by badminme | Jul 15, 2021 | Current, Members News, National, PPN News
Equality Review of Clare County Council’s Provision of Traveller Specific Housing
July 14th 2021
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission yesterday released the reports on Equality Reviews which they required each Local Authority to carry out in respect of their provision of Traveller Specific Accomodation.
You can read the review of County Clare Here: Clare-CC-Equality-Review-IHREC_Final
For more details on this IHREC initiative go to this link: https://www.ihrec.ie/our-work/equality-review
by badminme | Jul 15, 2021 | Current, Local Community Development Committee, Members News, National, PPN News
Clare PPN Submission to the consultation on the National Action Plan Against Racism:
July 14th 2021
Click on the link below to read our submission:
Clare-Public-Participation-Network-Submission-to-the-Consultation-on-a-new-Action-Plan-Against-Racism-July-2021
Clare Public Participation Network frequently makes submissions on National and Local Government Consultations. We do this by alerting our member groups to the consultation, offering to hold a consultation meeting and if there is interest from our groups, colleges or expert groups we work together to collaboratively create a submission. When compiling such submissions we also refer to priorities identified or motions passed by our member groups at Plenary meetings, previous Clare PPN submissions on relevant topics and most recently we also refer to the Wellbeing Vision Statements for Clare Created by our members in 2020.
by badminme | Jul 13, 2021 | Current, Members News, National, PPN News
Clare groups express concerns about last-minute amendments to Ireland’s Climate Bill
July 13th 2021
Last night, July 12th 2021 concerned members of Clare PPN’s Environmental College, Clare Environmental Network and One Future Clare called a meeting to discuss their fears about the last minute amending of the Climate Bill by the Government. The Climate Bill is scheduled to go through its final stage in the Dail tomorrow Wednesday 14th July. The concerning amendments (pictured below), numbered 23 and 26 were proposed in the Seanad on July 9th. Our members are worried that these amendments appear to have the capacity to undermine the strength and clarity of the Climate Bill. They are concerned that it may leave politicians open to sectoral lobbying as well as weakening the independence of the Climate Change Advisory Committee.
Even if such concerns prove unfounded introducing these amendments at the last minute did not allow time for proper scrutiny or analysis. Our members do not want this extremely important bill passed without sufficient consideration being given to ensure it is robust enough to underpin some of the most important and far reaching decisions we will have to make as a country in the coming decades. They are today contacting their elected representatives to ask that the bill be deferred and the amendments given due consideration.
Spokesperson for the concerned group Dr Tracy Watson said. ‘This bill needs to set us up for sustainable futures and give as much clarity as possible to all stakeholders. These amendments appear to weaken the bill in such a way that issues such as carbon budgets are contested and must be negotiated piecemeal. They appear also to suggest that the expert Climate Change Advisory Committee is expected to make its recommendations in response to those negotiations rather than in response to Climate Science. If the Government is confident that these amendments do not weaken the Climate Bill, then it should take the time to debate and explain their reasoning’
Clare PPN environmental members have engaged with every public consultation opportunity on this vitally important Climate Bill. They have held focus groups, done surveys, made individual and group submissions, made submissions to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action and organised a mass lobbying event with Clare Political Representatives in an effort to ensure that a watertight Climate Bill that sets Ireland on a course of transformation for a sustainable, liveable future is passed. They are calling for the Climate Bill to be deferred until such a time as proper consideration of the Government Amendments has been carried out.
ENDS
For more information or comment please contact:
Sarah Clancy 0871617375
Notes for Editors:
Clare PPN (CPPN) is a network of 318 community, voluntary, environmental and social inclusion groups from Clare. It exists to facilitate the formal participation by the community sector in Clare County Council’s policy making structures and to support communication and information sharing in the community and voluntary sector in Clare. It is funded jointly by the Department of Rural and Community Development and Clare County Council but is autonomous and its activities are directed by its members through an elected secretariat. Clare PPN’s website is www.clareppn.ie and we are on Twitter @clare_ppn and facebook.com/clareppn/
by badminme | Jun 30, 2021 | Current, Members News, National, PPN News
What’s been happening with the CETA trade deal?
Back in February of this year, CETA – the controversial trade deal between the EU and Canada – was the subject of an emergency motion unanimously passed by Clare County Council
The motion – which called on the Irish Government “to allow a full, open and democratic debate, including pre-legislative scrutiny by a Joint Oireachtas Committee”, ahead of the Dáil vote on ratification of CETA – was initiated by Clare PPN, on foot of a request by a majority of member groups in our Environmental College.
Clare PPN member groups were very concerned at the lack of public debate and political scrutiny of CETA (Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement) and were particularly troubled by the Investor Court System (ICS) element of CETA and the ‘regulatory chill’ effect it would have on policymaking on a wide range of issues, including the environment, public health, economic and human rights.
Several other local authorities passed similar motions at about the same time. These, and a broad civil society campaign against CETA’s investor court system, resulted in the Government referring the matter to the the Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Affairs for further scrutiny. Several other Oireachtas committees are also scheduled to scrutinise the ICS element of CETA before a vote on ratification.
