Save the Date: Clare’s very first Clare Pride – 23rd & 24th September
Save the Date: Clare’s very first Clare Pride – 23rd & 24th September
National Launch of ‘Towards an Anti-Poverty Strategy for Clare’
National Launch of ‘Towards an Anti-Poverty Strategy for Clare’
The report, ‘Towards an Anti-Poverty Strategy for Clare’, will be launched at Buswell’s Hotel on Tuesday 20th September at 5pm, by Sinead Gibney, Chief Commissioner of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission. The launch event will also hear from the report’s author, Dr Conor McCabe, as well as from disability and Traveller activists from Clare.
5th September 2022 Economic Development SPC notes by Emma Karran
5th September 2022 Economic Development SPC notes by Emma Karran
- Minutes of previous meeting:
I asked for an amendment to the minutes re Shannon Foynes Port Co presentation to reflect that I said to Pat Keating that it appeared SFPCo did NOT support present Govt policy on new ff infrastructure – because their plans were clearly making space for the potential arrival of Shannon LNG. This was accepted.
- LECP Advisory Steering Group Nominations:
Johnny Flynn nominated Emma Karran (to represent env concerns). It was seconded. Gabriel Keating was the second nomination. Elaine spoke about the anti-poverty strategy report and the need for this to be carried onto the LECP (through members making themselves familiar with it. Johnny Flynn suggested a presentation of the strategy at the next SPC meeting.
- Planning
Update on CDP (Helen Quinn). 20th Oct is members’ meeting to look at chief exec’s report. Then it will be made public early Dec for public to comment on. Due to finalise March 2023. I mentioned FPC’s appeal against CCC’s decision to grant permission for data centre in Ennis. I wasn’t allowed to give more details about the grounds for the appeal (I squeezed them in briefly before I was told to stop!) but I spoke generally on the health and env / energy issues.
- Biodiversity:
Money has been applied for to fund 8 biodiversity posts (Clare is a pilot county in this). So Clare could potentially have a full-time biodiversity officer.
- Marine Area Planning Act 2021 (Liam Conneally)
A planned floating offshore wind project off the west coast. Money Point would be used for collection and distribution. Green Atlantic @ Money Point is the name of the project. Points were made about the need to keep benefits from leaving the county – incl the need to upskill so work can go to local people. The possibility of producing hydrogen from the wind energy was mentioned too. The offshore wind farms will have to pay licensing rights – not rates.
- AOB
Emma Karran said that although she was very aware of the impetus to get Clare on the map via big industrial projects like the data centre, she was concerned at the lack of awareness about health / env / energy risks. She said she would propose a presentation at a subsequent SPC meeting about these. The discussion needs to be informed in this way. There seemed to be a reception of this idea: at least it wasn’t shot out of the water!
20th June 2022 Economic Development SPC report by Emma Karran
20th June 2022 Economic Development SPC report by Emma Karran
Active Land Management Measures:
- Residential Zoned Land Tax will replace vacant site levy and comes into effect in 2024. Vacant site levy until then, with legislation to bridge the gap.
- Derelict sites excluded
- Buildings with commercial rates won’t be liable to tax
- Maps (updated and reviewed each year) will be circulated – with appeal process. They will provide baseline for tax to be managed. LA responsibility to publish maps.
- Permission to request change of zoning accepted this year (and guidelines will be issued).
- Rev Commissioners will manage tax
- Any piece of land which fell into scope in Jan 22 is liable.
Q: uplift in value doesn’t go to the State.
R: Efforts will be made to secure a proportion of that value. State taking more active role for the common good to get more share of uplift in value. Working with Attorney General on this – for future funding of infrastructure.
Q: developers sometimes withhold access to infrastructure (incl zoned land within it).
R: Nothing specific in legislation if it’s within control of land owner. Land owners can be pushed to make sure land is activated and developed for housing.
Shannon Foynes Port Co presentation: (still waiting for presentation to be sent in)
CEO Keating
- “Fossil fuels no longer an alternative” he said but also “potentially Shannon LNG”.
