader sets out a vision of a radically changed Ireland. One that will be opposed. This time, though, he has a huge ministry with a multi-billion-euro budget behind him.
Speaking in his offices in the Department of Transport off Leeson Street, Ryan lays out his ideas in considerable detail – the kind of society, the kind of lifestyle that will emerge, if those targets are to be met.
First, there is the need to halve Ireland’s annual emissions of 60 million tonnes of carbon dioxide down to 30 million.
The first “big chunks” will come from the end of Moneypoint’s coal-powered power station and Bord na Móna’s peat-fired plants. Bord na Móna will stop taking peat out for horticulture and gardens, too.
Meanwhile, half a million Irish homes will be retrofitted to improve their BER ratings over the next decade to make them warmer and cheaper to heat – a staggering share of the national housing stock.
Ryan has €250 million to spend on this next year on social housing, lower-income housing and then private homes. But it will take two or three years to get it fully up and running.
New jobs
First, the State must invest in apprenticeships to train people up, which will create thousands of new jobs, but it must deliver too on long-term payment plans for those who are helped.
He runs through the portfolio, totting up 26 million tonnes of CO2 savings quickly as he goes: four million tonnes from Moneypoint; four million tonnes from Bord na Móna closures; eight million from more efficient industry. Four million more tonnes will be required from agriculture; six million from transport.
So what of agriculture? Fianna Fáil Minister Charlie McConalogue launched a new plan last week which provided for zero reduction in the national herd. How will they get reductions in the biggest emitting sector without touching the herd?
Ryan says McConalogue’s plan is an old one and that will be superseded next year by a plan that will result in a smaller national herd.
“We have to double the ambition. Agriculture can’t be absolved and cannot be an opt-out . . . We are going to do significantly more and Charlie McConalogue knows that. The idea of pumping up the volume and massive expansion of the herd makes no sense.
“It does make sense to move to a less intensive system of farming and have a smaller herd.”
In turn, farmers will get paid for the ecological services that they provide in future. This may be inevitable and required, but it will not be popular in an industry fearful of change.
“The key question is can we get a higher income? Can we get a whole generation of young people and pay them better to look after our land?” he says.
“It is a very different vision, a move away from intensification to a sustainable system” where Common Agriculture Policy payments will increasingly support ecological protection and biodiversity.
Allied to that, Ryan says that 140,000 hectares of bog throughout the State will be re-wetted within a decade, simply by removing the drains. They will become a carbon sink.
The first Bord na Móna project to re-wet 33,000 hectares starts soon.
If there are smaller, less-intensively operated farms, then there will also be far more forestry. Today, just over a tenth of the State (770,000 hectares) is planted.
Carbon storage
Ryan wants that increased to 30 per cent by the second half of the century. That means planting 20,000 hectares of new trees each year – a multiple of what happens today.
Equally, that does not mean more Sitka spruce on bog or mountains: “We can’t put forests where we have put them before on peatlands, as we need to restore the bogs for carbon storage.
“We can’t just surround counties in deep dark coniferous woods and cut off communities,” he says. Instead, a new way of doing things that ensures that forests help biodiversity, not kill it, is needed.
Instead, new forests will be planted on better land, and include deciduous trees. There’s also a plan to encourage farms to devote a hectare to tree-planting and wild flowers.
Meanwhile, changing transport habits, he admits, will not be easy, and will take time. Part of the solution, but only part of it, will come from electric cars and e-scooters.
Part of it will come if Covid-19 marks a permanent shift to more home-working. Part of it, too, will come from better, more plentiful public transport, and more cycling and walking.
So what’s going to be different by 2030? Transport can only be tackled if the State plans better. Housing and everything else must be led by transport, not the other way round.
“It only works when you have transport-led development,” he says, “a commitment to compact development, where life is in the centre of cities and towns, where you have the ‘15-minute city’.
“Everything is close by and I don’t need a car and if I do need one I can get it from a car-sharing system. Investment will be in public and active travel, rather than roads.”
On electric cars, Ryan believes the 2020s will be the decade of change: “I have been talking about this for 10 years but we are on the cusp of a real transformation.
“By the end of this decade there won’t be new cars other than electric. It’s game over for fossil fuel,” says the Green Party leader, with a degree of relish.
Rural Ireland, often suspicious of the Greens, must get more public transport and ride-sharing. That could include, he suggests, letting postal vans in places.
“What’s going to come out of Covid changes is that not that many people will be commuting long-distance from rural Ireland. We will have enterprise hubs in towns and villages throughout,” he says.
High-speed broadband will be a reality in every home within five years: “It’s not all about heading to the big city but also about bringing life back into rural town.”
Cities outside of Dublin – Cork, Limerick, Waterford and Galway – need Luas-style trams or more accurately "electric urban trains" which will radically alter where people want to live.
In Waterford, the city’s station is being moved up the quays closer to the city, with a new foot and cycling and public transport bridge bringing commuters and visitors straight into the heart of the city centre.
"In Galway we will fast-track the twin tracking from Athenry to Galway. That will allow us upgrade Oranmore and Ardaun and start building new development in Galway around [stations].
"In Cork, I am saying that we build now. We can upgrade the Midleton to Mallow and have eight stations along the line at Glounthaune, Carrigtuohill, Tivoli, Kent Station, Blarney, Monard, and Mallow.
“If you build a new station at Tivoli you can put in 10,000 people within walking distance of Patrick Street on a stunning location near the river with an electric rail train to the centre.”
In Limerick, he wants to open the rail line to Foynes as a port and freight line, but include stations for commuters at Patrickswell and Adare and at Crescent shopping centre.
"You could use Ballysimon on the east side, as well as Limerick Junction and Nenagh, with an upgraded station in Castleconnell and Annacotty, " he declares.
Railway systems
“On the Limerick to Ennis line, a railway station can be built at Moyross, at Six Mile Bridge and at Shannon,” he says. But is the funding available? Yes, he replies.
The State is spending €2 billion to €3 billion per year on transport infrastructure. “Let’s put it into these railway systems and walking and cycling. In Limerick, just 3 per cent live in the historic core. If those changes are made it will revive Limerick and make it a greater city than it is.”
In Dublin, he sees the changes in Dún Laoghaire, where the council took one lane from motorists and gave it to cyclists, being used all over the city.
Bus Connects, which bids to speed up bus journeys in the capital, is just as much about cycling as it is about buses: “You could easily call it the cycling project,” he says
In Rathmines in Dublin, for example, Bus Connects will make it a community again, not just a road used by cars, with bicycle lanes and public transport getting priority: "That will make it safer for kids going to school," he says.
A third of the morning rush-hour is caused by “us driving our kids to school. How much better [that would be] on a bike, or walking, or on a bus”.
More greenways will be created, too, on the back of successful ones in Waterford and elsewhere. The Bord Pleanála decision that cleared the way for the South Kerry Greenway will help others, such as the Galway-Clifden greenway that have also run into planning difficulties.
"Greenways are not just for tourism, they are for local people, in my opinion," he says. "The [proposed] greenway from Moycullen into Galway [8km], on electric bikes is utterly commutable.
"The route will come in by Corrib village and through NUIG down Eglington Canal and then go down to O'Brien's Bridge. It will then go out to Salthill and right around the coast to Barna and loop right back up to Moycullen . . .
Offshore wind
"It's not just for tourists, it's for people who live in Knocknacarra or Moycullen to get into Galway city," he says.
Meanwhile, another big change in the landscape in 2030 will be the number of offshore wind farms. In a decade, and certainly within 20 years, there will be few places in Ireland where people will look out to sea and see no turbines. Offshore wind provides substantially more energy than turbines located on land.
“My target is to produce 30 GigaWatts of power [about six times the energy needs of the State] around the coast. “We have a competitive advantage in Ireland,” he says. “We have a sea area 10 times our land areas and some of the best winds in the world.”
That means Ireland will be able to export energy at a profit. It will start late next year with auctions for wind power companies to build on shallow banks off the coast of Dublin.
There will be later auctions for the Celtic Sea and then for the western coast. The challenge in the Atlantic waters is that the ocean is very deep. However, Ryan points out that floating turbines are already on the market and are already becoming less expensive.
How will huge quantities of such irregular and hard-to-predict wind energy be stored? Ryan says better interconnectors to the North, the UK and France will help, as will hydrogen storage.
Turbines off the west coast will need good ports with deep water and better access, so the ports of Foynes, Killybegs and Cork will need work to accommodate traffic.
His core argument is that an annual 7 per cent reduction in emissions will result in radical change in how people live their lives. “It will be transformative,” says Ryan.
“This is what people are now seeing when they wake. It is strange that in these Covid times, and all the bad things with it, people are realising how important their environment is and, for the first time, are beginning to appreciate and value it.”


