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Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
'Extraordinary to bear witness': Irish politicians reflect on Budapest Pride
Banning Pride marches in Hungary "badly backfired" on Viktor Orbán, Green Party leader Roderic O'Gorman said, after he joined over 100,000 people for Budapest Pride. A record number of people, from Hungary and across Europe, took to the streets for the country's main Pride march on Saturday despite the threat of legal consequences and fears around counter-protests. The protest passed off without any major incident and there were no reports of assault emerging from the march while small groups of counter-protestors made little impact. Green Party leader Roderic O'Gorman at Budapest Pride on Saturday. He said Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán's attempt to ban Pride had backfired badly with attendance at the parade rising from 35,000 last year to 100.000 this year. Picture: Roderic O'Gorman Mr O'Gorman was among the Irish politicians who travelled to Budapest this weekend to show their support for the LGBT+ community in Hungary and to protest against Mr Orbán's sustained attack on their rights. Mr O'Gorman said the overwhelming display of support in Budapest showed that banning Pride badly backfired on Mr Orbán, noting that last year's event had a turnout of approximately 35,000. "It is not just the LGBT+ community marching," Mr O'Gorman said, as footage showed the streets thronged with people of all generations, families, and international supporters. Pride was led by Mayor of Budapest, Gergely Karácsony, who told the crowd: "We don't exactly look as though we were banned." Contrast with Dublin Pride Irish MEP Maria Walsh, who also attended the march, hailed the exceptional bravery of Mr Karácsony and the organisers who have been front and centre, especially in the media, despite the potential consequences from the Government. Ms Walsh said it was "extraordinary to bear witness" to the hundreds of thousands who came together as both members and allies of the LGBT+ community. It was hard not to notice the differences between the march in Budapest and Dublin Pride, which was taking place at the same time, Ms Walsh said. Political parties and organisers in Dublin would not have had to attend a number of security briefings ahead of their participation in the capital's Pride events. Security concerns before and after In the briefings, Ms Walsh said they were warned there could be sound bombs, projectiles thrown at them, and were advised to take off earrings or any other loose items. Drag artists, floats, and even music, were largely lacking at the march in Hungary, she explained, and there was not the same level of Pride flags and bunting in windows around the city as you would see in Dublin throughout Pride month. She said: It was really back to the traditional protests for Pride where people just gathered together and started walking. Ms Walsh said that while the march itself appears to have proceeded without incident, people will be watching what happens over the coming days. The Hungarian government said it would use facial recognition software to identify people attending any banned events, potentially fining them up to €500. "Many of us fly out this evening back to the European Parliament and other member states, and I hope we don't see arrests of the likes of the mayor of Budapest and you don't see arrests of those that organised or were very visible over Pride," Ms Walsh said.
The Journal
05-06-2025
- Business
- The Journal
Greens leader calls for urgent meeting on drone use as Deliveroo launches airborne service
GREEN PARTY LEADER Roderic O'Gorman has called for an urgent meeting of authorities to discuss regulations around drone use for commercial deliveries. It comes as online food delivery platform Deliveroo announced it will be initiating air deliveries using drones provided by drone operator Manna which has been delivering food items weighing 4kg or less for over a year in Dublin 15. The move gives customers in the area the opportunity to avail of extra fast food dispatch from leading local restaurants including Musashi, WOWBurger, Boojum and Elephant & Castle, arriving in as little as three minutes and at a speed of up to 80km/h. The new service will begin with a trial phase in the coming days and will be available to people within a 3km radius of Blanchardstown, Dublin 15. However, Green Party leader and Dublin West TD Roderic O'Gorman, who first raised his concerns in the Dáil in February, has renewed calls for a discussion on commercial use to involve major public stakeholders due to complaints from constituents. He wrote to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport to request it holds an 'urgent session' on the deployment of commercial drones for air deliveries. Green Party leader Roderic O'Gorman. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo 'This is suiting Manna and it's suiting Deliveroo, but I'm not sure if it's suiting the wider community,' O'Gorman told The Journal in relation to complaints made by some locals relating to noise and privacy concerns. 'I asked that we'd urgently look to convene a meeting and bring in Manna, bring in Deliveroo, bring in the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) to actually regulate drone use, and bring in the Department of Transport as well.' He expressed frustration at the delay in the publishing of a report by the Department which, he was told in February, would focus on developing a policy framework around drone use. 'That was in February. That really needs to be published now.' Advertisement He concedes that there are positive uses for drones in society, but hopes for a discussion on regulations to achieve a satisfactory solution for both sides of the debate. 'I see there's a role for drone deliveries [of] maybe medicines in more rural areas,' he said. 'I just think we have to have a discussion about that balance between what's good for a company versus what's good for society.' But Manna, an Irish start up from entrepreneur Bobby Healy, insists noise is 'not going to be an issue'. Healy spoke to The Journal last year where he brushed off concerns about noise polution. 'Right now we're flying 50 metres here in Blanchardstown and we can take it up a little bit higher, but we don't really need to,' he said. 'That's what we have done in Balbriggan, we do it in Texas. So that's not going to be an issue over time.' CEO of Manna, Bobby Healy, beside a delivery drone at the operations hub in Blanchardstown town centre. The Journal The Journal Healy added: 'We're an Irish business, everyone knows us, we're welcome here. Literally everyone is cheering us on, they want it to work.' The IAA said Manna is legally permitted to operate its services within Ireland due to 'a complex 'specific' regulatory category' requiring authorisation recognised in all EU member states. The regulation is enforced by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency and includes requirements for drone operator registration, pilot certification, and specific operational rules depending on the drone's class and the area of operation. The Irish Times wrote about the frustrations of Blanchardstown residents , one of whom said the noise was 'like living close to a helicopter', while another said they had to quit working from home due to the noise levels. Drones have gained increasing popularity in recent years as content creators, explorers and even civil bodies like An Garda Síochána employ them as a method recording footage otherwise impossible to get. They have also seen an uptick in use by event organisers putting on impressive light displays depicting moving figures made up of thousands of synchronised drones fixed with lights. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Agriland
