logo
Future of Wicklow rivers in jeopardy

Future of Wicklow rivers in jeopardy

The draft River Basin Management Plan aims to set out the measures that are necessary to protect and restore water quality in Ireland. Under the draft River Basin Management Plan, protections for 456 water bodies nationwide are at risk of being diluted by being classified as 'highly modified'. If this goes ahead, it will mean that these water ways will no longer be subject to water quality standards. In Wicklow, rivers like the Vartry and Dargle, both currently rated as having 'good' ecological status, could face increased pollution and degradation if these changes are introduced.
Social Democrat TD Jennifer Whitmore said: 'This is yet another hit to our natural environment. We've already seen consistent degradation of our rivers and government inaction on it. Now, they're trying to quietly lower the standards for water quality across the country, not because it's the right thing to do, but because they're failing to meet the standards we already have. Rather than trying to address the problems head on, it feels like government are throwing in the towel on our rivers.'
Deputy Whitemore gained two diplomas at the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology and later graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Biological Science and Ecology from the University of Ulster. During the ten years she resided in Australia, she studied Environmental Law at the University of Sydney. She has particular concerns over the potential impact on the Vartry and Dargle rivers.
'The Vartry and Dargle are vital arteries in Wicklow's ecosystem,' she said. 'They support biodiversity, provide clean water, and are central to our tourism and recreation. Weakening protections now will only lead to long-term damage that will be far more costly to fix. We've seen what happens when we don't take water quality seriously. Lady's Island Lake in Wexford is a cautionary tale, where pollution and mismanagement have led to serious ecological decline. We cannot let that happen here in Wicklow.
'The government's approach is not just short-sighted, but dangerous. This is about more than just water. It's about our health, our environment, and our future. Every time the government chips away at environmental protections, they're making it harder for us to meet our climate and biodiversity goals.'
She is calling on the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to immediately halt any plans to lower water quality standards and instead invest in proper monitoring, wastewater treatment, and nature-based solutions to restore and protect Ireland's rivers and lakes.
'We should be strengthening protections, not weakening them. We should be restoring our rivers, not polluting them. And we should be listening to communities who care deeply about their local environment, not sidelining them,' added Deputy Whitmore.
'The people of Wicklow want clean rivers, healthy ecosystems, and a government that takes its environmental responsibilities seriously. It's time for the government to stop making excuses and start protecting what matters.'
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Whether the abuse happens in Rathfarnham or west Belfast, the story is the same
Whether the abuse happens in Rathfarnham or west Belfast, the story is the same