theirishtimes--2020-12-18--Former State pathologist Prof John Harbison dies

The former State pathologist Prof John Harbison has died .
In his 80s , he died peacefully on Friday , according to a death notice posted online .
Prof Harbison stopped doing post mortems in 2003 after nearly 30 years ’ service as State pathologist .
He was involved in many high-profile cases including the Kerry babies case , the Sophie Toscan du Plantier case and the investigation into the Grangegorman killings .
The Dublin-born doctor in 1974 became the State ’ s first forensic pathologist .
The son of a doctor who held various positions as county and city @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the Howth area of north Co Dublin .
He graduated in medicine from Trinity College , Dublin , in 1960 , where he lectured in medical jurisprudence for many years .
In 1991 , he was appointed professor of forensic medicine and toxicology at the Royal College of Surgeons .
As State pathologist he carried out some 100 post-mortems a year .
He is survived by his wife Kathleen , children Isobel and Austin , grandchildren Jack and Edith , brother Peter , son-in-law Conor , extended family and friends .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , his funeral service on Monday next will remain private for family and close friends only .

The former State pathologist Prof John Harbison has died.
In his 80s, he died peacefully on Friday, according to a death notice posted online.
Prof Harbison stopped doing post mortems in 2003 after nearly 30 years’ service as State pathologist.
He was involved in many high-profile cases including the Kerry babies case, the Sophie Toscan du Plantier case and the investigation into the Grangegorman killings.
READ MORE
The Dublin-born doctor in 1974 became the State’s first forensic pathologist.
The son of a doctor who held various positions as county and city medical officer, Prof Harbison was born in the Howth area of north Co Dublin. He graduated in medicine from Trinity College, Dublin, in 1960, where he lectured in medical jurisprudence for many years.
In 1991, he was appointed professor of forensic medicine and toxicology at the Royal College of Surgeons. As State pathologist he carried out some 100 post-mortems a year.
He is survived by his wife Kathleen, children Isobel and Austin, grandchildren Jack and Edith, brother Peter, son-in-law Conor, extended family and friends.
In line with government guidelines on public gatherings, his funeral service on Monday next will remain private for family and close friends only.


theirishtimes--2020-12-18--Gardaí renew appeal for infomation about car involved in fatal hit and run in Galway

Gardaí have renewed their appeal for information about a hit and run in the Furbo are of Co Galway on Wednesday in which a woman in her mid 50s was killed .
The incident happened in the vicinity of the well known Pairicin ’ s Bar in Furbo on the main Galway to Spiddal road .
Investigating gardaí have established that the dead woman named locally as Rita Dirrane from Inis Mór was dropped to this location at approximately 6.30pm on Wednesday afternoon .
They now believe that a 2004 to 2007 model Toyota Corolla was involved in the collision @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Station said , “ An Garda Síochána is appealing to the driver of this vehicle to please come forward and make contact with Gardaí in Salthill .
Similarly we would like to appeal to members of the public who may have information , or may be aware of a vehicle matching this description which has sustained damage in the past 24 hours , to please come forward.
” It is understood that the deceased was walking on the right hand side of the road heading in the direction of Spiddal when she was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Spiddal direction heading towards Barna .
A post mortem examination on the deceased was carried out on Thursday at University Hospital Galway by the Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster .
The results are not being disclosed for operational reasons .
Anyone who can assist investigators with their enquiries can contact Salthill Garda Station on 091-514720 , or the Garda Confidential line 1800-666-111 .

