Interested in maladministration. Estd. 2005
RTEs Sarah McInerney ? Fianna Fail?supporter? Anthony
Joe Duffy is dishonest and untrustworthy Anthony
Robert Watt complaint: Time for decision by SIPO Anthony
RTE in breach of its own editorial principles Anthony
Waiting for SIPO Anthony Public Inquiry >>
Promoting Human Rights in IrelandHuman Rights in Ireland >>
News Round-Up Fri Apr 11, 2025 01:09 | Richard Eldred A summary of the most interesting stories in the past 24 hours that challenge the prevailing orthodoxy about the ?climate emergency?, public health ?crises? and the supposed moral defects of Western civilisation.
The post News Round-Up appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Sadiq Khan Blocks Accenture From TfL Contracts Over Scrapping DEI Thu Apr 10, 2025 19:00 | Will Jones Sadiq Khan's Transport for London has blocked Accenture from working on its advertising campaigns due to the consulting giant scrapping its DEI policies, saying the company "no longer meets" its diversity criteria.
The post Sadiq Khan Blocks Accenture From TfL Contracts Over Scrapping DEI appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Greenpeace Pours ?Blood? in US Embassy Pond to Protest Arming Israel, Leading to Arrest of Charity B... Thu Apr 10, 2025 17:00 | Will Jones The head of Greenpeace UK, Will McCallum, has been arrested after the group poured blood-red dye into the US embassy?s pond in London in protest against arms sales to Israel.
The post Greenpeace Pours ‘Blood’ in US Embassy Pond to Protest Arming Israel, Leading to Arrest of Charity Boss appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Are White Boys Checking Out of University? Thu Apr 10, 2025 15:00 | Joanna Gray As girls gear up to go to university this autumn, boys are dragging their feet, says Joanna Gray. With many university courses now filled with women, are boys self-excluding from this female-dominated world?
The post Are White Boys Checking Out of University? appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Only Five Convicted of Piloting Migrant Boats This Year Despite 119 Dinghies Arriving Thu Apr 10, 2025 13:15 | Will Jones Only five people have been convicted of piloting small boats across the Channel this year despite Labour's pledge to crack down on smugglers and more than 119 dinghies containing a record 6,642 migrants making the journey.
The post Only Five Convicted of Piloting Migrant Boats This Year Despite 119 Dinghies Arriving appeared first on The Daily Sceptic. Lockdown Skeptics >>
Voltaire, international edition
Will intergovernmental institutions withstand the end of the "American Empire"?,... Sat Apr 05, 2025 07:15 | en
Voltaire, International Newsletter N?127 Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:38 | en
Disintegration of Western democracy begins in France Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:00 | en
Voltaire, International Newsletter N?126 Fri Mar 28, 2025 11:39 | en
The International Conference on Combating Anti-Semitism by Amichai Chikli and Na... Fri Mar 28, 2025 11:31 | en Voltaire Network >>
|
RESS RELEASE: Peat Power Plant Permission Revoked
national |
environment |
press release
Friday October 21, 2016 21:29 by foie - Friends of the Irish Environment

The confirmation by the courts that the Edenderry Power plant permission should have considered the indirect impacts of the extraction of 1.2 million tons of peat a year vindicated environmentalists’ legal challenges to the continued operation of the plant. The challenges to the permission to extend the life of the plant beyond 2016, taken in 2014, resulted in the final quashing of the permission last week by Justice Michael White. A stay on the order, which requires the decommissioning of the plant, has been granted by the Courts until April 2017 in order that a ‘fall back’ application for its continuance may be considered by An Bord Pleanala.
However, while admitting An Taisce’s case that indirect effects of the extraction of the fuel should have been considered as part of the environmental impact assessment [EIA] required by law, he ruled against FIE who brought a parallel case over the failure to consider the impacts through Appropriate Assessment [AA] under the Habitats Directive.
The argument advanced by An Bord Pleanala to grant permission without an AA was that the burden of proof rested on FIE to show the potential impacts the extraction of this peat would have on areas protected by the Habitats Directive. Justice White upheld this view. But this is the basis of Irish criminal law [‘incumbit probatio qui dicit, non qui negative’ - the burden of proof rests on the accuser, not on the defence].
The requirement under European law is that the competent authority (An Bord Pleanala in this case) must itself rule out any potential impacts on the best available scientific evidence. This test is detailed in Article 6 of the Habitats Directive and in numerous European Court of Justice rulings.
In order to discharge the onus of proof, best scientific advice is the only advice that can overturn the presumption against Development that arises on Sites that are subject to the Habitats Directive.
In fact Bord na Mona’s [the national agency for peat extraction and power] ‘fall back application’ to the planning authorities does consider the impacts of peat extraction under both the EIA and AA regimes in the knowledge that they were likely to be required to do so by our challenges.
And yet FIE will be obliged to seek leave to appeal the Court’s ruling or seek to have the matter referred to the European Court for advice for an issue that is as plain as nose on the Honourable Justice’s face. We lost our case because we failed to prove adverse impact when the law does not require us to do so. [Our attempt to do this in the course of the case was ruled inadmissible by Justice White since only matters that were available to the Appeals Board at the time could be considered!)
FIE was one of a group of Irish environmentalists who took a petition in 2000 to the European Parliament opposing the construction of these new power plants in Ireland. Now, 15 years later, in spite of all our efforts, we are being told we must wait another 15 years – until 2030 – before the closure of these plants.
See FIE’s other work, including satellite and aerial surveys of sites of hundreds of hectares of unauthorised industrial extraction from raised bogs’ Have a look at our other legal and administrative challenges – including dramatic photographs - which have led to soon to be announced Government proposals to exempt large scale peat extraction from planning controls, now that we have proved they planning permission is required. Be careful what you ask for.
ENDS
Contact: Tony Lowes 353 (0)27 74771 / 353 (0) 87 2176316
admin@friendsoftheirishenvironment.org
Legal judgments
Edenderry EIA Judgment
http://friendsoftheirishenvironment.org/images/pdf/HC-j...y.pdf
FIE Edenderry AA Judgment
http://friendsoftheirishenvironment.org/images/pdf/HC-j...6.pdf
Background
http://www.friendsoftheirishenvironment.org/peat
Photos
http://www.friendsoftheirishenvironment.org/peat/peat-s...ssion
Areal Survey
http://www.friendsoftheirishenvironment.org/images/peat...2.pdf
Satellite Survey
http://www.friendsoftheirishenvironment.org/peat/nation...study
|