Irish Times

time14 hours ago

  • Irish Times

Whether the abuse happens in Rathfarnham or west Belfast, the story is the same

Last weekend Máiría Cahill left a Belfast hospital bed and drove four hours to speak in the Galway Arts Festival 's First Thought series. As her interviewer, I expected moderate audience interest. It's been 15 years since she first went public in the Sunday Tribune about her alleged rape and abuse as a 16-year-old child by an IRA member and the heinous IRA 'investigation' which forced her to confront her abuser. Eleven years since a pivotal Spotlight BBC documentary on her case. Ten years since the former DPP for England and Wales, Keir Starmer, was asked to review the case and said he was sorry the Public Prosecution Service had let her down, soon followed by the NI Chief Constable's public apology to her and the other two victims after a shambolic trial. Seven years since the Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman revealed how as far back as 2000 CID and Special Branch had intelligence that her alleged abuser, Martin Morris - who had denied all wrongdoing - was abusing children and the IRA were investigating it. READ MORE Two years almost, since her book, Rough Beast: My Story and the Reality of Sinn Féin – described as 'shocking, important and unputdownable' by Roddy Doyle – was published. Yet such was the power of her quiet, measured, devastating delivery to a packed theatre on Saturday that the audience, visibly stunned, rose at the end to give her a thunderous standing ovation. To any other speaker, that visceral response would have been energising, but backstage she was drained to the point of speechlessness. It was a telling insight into the price that abuse victims continue to pay. Part of what continues to make her story so compelling after all this time, of course, is the involvement in that so-called 'investigation' of people with high status in the national political mainstream since that smart, funny 16-year-old girl was groomed, violated, isolated and often terrified for her life. She continues because she believes Sinn Féin leaders have never properly addressed the brutality of those investigations nor the generational reach of that savage misogynistic culture into the communities they ruled. But a larger part of her story is common to almost every case of abuse. It's in the context and the detail. The physical pain, confusion and humiliation, the gaslighting, the sudden shocking hostility of the family or tribe or institution closing ranks to protect itself, the urge to save other potential victims, the sense of a young, innocent mind and body being tested almost to destruction. One of the most agonising elements for any listener is the isolation invariably forced on the victims. No one is coming to help. It wasn't Cahill herself, but women – older Republican women – who 'reported' her complaints to the paramilitaries, despite the fact that they must have known the repercussions for her. Cahill – whose great uncle Joe Cahill founded the Provisional IRA – herself knew what happened to people who gave evidence against the IRA. The resulting sense of isolation for such a child is unimaginable, the damage unfathomable. How such children endure is a mystery. The case of the three remarkable Brennan sisters , Catherine Wrightstone, Paula Fay and Yvonne Crist, finally reached an endpoint in the criminal courts last week when the second of their brothers, Richard Brennan, was jailed for sexual offences against them in the 1970s and 1980s . They describe a childhood of suffocating fear: fear of unstable and violent parents, of their two abusive brothers, of revealing their terrible secrets to outsiders and not only jeopardising the family's reputation but Richard's aspirations for the priesthood, and fear of a wrathful God. In Máiría Cahill's case, her isolation was not rooted in fear of her parents – who still can't bring themselves to read her book – but rational terror of the larger tribe's vengeance. For the Brennan sisters in leafy Rathfarnham, Dublin, their isolation was about protecting reputations. When they tried to advocate for themselves they were failed at every level – by their parents, by the school, by the failure of state bodies to follow up. In 1984, when 12-year-old Catherine disclosed her abuse at Richard's hands to a trusted school connection, her parents were informed and raged at the child in disbelief. Family therapy meetings, organised following a referral by a hospital unable to diagnose the source of Catherine's lower limb disorder, were cut short by the parents. Lash marks on her body were noted by a teacher, but nothing was done. A poignant detail of the sisters' story all these years later is the harrowing internal battle common to many abuse survivors; that they should have found a way to speak out to protect others, even in the face of conditioning from the cradle. How do they endure? In that context it's important to remember the hundreds, maybe thousands, of vulnerable abused girls who are now no more than pawns in the Maga civil war over the Jeffrey Epstein files. Virginia Giuffre , the most prominent Epstein survivor who turned vocal anti-sex trafficking activist, was first abused by a family friend at the age of seven. Then at 15 while working a summer job at Mar-a-Lago was spotted by Ghislaine Maxwell and 'passed around like a platter of fruit' among her and Epstein's friends. Giuffre's multimillion dollar payouts from Prince Andrew, Maxwell and the Epstein estate brought no closure. Amid accusations of mental instability from her estranged husband – whom she accused of violent possessiveness – Giuffre lost custody of their children. She was just 41 when she took her own life in April. And of the long list of names associated with Epstein, Maxwell happens to be the only one serving time.