Gardaí have appealed to anyone who may be aware of a vehicle matching the description given which has sustained damage in the past 24 hours, to please come forward. File photograph: Niall Carson/PA Wire
Gardaí have renewed their appeal for information about a hit and run in the Furbo area of Co Galway on Wednesday in which a woman in her mid 50s was killed.
The incident happened in the vicinity of the well known Pairicin's Bar in Furbo on the main Galway to Spiddal road.
Investigating gardaí have established that the dead woman named locally as Rita Dirrane from Inis Mór was dropped to this location at approximately 6.30pm on Wednesday afternoon.
They now believe that a 2004 to 2007 model Toyota Corolla was involved in the collision.
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Inspector Brian Ryan of Salthill Garda Station said, "An Garda Síochána is appealing to the driver of this vehicle to please come forward and make contact with Gardaí in Salthill. Similarly we would like to appeal to members of the public who may have information, or may be aware of a vehicle matching this description which has sustained damage in the past 24 hours, to please come forward."
It is understood that the deceased was walking on the right hand side of the road heading in the direction of Spiddal when she was struck by a vehicle travelling from the Spiddal direction heading towards Barna.
A post mortem examination on the deceased was carried out on Thursday at University Hospital Galway by the Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster. The results are not being disclosed for operational reasons.
Anyone who can assist investigators with their enquiries can contact Salthill Garda Station on 091-514720, or the Garda Confidential line 1800-666-111.


theirishtimes--2020-12-18--Plane was ‘flying like torpedo’ before crash that killed pilot and boy (7), inquest hears

A pilot and his seven-year-old passenger died from massive trauma as the result of an air accident in Co Offaly two years ago , an inquest has heard .
A verdict of accidental death due to massive generalised trauma was the decision of the jury at the inquest in Tullamore on Friday into the deaths of pilot Niall Bowditch and Kacper Kacprzak at Clonbullogue , Co Offaly , on May 13th , 2018 .
The inquest heard that both victims of the accident suffered severe head trauma and multiple fractures to their upper and lower limbs .
Their airplane was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Island after it crashed while returning from a parachute jump .
It had “ virtually nose-dived into the ground ” and had been “ flying vertically like a torpedo ” , according to witness Jimmy Slattery , who saw the plane “ fly straight into the trees ” while out with his dog.
“ There was no smoke , no fire , no explosion , just silence.
” Coroner Raymond Mahon told the inquest that questions about responsibility for operating the flight and the legality of carrying passengers were “ another matter entirely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ appropriate forum for such a discussion .
Kevin Brerton , a senior pilot with the Irish Parachute Club , told the inquest he had been on duty for air traffic control .
The pilot had been cleared to land in their last communication , but when there was no subsequent response Mr Brerton became concerned .
He went up in another plane and spotted the wreckage “ deep in the forest ” .
Mr Brerton said he had not been aware that there was a boy on board .
Fire officer Gabriel Conlon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over the site to guide a search party to the wreckage .
The plane was embedded in the bog so trees had to be cut back to allow a digger on site to dig around the plane .
Eventually the cockpit was found at a depth of 10ft , he said .
Both bodies were found in their seats , face down .
The cockpit was lifted out and both bodies had to be cut from the wreckage , with the remains being brought to Tullamore hospital .
Garda Sgt John Doran said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Pathologist Dr Nurul Nor , who performed the autopsies , told the inquest that the pilot Mr Bowditch had suffered such severe head trauma that his head was almost decapitated .
The toxicology report for the pilot was negative for drugs and alcohol .
His death was due to massive trauma as a result of an air accident .
Kacper ’ s parents left the inquest while Dr Nor described the boy ’ s injuries .
Death was due to massive trauma , especially to the head , he said .
He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Coroner Mr Mahon said that a day of enjoyment had been shattered with awful consequences .
There was no evidence that Mr Bowditch had deliberately done anything to cause the accident , he said .
What had happened had been “ totally accidental ” , he added .

Pilot Niall Bowditch and Kacpar Kacprzak on the day of the fatal crash on May 13th, 2018.
A pilot and his seven-year-old passenger died from massive trauma as the result of an air accident in Co Offaly two years ago, an inquest has heard.
A verdict of accidental death due to massive generalised trauma was the decision of the jury at the inquest in Tullamore on Friday into the deaths of pilot Niall Bowditch and Kacper Kacprzak at Clonbullogue, Co Offaly, on May 13th, 2018.
The inquest heard that both victims of the accident suffered severe head trauma and multiple fractures to their upper and lower limbs.
Their airplane was discovered embedded in a bog near Walsh Island after it crashed while returning from a parachute jump. It had "virtually nose-dived into the ground" and had been "flying vertically like a torpedo", according to witness Jimmy Slattery, who saw the plane "fly straight into the trees" while out with his dog."There was no smoke, no fire, no explosion, just silence."
READ MORE
Coroner Raymond Mahon told the inquest that questions about responsibility for operating the flight and the legality of carrying passengers were "another matter entirely" and the inquest was not the appropriate forum for such a discussion.
Kevin Brerton, a senior pilot with the Irish Parachute Club, told the inquest he had been on duty for air traffic control. The pilot had been cleared to land in their last communication, but when there was no subsequent response Mr Brerton became concerned. He went up in another plane and spotted the wreckage "deep in the forest".
Mr Brerton said he had not been aware that there was a boy on board.
Coast Guard help
Fire officer Gabriel Conlon described how the Coast Guard helicopter hovered over the site to guide a search party to the wreckage. The plane was embedded in the bog so trees had to be cut back to allow a digger on site to dig around the plane.
Eventually the cockpit was found at a depth of 10ft, he said. Both bodies were found in their seats, face down.
The cockpit was lifted out and both bodies had to be cut from the wreckage, with the remains being brought to Tullamore hospital.
Garda Sgt John Doran said both bodies were identified through DNA evidence.
Pathologist Dr Nurul Nor, who performed the autopsies, told the inquest that the pilot Mr Bowditch had suffered such severe head trauma that his head was almost decapitated. The toxicology report for the pilot was negative for drugs and alcohol.
His death was due to massive trauma as a result of an air accident.
Kacper’s parents left the inquest while Dr Nor described the boy’s injuries. Death was due to massive trauma, especially to the head, he said. He said death would have been instantaneous.
Coroner Mr Mahon said that a day of enjoyment had been shattered with awful consequences. There was no evidence that Mr Bowditch had deliberately done anything to cause the accident, he said. What had happened had been “totally accidental”, he added.