- Cruise ship potential in the estuary
- Big plan for offshore wind project. (Memorandum signed with Norwegian Co)
- Need to reactivate Shannon Integrated Framework Plan
- Shannon Estuary Taskforce there to help
- Rosslare is not competition because it is a small harbour
- Target is for 80% of electricity produced using renewable energy by 2030. We need a national policy about harnessing wind energy: bringing together different depts.
Emma Karran: “As SFPC is a state body under AEGIS of Dept of Transport – and current Govt policy is not to support Shannon LNG, I would be grateful if you could place on record that SFPC is in opposition to LNG terminal (in line with Govt policy). And (ii) asking opinion of impact of disastrous recent LNG plans to build a floating terminal which would effectively block any other development in the estuary (when a tanker was arriving). Potential therefore to sterilise the estuary.”
Response: It is before ABP right now – “in the system” – and not going to comment on a [live] planning application. Gas is a transition fuel: cleanest recognised globally and estuary will not be clogged from a shipping point of view because it is so wide.
Climate Change and Biodiversity
This was postponed until the Sept meeting because of lack of time
Abodoo Report (Presentation was sent on separately)
Notes: 78% of businesses in Clare are microenterprises. 53% of them are in Ennis; next biggest Shannon. ICT top. Av earnings: 36K. 10% (?) self-employed (National av is 8%)
AOB
Money Point to report at a future meeting
Clare PPN Submission to Mid Term Review of Clare Traveller Accommodation Programme 2019- 2024
September 2nd 2022
Clare County Council is carrying out a review of its current Traveller Accommodation Programme 2019 – 2024
Our representative on the Traveller Accommodation Consultative Committee Mary O’Donoghue has made the following submission which can be read by clicking on the link below:
Clare PPN Submission to MidTerm Review of Traveller Accommodation Programme 2019- 2024
New Environmental member on Clare PPN’s Secretariat
New Environmental member on Clare PPN’s Secretariat
Clare PPN is delighted to welcome Theresa O’Donohoe back onto the Clare PPN Secretariat following a call for nominations from environmental member groups. We would like to extend our congratulations to her and look forward to working with her again.
In her own words:
‘I’ve been involved in environmental activism and policy making since 2007. I began to work collaboratively on sustainable community development when I discovered the Transition Network in 2007. I joined a local transition group and we basically went from turning sustainable development ideas into community projects. Some projects succeeded while others did not. I learned a LOT about community development and participation through training and experience. I noticed that many attempts to bring projects to life are blocked by bureaucracy resulting in fatigue and withdrawal by people from participating. Creative, insightful, brilliant people with amazing ideas are beaten down by the system. I’ve done the courses and it’s really the government that gets in the way.
I progressed from projects to analysing and attempting to shape the policy to support the projects. In 2009 I got involved with Laois County Development Board trying to reshape policy to appreciate public participation especially in the transition context. I realised that representative democracy is a joke and that elected officials dependent upon votes are also dependent upon council staff to deliver on their pot hole promises! Therefore they do not rock the boat if they wish to get the jobs done that support their reelection! It’s a vicious cycle.
Turns out changing local policy isn’t enough anyway. Very often the council staff will sit back and refuse to change until they get direction from central government. Effectively – even if they have all these insightful progressive policies that you worked for hours on submissions to infiltrate they will not act upon them unless they are forced to. Of course they need the resources too.
This left me with no choice but to infiltrate national policy. So I became involved with more and more national bodies in order to influence national policy so that local policy can be changed and resourced to accommodate the publics participation in our transition to a resilient, more sustainable society. Also nationally I have been on the steering group of the Environmental Pillar, the environmental social partner made up of Non-Governmental Organisations. I am involved with Transition Ireland and Northern Ireland where I coordinated the People’s Energy Charter. I’m a member of Feasta, Foundation for the Economics of Sustainability and An Taisce’s Climate Change Committee. These have given me an amazing insight into national policy making and governance first hand. I was also a member of the National Economic and Social Council and the National Advisory Groups on PPNs. I am currently a member of Extinction Rebellion and still involved with Transition Ireland and Northern Ireland.
As well as catalysing Laois and Clare Environmental Networks I was a founding Secretariat member of Clare PPN and a cofounder of Futureproof Clare.’