Galway, city of the traffic
Galway, city of the traffic

Irish Times

time15 hours ago

  • Irish Times

Galway, city of the traffic

Sir, – The time has come for a real conversation – and real investment – around a future that does not centre around the private motorcar. Since the 1960s, car dependency has been seen as synonymous with progress. Yet, what we have ended up nurturing – particularly in Galway – is a costly and deeply damaging transportation model. The car, now taken for granted 'as much as an overcoat', has become a beloved but destructive force, responsible for pollution, lost productivity and urban paralysis. Galway now ranks as the most congested city in Ireland and in the top 4 per cent of 1,000 cities worldwide for congestion. According to Inrix Reports, Galwegians spend the equivalent of more than four full days annually commuting to work in cars. Authorities estimate the cost of traffic-related pollution at €35 million a year; the real figure is likely far higher. READ MORE Despite repeated warnings and studies – such as the MVA Traffic Report (2009), the Galway Transport Strategy (2016) and the more recent Galway Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy (GMATS) – all remain ignored or shelved. Infrastructure investment in Galway and the northwest is shockingly low, despite the region housing nearly a fifth of the national population. The imbalance in national investment is as much a failure of political representation as it is one of vision. Traffic in Galway is not just an inconvenience, it is actively choking the city's economic and social potential. It hampers access to work, healthcare, education and social life. The impact on mental health, family time, fuel costs and air quality cannot be overstated. And all the while, the proposed solution – light rail – remains in political limbo. Light rail offers a transformative, sustainable alternative. It would drastically reduce car dependency, cut emissions, support compact urban growth and improve quality of life. Its success globally is well documented. In cities across Europe and beyond, trams are revitalising public transport networks, regenerating urban areas and increasing property values. Critically, the National Transport Authority has already declared light rail to be viable for Galway. With population growth projected to reach 122,000 by 2040, the urgency is undeniable. A light railway system would not merely serve commuters; it would also anchor a new model of development for Galway. It would enable the creation of walkable, vibrant urban villages where people live, work and socialise without being forced into a car. It would encourage infill development and reduce sprawl. With modern innovations, Galway could implement such a system for as little as €15 million to €20 million per kilometre, a wise long-term investment in our future. Galway deserves better. Our city's congestion is not an accident, but a failure of leadership, vision and planning. It is time to embrace a transport model that puts people, not cars, at its centre. – Yours, etc, MURT COLEMAN, Mount Merrion, Co Dublin

WRC hearing abandoned after adjudicator says witness giving evidence from moving train not ‘satisfactory'
WRC hearing abandoned after adjudicator says witness giving evidence from moving train not ‘satisfactory'

Irish Times

time2 days ago

  • Irish Times

WRC hearing abandoned after adjudicator says witness giving evidence from moving train not ‘satisfactory'

A Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) adjudicator on Monday abandoned an employment rights hearing after deciding it was not 'satisfactory' that a defence witness had dialled in from a moving train. South East Technological University Student Union is subject to a complaint under the Payment of Wages Act 1991 by worker Kate Rellis, which was called on for hearing via videoconference before being quickly adjourned. WRC adjudication officer Gaye Cunningham noted that union president Erin Foley had joined the call from a car and that its welfare officer, Lucy Kate Bosch, was 'on a train'. 'While we say that our hearings are otherwise than in private ... our hearings are not being held in public streets or transit. When you go off mute, I seem to be hearing other passengers in the train,' Ms Cunningham said. READ MORE 'I apologise for the noise; I'm currently travelling to Galway for work at the moment,' Ms Bosch said. Ms Cunningham said: 'I can hear a lot of background noise. I can't continue a hearing in the circumstances.' Ms Foley said she had not been president of the students' union during the period relevant to the complaint and that Ms Bosch had been 'mentioned as a witness in the complaint'. 'I do need her here,' she said of Ms Bosch. [ Recycling depot worker who got 'aggressive' after remarks about Pope loses challenge to sacking Opens in new window ] Ms Cunningham told the officers of the students' union: 'You could have applied for a postponement. If a person is not available to take part in a hearing in what I'd call a safe setting, I can't continue,' she said. 'It's not satisfactory that people are in a train where it's very noisy,' she added. Asked to comment, the worker, Ms Rellis, said: 'I understand that it's not ideal to have members of the public in the background, I wasn't expecting that. I do agree, though I want to move forward today.' Ms Cunningham said her 'strong feeling' was that it 'would not be satisfactory to continue'. 'You might as well be out on the main street,' she said to Ms Bosch. 'You must be in a fairly safe setting, an office setting, on the next date. I'd appreciate if the respondents would pay attention to the fact that you need to be in a reasonably formal setting. We'll resume as soon as we can,' the adjudicator said. She adjourned the matter pending a rescheduled hearing 'as soon as possible'.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store