theirishtimes--2020-12-18--Landlord must show proof of timely attempt to sell before evicting couple, court rules

A landlord can only evict a couple from their home of eight years once he has entered an enforceable agreement to sell the property within a specified period after the termination of the tenancy , the High Court has ruled .
Mr Justice Garrett Simons cancelled a notice of termination against Brendan and Erika Gunn on their home in Wicklow town but said landlord David Warrick could now serve a new notice of termination .
He was dealing with an appeal by the Gunns against a decision of a tenancy tribunal of the Residential Tenancies Board ( RTB ) which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Gunns was valid .
The judge said the property had been rented out to the Gunns since 2012 through an agent with Mr Warrick ’ s wife , Laura Harding , named as the landlord .
Following two notices of termination in Ms Harding ’ s name , the first withdrawn and the second found to be invalid , a third was served in December 2018 in Mr Warrick ’ s name .
This notice included a statutory declaration by Mr Warrick of his intention to sell the property as required by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an RTB tenancy tribunal claiming there was not sufficient evidence to identify the landlord .
They also claimed the requirement that there be an enforceable agreement in place to sell the property within three months of termination had not been met .
The law has since been changed to provide for a nine-month period for completion of the sale , the court heard .
The tenancy tribunal found the termination was valid on the basis that Mr Warrick , who it found was the landlord , had taken sufficient steps to “ evince @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” .
These included that he retained an agent to sell , had erected a “ for sale ” sign and instructed a solicitor .
The Gunns appealed to the High Court claiming the tribunal had erred in law .
On Friday , Mr Justice Simons said the tribunal was correct in finding Mr Warrick was the landlord .
However , he said the Gunns ’ claim in relation to the absence of an enforceable agreement to sell was well founded .
There was simply no evidence before the tribunal which would have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that , as of December 18th , 2018 , the owner had intended to commit to a contract for sale within three months of the termination of the tenancy , he said .
The tribunal had erred in law in its interpretation of the relevant sections ( 34 and 35 ) of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 and in applying the principles set down by a previous High Court judgment .
He therefore was making a formal order cancelling the termination .
However , in circumstances where the law has since been changed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” of the sale from three to nine months , he would not send the matter back to the RTB .
It was in ease of all parties that the landlord , if he so wishes , should serve a fresh notice of termination in accordance with the current version of the legislation , he said .

The High Court was dealing with an appeal by a couple against a decision of a tenancy tribunal of the Residential Tenancies Board which found a December 2018 termination notice on them was valid. File photograph: Dave Meehan
A landlord can only evict a couple from their home of eight years once he has entered an enforceable agreement to sell the property within a specified period after the termination of the tenancy, the High Court has ruled.
Mr Justice Garrett Simons cancelled a notice of termination against Brendan and Erika Gunn on their home in Wicklow town but said landlord David Warrick could now serve a new notice of termination.
He was dealing with an appeal by the Gunns against a decision of a tenancy tribunal of the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) which found a December 2018 termination notice on the Gunns was valid.
The judge said the property had been rented out to the Gunns since 2012 through an agent with Mr Warrick's wife, Laura Harding, named as the landlord.
READ MORE
Following two notices of termination in Ms Harding’s name, the first withdrawn and the second found to be invalid, a third was served in December 2018 in Mr Warrick’s name. This notice included a statutory declaration by Mr Warrick of his intention to sell the property as required by law.
The Gunns appealed that to an RTB tenancy tribunal claiming there was not sufficient evidence to identify the landlord.
They also claimed the requirement that there be an enforceable agreement in place to sell the property within three months of termination had not been met. The law has since been changed to provide for a nine-month period for completion of the sale, the court heard.
The tenancy tribunal found the termination was valid on the basis that Mr Warrick, who it found was the landlord, had taken sufficient steps to “evince more than a mere intention to sell”. These included that he retained an agent to sell, had erected a “for sale” sign and instructed a solicitor.
The Gunns appealed to the High Court claiming the tribunal had erred in law.
On Friday, Mr Justice Simons said the tribunal was correct in finding Mr Warrick was the landlord.
However, he said the Gunns’ claim in relation to the absence of an enforceable agreement to sell was well founded.
There was simply no evidence before the tribunal which would have allowed it to reach a lawful finding that, as of December 18th, 2018, the owner had intended to commit to a contract for sale within three months of the termination of the tenancy, he said.
The tribunal had erred in law in its interpretation of the relevant sections (34 and 35) of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 and in applying the principles set down by a previous High Court judgment.
He therefore was making a formal order cancelling the termination. However, in circumstances where the law has since been changed to allow “a more realistic timeframe” of the sale from three to nine months, he would not send the matter back to the RTB.
It was in ease of all parties that the landlord, if he so wishes, should serve a fresh notice of termination in accordance with the current version of the legislation, he said.