A Dáil vote on ratification of CETA had been due to take place in December in 2021 but was postponed when several Green Party TDs indicated they would vote against it. There is still no word on when the Government may try to have CETA ratified by the Dáil, but in March Green Party TD Patrick Costello lodged a High Court challenge against the Government over the constitutionality of the parts of CETA that provide for the establishment of ‘investor courts’. His case is that the investor court system involves an unconstitutional transfer of sovereignty and judicial power. A hearing date of July 13th has now been set for this High Court action, which is scheduled to run for four days. You can read more about the court case here:
https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/courtandcrime/arid-40293020.html
Earlier this month (June), Sinn Féin Senator Senator Lynn Boylan also launched a High Court action against the Government’s implementation of CETA. Although similar to Mr Costello’s action against the State, the legal argument is technically different. Ms Boylan’s case focuses on the committee that would be set up as part of the investor court, which she argues can amend the rules or access to the court without Oireachtas oversight. Read more about Boylan’s case here:
https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-40315589.html
On May 26th, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar appeared before the committee on European Affairs to answer questions about CETA. He argued that delaying ratification would send a message of a “waning commitment to free trade”. Committee member, Independent Senator Alice Mary Higgins said that she found it surprising that there has not been a risk analysis on the impact of CETA on the national finances. Sinn Féin Senator Lynn Boylan said that the investor court system’s costs would be “quite substantial”. She said that France, Germany, Netherlands and Italy among others had not finished ratifying the treaty, so it was not the case that Ireland was “a laggard”. The committee is continuing its scrutiny of CETA.
You can read more information about CETA prepared by the Comhlámh Trade Justice Group:
https://comhlamh.org/blog/comhlamh-concerns-ceta-trade-deal/
by badminme | Dec 18, 2020 | Members News, National, PPN News
Clare TD Lobby for Climate Action – what now?
On December 7th Clare PPN co-hosted online meetings with each of Clare’s four TDs, as part of a nationwide ’TD Lobby for Faster & Fairer Climate Action’. This ‘mass lobby’, organised by the Stop Climate Chaos coalition, has happened in previous years at a venue next to Leinster House in Dublin, but this was the first time the event took place online. This had the advantage of far more people taking part – nationally, more than 1,000 people joined Zoom calls with their local TDs, to tell them how urgent the need for radical climate action is.
We also had a great turnout here in Clare and we had very meaningful and constructive discussions with our four Dáil representatives. (The above image is from the meeting with Cathal Crowe TD.)
One of the organisers of the Clare TD lobby, Romie Cullen of Tuamgraney, was quoted in an Irish Times article about the event:
“People from our community are taking part because we’re alarmed about loopholes in the climate Bill. We’ll be asking our TDs to do everything they can to make the new climate law as strong as possible to drive the rapid and just transition we need to zero pollution. The draft Bill as it stands today is simply not good enough.”
The key demand was for TDs to sign a letter, drafted by Stop Climate Chaos, and to send it to Micheál Martin, Leo Varadkar and Eamon Ryan. The letter highlights concrete steps the Government can immediately take to kickstart a decade of faster and fairer climate action, including closing the glaring loopholes in the Climate Action Bill and acting urgently to cut emissions in all sectors.
By the way, the Climate Action Bill has been undergoing pre-legislative scrutiny at the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action (JOCCA), which has just published its report on the Bill. You can download it here.
And Stop Climate Chaos has published its response to the Committee’s report: ‘Today’s recommendations, if accepted by Government, would greatly strengthen the draft Climate Bill‘
During the meetings with TDs, participants in Clare also raised several other issues:
• Plans for Moneypoint power station, for example, whether it can be used as part plans for offshore wind or tidal energy.
• The proposed Shannon LNG gas import terminal on the Shannon Estuary and the wider issue of the possible importation of fracked gas elsewhere in Ireland.
• Another issue raised with TDs was the lack of engagement by Clare County Council with environmental submissions made to the council by member groups of Clare Environmental Network and Clare PPN. Some of the TDs offered to help raised awareness about this problem.
The first Zoom call was with Cathal Crowe (FF), who said he would advocate against allowing the importation of fracked gas to Ireland, He also raised the issue of Irish Cement’ proposed incinerator at its plant in Mungret, Limerick, and he asked the group to lodge objections with the EPA.
Joe Carey (FG) promised to raise the urgency of strong and effective climate action with Minister Eamonn Ryan.
Violet-Anne Wynne (SF) has agreed to sign the above-mentioned letter to the three Government party leaders. At the time of writing she is the only Clare TD who has undertaken to sign the letter. The others said they would read it and consider signing it.
Our final call was with Michael McNamara (Ind). He promised to raise the issue of fracked gas imports with the government party leaders, and he suggested that he could table an amendment to the Climate Action Bill, when it comes before the Dáil next year.
All four TDs agreed to meet the group again in the new year for further discussions on climate action. Nationally, Stop Climate Chaos is awaiting developments with the Climate Action Bill – there may be further mass lobbying of TDs in late January or February.
If you would like to be involved in the group’s further discussions with our TDs, please email: clareTDlobby@gmail.com