theirishtimes--2020-12-18--Dublin Port makes pitch to become major cultural hub

Dublin Port ’ s plans to become a major cultural hub has begun with the release of five plays performed there .
The works include plays about the strikes by dockers and railwaymen during the War of Independence and the work of Irish female munitions workers during the first World War .
Plans are afoot to convert the old Pumphouse in the docklands into a heritage centre capable of staging productions .
The five plays were performed and filmed there during the summer and it is hoped the Pumphouse , where they were performed , will be used as a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and performances .
This will be followed by the refurbishment of the adjacent 1880s Graving Dock number one .
Dublin Port heritage director , Lar Joye , said the responses to the premieres over the last number of weeks have been “ fantastic ” .
Pumphouse Presents is a continuation of Dublin Port Company ’ s plans to integrate the port with the city under the port ’ s plans up to 2040 .
It is a part of a wider plan to make the docks more accessible to the public .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will feature prominently as a new heritage zone for exhibitions , museums and performances that are realised over the coming years .
The latest play to be released online is Canaries , created by Anu Productions , and written and directed by Louise Lowe .
It is about the National Munitions Factory at Dublin Port which employed hundreds of women during the first World War .
They faced daily peril by handling explosive chemicals that carried the risk of them contracting potentially fatal diseases , amputation and even death .
The effects of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lurid shade of yellow that stained their skin and hair , earning them the nickname Canaries .
Embargo by Deirdre Kinahan , presented by Fishamble , is about three people caught up in the strikes staged during the War of Independence .
Three other plays have also been released online .
Charlie ’ s A Clepto is about a kleptomaniac and is a one-act play written and performed by Clare Monnelly and two plays by Lee Coffey , Leper and Chip , and Slice the Thief .
All five plays will be available @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from Saturday .

Dublin Port plans to convert the old Pumphouse in the docklands into a heritage centre capable of staging productions. Photograph: Dublin Port Company website
Dublin Port’s plans to become a major cultural hub has begun with the release of five plays performed there.
The works include plays about the strikes by dockers and railwaymen during the War of Independence and the work of Irish female munitions workers during the first World War.
Plans are afoot to convert the old Pumphouse in the docklands into a heritage centre capable of staging productions.
The five plays were performed and filmed there during the summer and it is hoped the Pumphouse, where they were performed, will be used as a heritage zone to host exhibitions, events and performances.
READ MORE
This will be followed by the refurbishment of the adjacent 1880s Graving Dock number one.
Dublin Port heritage director, Lar Joye, said the responses to the premieres over the last number of weeks have been "fantastic".
Post-coronavirus
Pumphouse Presents is a continuation of Dublin Port Company’s plans to integrate the port with the city under the port’s plans up to 2040. It is a part of a wider plan to make the docks more accessible to the public.
It is hoped that post-coronavirus, the Pumphouse will feature prominently as a new heritage zone for exhibitions, museums and performances that are realised over the coming years.
The latest play to be released online is Canaries, created by Anu Productions, and written and directed by Louise Lowe.
It is about the National Munitions Factory at Dublin Port which employed hundreds of women during the first World War.
They faced daily peril by handling explosive chemicals that carried the risk of them contracting potentially fatal diseases, amputation and even death. The effects of their work were immediately visible; a lurid shade of yellow that stained their skin and hair, earning them the nickname Canaries.
Embargo by Deirdre Kinahan, presented by Fishamble, is about three people caught up in the strikes staged during the War of Independence.
Three other plays have also been released online. Charlie's A Clepto is about a kleptomaniac and is a one-act play written and performed by Clare Monnelly and two plays by Lee Coffey, Leper and Chip, and Slice the Thief.
All five plays will be available to view on the Axis Ballymun website from Saturday.


theirishtimes--2020-12-18--Parcel Motel to suspend providing virtual UK address service because of Brexit

The self-service parcel service Parcel Motel is to cease providing a virtual UK address from December 28th because of Brexit .
In an email to customers on Friday it said that from that date “ our virtual address services in the UK will be temporarily suspended .
This means that from this date , we will no longer accept deliveries at the UK virtual address.
” The UK address , in Newtownabbey , Co Antrim , was used by people who bought items from online sites that stated they could only be delivered to a UK address .
The goods @ @ @ @ @ @ @ delivered to one of the Parcel Motel pick-up locations in the Republic .
In the email it said that Brexit will impact on these shipments using the virtual UK address .
“ At the end of the year , the UK will leave the single market and customs union .
While much remains undecided about the future trading relationship , it is clear that when the transition period ends , the cost , effort and time of moving goods between the EU and the UK will likely increase .
All parcels crossing the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clear customs and will be subject to customs duty and VAT , which are not included in the initial purchase price of your goods .
”

It’s address was used by people who bought items that stated they could only be delivered to a UK address. Photographer: Aidan Crawley/Bloomberg
The self-service parcel service Parcel Motel is to cease providing a virtual UK address from December 28th because of Brexit.
In an email to customers on Friday it said that from that date “our virtual address services in the UK will be temporarily suspended. This means that from this date, we will no longer accept deliveries at the UK virtual address.”
The UK address, in Newtownabbey, Co Antrim, was used by people who bought items from online sites that stated they could only be delivered to a UK address.
The goods were then collected by the company and delivered to one of the Parcel Motel pick-up locations in the Republic.
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In the email it said that Brexit will impact on these shipments using the virtual UK address.
"At the end of the year, the UK will leave the single market and customs union. While much remains undecided about the future trading relationship, it is clear that when the transition period ends, the cost, effort and time of moving goods between the EU and the UK will likely increase. All parcels crossing the new border between Britain and Ireland must clear customs and will be subject to customs duty and VAT, which are not included in the initial purchase price of your goods."


theirishtimes--2020-12-18--Schools receive guidance for emergency remote teaching

Secondary schools have received new guidance on “ emergency remote teaching and learning ” in the event of closures triggered by the spread of coronavirus .
The correspondence has prompted concern among some Opposition TDs about whether schools will close in January .
However , a spokesman for Minister for Education Norma Foley said schools are reopening on January 6th and public health advice remains that schools are safe settings .
The 15-page document circulated to schools said it is designed to provide guidance for schools in situations where a partial or full school closure is advised by public health/HSE @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the virus .
It outlines a number of possible scenarios which could occur during the 2020/21 school year .
They include a student being absent for a few days for medically certified coronavirus reasons ; a full class group being advised to self-isolate ; or an entire school being required to close for public health reasons .
“ As the extent to which these scenarios may be required can not be predicted , it is possible that individual or groups of students and teachers may find that they are advised to self-isolate or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ occasions during the 2020-21 school year .
“ This may lead to an accumulation of a significant number of days where students learn and teachers work from home .
Therefore , it is crucial that all schools make every effort to enable teachers to support the continuation of students ’ learning effectively during each possible scenario .
“ This is particularly important in the context of students at risk of early school leaving , students with special educational needs and students at risk of educational disadvantage.
” One Department of Education source said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ schools a month ago and the secondary school document was delayed due to the need to finalise technical details .
It was not in response to a rise in cases , the source said , or concerns over the potential closure of schools .
However , Sinn Féin education spokesman Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire TD said the circulation of the email , along with comments from chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan warning of the implications of a spike in Covid-19 for education , will raise concerns among families over potential school closures .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Tony Holohan today on Morning Ireland recognised the huge efforts that the people of Ireland made during the second wave , which ensured that education could be maintained and students could continue to go to school , ” Mr Ó Laoghaire said .
“ But with the recent rise in Covid-19 , families have been in contact with me concerned that schools might not reopen in January .
This would be extremely detrimental to students and their learning .
“ Schools have received an email today outlining the need to prepare for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the first time in a long time , the CMO raised a question regarding restrictions on education.
” He added : “ We need Minister Foley to reassure families and staff of what is being done to make schools safer , and to set out what is the threshold at which the infection would have to be at for schools to have to close.
” Ms Foley said on Thursday that schools will not close early before Christmas or open late in January because they remain safe places for children .
Latest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cases were found in schools in the State last week , following mass testing in a number of them , with 3.5 per cent of the samples taken proving positive , compared to 10 to 12 per cent in the wider community .
Saying that three-quarters of schools have not had any issues at all since the reopening in September , the Minister said “ tremendous work ” has been done by school staff and students .
Ruling out calls for an early closure and for an extra week after Christmas , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ grounds for schools to remain closed for longer than is planned .

The 15-page document circulated to schools says it is designed to provide guidance for schools in situations where a partial or full school closure is advised by public health/HSE because of a case or cases of Covid-19. Photograph: Getty Images
Secondary schools have received new guidance on “emergency remote teaching and learning” in the event of closures triggered by the spread of coronavirus.
The correspondence has prompted concern among some Opposition TDs about whether schools will close in January.
However, a spokesman for Minister for Education Norma Foley said schools are reopening on January 6th and public health advice remains that schools are safe settings.
The 15-page document circulated to schools said it is designed to provide guidance for schools in situations where a partial or full school closure is advised by public health/HSE because of a case or cases of the virus.
READ MORE
It outlines a number of possible scenarios which could occur during the 2020/21 school year.
They include a student being absent for a few days for medically certified coronavirus reasons; a full class group being advised to self-isolate; or an entire school being required to close for public health reasons.
Scenarios
“As the extent to which these scenarios may be required cannot be predicted, it is possible that individual or groups of students and teachers may find that they are advised to self-isolate or restrict their movements on a number of occasions during the 2020-21 school year.
“This may lead to an accumulation of a significant number of days where students learn and teachers work from home. Therefore, it is crucial that all schools make every effort to enable teachers to support the continuation of students’ learning effectively during each possible scenario.
“This is particularly important in the context of students at risk of early school leaving, students with special educational needs and students at risk of educational disadvantage.”
One Department of Education source said a similar document was issued to primary schools a month ago and the secondary school document was delayed due to the need to finalise technical details.
It was not in response to a rise in cases, the source said, or concerns over the potential closure of schools.
However, Sinn Féin education spokesman Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire TD said the circulation of the email, along with comments from chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan warning of the implications of a spike in Covid-19 for education, will raise concerns among families over potential school closures.
"Families want schools to remain open. Tony Holohan today on Morning Ireland recognised the huge efforts that the people of Ireland made during the second wave, which ensured that education could be maintained and students could continue to go to school," Mr Ó Laoghaire said.
“But with the recent rise in Covid-19, families have been in contact with me concerned that schools might not reopen in January. This would be extremely detrimental to students and their learning.
“Schools have received an email today outlining the need to prepare for remote learning. I also note that for the first time in a long time, the CMO raised a question regarding restrictions on education.”
He added: “We need Minister Foley to reassure families and staff of what is being done to make schools safer, and to set out what is the threshold at which the infection would have to be at for schools to have to close.”
Safe places
Ms Foley said on Thursday that schools will not close early before Christmas or open late in January because they remain safe places for children.
Latest figures show a total of 62 virus cases were found in schools in the State last week, following mass testing in a number of them, with 3.5 per cent of the samples taken proving positive, compared to 10 to 12 per cent in the wider community.
Saying that three-quarters of schools have not had any issues at all since the reopening in September, the Minister said “tremendous work” has been done by school staff and students.
Ruling out calls for an early closure and for an extra week after Christmas, the Minister said there are no public health grounds for schools to remain closed for longer than is planned.


theirishtimes--2020-12-18--Man arrested twice within six hours in Cork for suspected drink driving

Gardaí have arrested one man twice for suspected drink driving within a period of six hours .
The man was @ @ @ @ @ 24 hours focus on road safety between December 17th and 18th .
Over the period @ @ @ @ @ suspected drink driving and one for drug driving .
The arrests were made as a @ @ @ @ @ and in one incident , a call from a member of the public .
Head @ @ @ @ @ Unit in North Cork , Inspector Joe O Connor said the Christmas road safety campaign @ @ @ @ @ “ and will primarily focus on detecting those who drive having consumed alcohol or drugs @ @ @ @ @ to enforce all road traffic legislation and try to reduce the risk of collisions on @ @ @ @ @ focus on driving under the influence , speeding , not wearing a seatbelt and holding @ @ @ @ @ .
”

Gardaí have arrested one man twice for suspected drink driving within a period of six hours.
The man was arrested in Mallow during a 24 hours focus on road safety between December 17th and 18th.
Over the period four arrests were made for suspected drink driving and one for drug driving.
The arrests were made as a result of checkpoints, patrols and in one incident, a call from a member of the public.
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Head of the Garda Roads Policing Unit in North Cork, Inspector Joe O Connor said the Christmas road safety campaign will run until January 5th “and will primarily focus on detecting those who drive having consumed alcohol or drugs.
“Gardaí will continue to enforce all road traffic legislation and try to reduce the risk of collisions on the roads. We will focus on driving under the influence, speeding, not wearing a seatbelt and holding a mobile phone whilst driving.”


theirishtimes--2020-12-18--Man jailed for his involvement in mob that tried to storm Dublin nightclub

A man who was part of a large mob who tried to storm their way into a Dublin nightclub last year has been jailed for 18 months .
Moses Lulendo ( 19 ) joined up with the group of males , some with their faces covered , which tried to push past doormen at Lost Lane nightclub off Grafton Street , in the city centre on July 7th , 2019 .
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that some of the other men present had a hatchet and that a petrol bomb made from a Hennessy brandy bottle was also found @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Barry told Pieter Le Vert , prosecuting , that the mob was trying to get into the nightclub to exact revenge on people they believed were inside who were linked to an earlier attack on a relative of Lulendo ’ s .
The previous week a car occupied by this man and another was attacked .
Det Garda Barry said that the mob was going to the club that night in retaliation .
She said that after 17 years working in the city centre , she had never seen anything like this incident @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dublin city , pleaded guilty to committing violent disorder at Adam Court , Dublin 2 .
In a victim impact report , a doorman from the venue said he had worked for more than a decade in security and this incident was the most vulnerable he had felt in that time .
He said he grew up in Belfast and was very aware of the devastation that could be caused by petrol bombs .
He said he had since stopped working in security as a result of these events and he continues to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s 16 previous convictions include public order offences committed on July 16th , 2019 , nine days after these events .
Dave Fleming , defending , said Lulendo was not a ring leader on the night and was not armed .
Judge Elma Sheahan said that the defendant was part of a large group of males who had their faces covered .
She said it was open to Lulendo to leave if he was surprised by the level of violence from “ the mob ” some of whom had brought weapons capable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , she sentenced him to a prison term of 18 months .
Lulendo also pleaded guilty to two robberies of iPhones at a playground on October 29th , 2017 .
The judge imposed a sentence of 26 months but suspended the final eight months on condition he comply with the Probation Service for 12 months .

The scene at Adam Court, off Grafton Street, in July 2019, where the incident took place. Photograph: Dan Griffin
A man who was part of a large mob who tried to storm their way into a Dublin nightclub last year has been jailed for 18 months.
Moses Lulendo (19) joined up with the group of males, some with their faces covered, which tried to push past doormen at Lost Lane nightclub off Grafton Street, in the city centre on July 7th, 2019.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that some of the other men present had a hatchet and that a petrol bomb made from a Hennessy brandy bottle was also found near the scene.
Det Garda Sarah Barry told Pieter Le Vert, prosecuting, that the mob was trying to get into the nightclub to exact revenge on people they believed were inside who were linked to an earlier attack on a relative of Lulendo's.
READ MORE
Retaliation
The previous week a car occupied by this man and another was attacked. Det Garda Barry said that the mob was going to the club that night in retaliation.
She said that after 17 years working in the city centre, she had never seen anything like this incident.
Lulendo, of Gardiner Place in Dublin city, pleaded guilty to committing violent disorder at Adam Court, Dublin 2.
In a victim impact report, a doorman from the venue said he had worked for more than a decade in security and this incident was the most vulnerable he had felt in that time. He said he grew up in Belfast and was very aware of the devastation that could be caused by petrol bombs.
He said he had since stopped working in security as a result of these events and he continues to suffer flashbacks and panic attacks.
Lulendo’s 16 previous convictions include public order offences committed on July 16th, 2019, nine days after these events.
Dave Fleming, defending, said Lulendo was not a ring leader on the night and was not armed.
Judge Elma Sheahan said that the defendant was part of a large group of males who had their faces covered. She said it was open to Lulendo to leave if he was surprised by the level of violence from "the mob" some of whom had brought weapons capable of causing serious injuries.
On Thursday, she sentenced him to a prison term of 18 months.
Lulendo also pleaded guilty to two robberies of iPhones at a playground on October 29th, 2017. The judge imposed a sentence of 26 months but suspended the final eight months on condition he comply with the Probation Service for 12 months.


theirishtimes--2020-12-18--Q&A: What can we do now and what does Nphet want us to stop doing?

What is going on with the Covid-19 restrictions ?
Restrictions were eased on Friday in the third phase of relaxations since the most severe Level 5 restrictions started to be lifted on December 1st .
But this has coincided with fresh concerns about an increase in cases and new advice from the National Public Health Emergency Team ( Nphet ) that restrictions be reintroduced after Christmas to stop a further spread of the virus after mixing over the festive period .
What has Nphet recommended ?
The team ’ s advice is contained in a letter sent to Government on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been published yet because the Cabinet has to meet to consider it next Tuesday but details of what is being recommended have emerged .
Nphet wants the country moved back to an enhanced Level 3 restriction – similar to what was in place before Friday and earlier this month – but with tighter restrictions on the hospitality sector and changes to limit the mixing of households .
It is recommending that non-essential retail can remain open .
What exactly are they advising the Government to do ?
Nphet has recommended that restaurants and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only from December 28th – similar to how they been operating under Level 5 restrictions until these were lifted for the hospitality sector on December 4th .
They want the number of households mixing to be reduced from two others to one other .
Visits to households only began again on Friday to facilitate gatherings of families , friends and loved ones over Christmas .
Nphet wants to stop inter-county travel after Christmas , shortening the period this will be in place from a previous end-date on January 6th .
Inter-county travel was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all this happen ?
This is just advice and it is up to the Government to decide at the Cabinet meeting next Tuesday but Taoiseach Micheál Martin said on Friday he was “ minded ” to accept Nphet ’ s advice and proceed with “ significant restrictions ” on the hospitality sector .
The Government may decide to amend the actions slightly , such as to reintroduce restrictions on December 29th or 30th – instead of the recommended December 28th – and to permit outdoor dining to help some restaurants and gastropubs generate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ areas , despite the time of year .
Why are these dates important ?
The view is the Government will have to act by introducing new restrictions before New Year ’ s Eve , a popular night for socialising when increased mixing and contacts would risk a further spread of the virus through gatherings and parties in households , restaurants and gastropubs .
What has Nphet so concerned ?
The increase in new Covid-19 infections .
Chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan said on Friday that there had been “ too much social @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
He said the reproduction number of the virus - the closely monitored number that tell us whether it is spreading or not – was probably higher than 1.3 .
This means that there will be 13 new people infected by the virus for every 10 cases .
If the figure is below one , the virus is being suppressed .
The number of new daily cases rose to 431 cases on Wednesday and 484 cases on Thursday .
This surged to 582 new cases on Friday , the first time since November @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 500 cases reported in a day .
These increases push the five-day average of cases and the seven-day average to a level that Nphet said last month would require a three-week intervention to curb the virus .
But new restrictions are not advised for another 10 days , at least - what happens before then ?
Nphet and the Government will be watching the daily Covid-19 figures closely over the coming days .
Given that restaurants , food-serving pubs , museums , galleries , cinemas and places of worship ( for up to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people can travel between counties , and that households can mix with two other households , the risk of the virus spreading further is high .
Despite restrictions being eased further on Friday , Dr Holohan and the Government have said that people need to be careful about the number of contacts that they have over Christmas .

What is going on with the Covid-19 restrictions?
Restrictions were eased on Friday in the third phase of relaxations since the most severe Level 5 restrictions started to be lifted on December 1st. But this has coincided with fresh concerns about an increase in cases and new advice from the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) that restrictions be reintroduced after Christmas to stop a further spread of the virus after mixing over the festive period.
What has Nphet recommended?
The team's advice is contained in a letter sent to Government on Thursday night. The letter has not been published yet because the Cabinet has to meet to consider it next Tuesday but details of what is being recommended have emerged. Nphet wants the country moved back to an enhanced Level 3 restriction – similar to what was in place before Friday and earlier this month – but with tighter restrictions on the hospitality sector and changes to limit the mixing of households. It is recommending that non-essential retail can remain open.
What exactly are they advising the Government to do?
Nphet has recommended that restaurants and gastropubs be limited to delivery and takeaway only from December 28th – similar to how they been operating under Level 5 restrictions until these were lifted for the hospitality sector on December 4th. They want the number of households mixing to be reduced from two others to one other. Visits to households only began again on Friday to facilitate gatherings of families, friends and loved ones over Christmas. Nphet wants to stop inter-county travel after Christmas, shortening the period this will be in place from a previous end-date on January 6th. Inter-county travel was only permitted again on Friday.
Hospital Report
Will all this happen?
This is just advice and it is up to the Government to decide at the Cabinet meeting next Tuesday but Taoiseach Micheál Martin said on Friday he was "minded" to accept Nphet's advice and proceed with "significant restrictions" on the hospitality sector. The Government may decide to amend the actions slightly, such as to reintroduce restrictions on December 29th or 30th – instead of the recommended December 28th – and to permit outdoor dining to help some restaurants and gastropubs generate revenue from heated patios or outdoor dining areas, despite the time of year.
READ MORE
Why are these dates important?
The view is the Government will have to act by introducing new restrictions before New Year's Eve, a popular night for socialising when increased mixing and contacts would risk a further spread of the virus through gatherings and parties in households, restaurants and gastropubs.
What has Nphet so concerned?
The increase in new Covid-19 infections. Chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan said on Friday that there had been "too much social contact" over the past two weeks. He said the reproduction number of the virus - the closely monitored number that tell us whether it is spreading or not – was probably higher than 1.3. This means that there will be 13 new people infected by the virus for every 10 cases. If the figure is below one, the virus is being suppressed. The number of new daily cases rose to 431 cases on Wednesday and 484 cases on Thursday. This surged to 582 new cases on Friday, the first time since November 8th that there have been more than 500 cases reported in a day. These increases push the five-day average of cases and the seven-day average to a level that Nphet said last month would require a three-week intervention to curb the virus.
But new restrictions are not advised for another 10 days, at least - what happens before then?
Nphet and the Government will be watching the daily Covid-19 figures closely over the coming days. Given that restaurants, food-serving pubs, museums, galleries, cinemas and places of worship (for up to 50 people) are open, that people can travel between counties, and that households can mix with two other households, the risk of the virus spreading further is high. Despite restrictions being eased further on Friday, Dr Holohan and the Government have said that people need to be careful about the number of contacts that they have over Christmas.