28-05-2025
- Business
- Agriland
Green Party calls for rapid action to meet emissions targets
The Green Party has today (Wednesday, May 28) expressed concern at the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) projection that Ireland's climate progress has regressed. The party said it comes amid recent warnings from climate scientists that there is now a chance earth could exceed the critical 2°C warming threshold within the next five years. Total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the agriculture sector 'will range from a 1% increase to a 16% decrease over the period of 2018 to 2030″ according to the EPA report. However while the EPA has underlined the 'progress' the agriculture sector has made in relation to reducing GHG emissions, it has also warned that emissions from the Land Use, Land-use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) sector are projected to increase by up to 95%. Green Party Leader, Deputy Roderic O'Gorman stated: 'The Green Party in government delivered the lowest level of carbon emissions in 30 years, turning the tide on years of stagnation in progress. 'Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael need to bring the same level of urgency to reducing emissions – but that means heeding the warnings of the EPA and making the shift from policy aspiration to fast-tracking practical implementation.' Green Party on emissions report The Green Party proposes stepping up ambition and investment in sectors which it said are lagging behind in emissions progress, such as transport and buildings. Green Party spokesperson for climate, communications and energy, Ossian Smyth said: 'The changes that Ireland needs to catch up with the rest of Europe on climate will improve our daily quality of life. 'If we bring LUAS and commuter rail to our regional cities, help people in rural Ireland to buy EVs [electric vehicles], and make it safe for all children to walk and cycle to school, we will be back on the right track. 'We should be helping tenants and senior citizens with energy upgrades for their homes. If the rest of Europe is going to make these targets, there is no excuse for our Government to sit on their hands.' The Green Party stressed that EPA's report states that even under the most optimistic scenario — where every climate policy and measure planned by the government is implemented in full and on time — we would still only achieve a 23% reduction in emissions by 2030. The party is calling for further measures and innovative proposals across all sectors for rapid implementation to reach agreed targets. 'We call on the government to make a clear and renewed commitment to scaling-up climate ambition to reach our legally binding targets enshrined in the Climate Act,' the party has stated.
The Journal
21-05-2025
- Business
- The Journal
'Worrying': There's no deadline for Leap Card replacement as NTA starts paying out to firms
GREEN PARTY LEADER Roderic O'Gorman has said that it is 'worrying' that there is no deadline in place for the plans to introduce contactless payments on public transport over a year into the project. The Spanish technology and defence firm Indra Sistemas SA won a single vendor contract in April of 2024 for the development and installation of contactless payments from the National Transport Authority worth €243m, to be paid out over ten years. O'Gorman told The Journal that Indra is being paid a 'very significant amount of public money' and that it is 'very worrying that neither the Minister for Transport or the NTA can give us a clear date for this project to be finished'. 'Commuters deserve to know when they will be able to benefit from the contactless system,' O'Gorman added. In the last quarter of 2024 the NTA paid €1,396,249 to Indra in purchase orders. These were the first purchase orders paid out to the company. Separate from its contract with Indra, the NTA is also paying for services from the Irish outsourcing firm Abtran for work on the 'next generation ticketing' project. Abtran works with several state agencies. The firm says that it primarily provides project management, ICT and operations services to the NTA. Advertisement It says that its personnel are involved in the implementation of next generation ticketing. 'Assignments are deployed in agreement with the NTA to ensure each resource has the most appropriate skills and experience for the specific needs of the project,' Abtran further states on its site. The NTA paid €2,511,203 to Abtran for 'Ticketing Technologies, Operations, Project and Programme Management' in the same period, but the NTA has not said how much of this was spent on work for the Leap Card replacement project, and how much was spent for other work the firm provides to the agency. The NTA told The Journal that not all of that money will be for work on the next generation ticketing project, though it could not clarify the amount that was. In response to a parliamentary question the NTA said that the initial phase will involve installing over 3,000 new validators across 69 Luas stops, 67 Irish Rail stations, 10 bus depots and more than 1,300 buses in Dublin alone. It said that several teams will be working on installation, but buses can only be worked on when they are not in use, 'i.e primarily at night or on the weekends', which the NTA said will impact the timeline of the first phase of the project. 'A major effort is being put in by the NTA to ensure that this project is delivered as effectively and expeditiously as possible,' it said, adding that however, it will take 'a number of years to successfully deliver the full solution'. The NTA said that it will soon be in a better position to provide an 'exact implementation date', when 'certain project planning activities have been completed'. The NTA did not provide any further comment. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Irish Examiner
21-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Examiner
Concerns raised over lack of clarity on resumption of Laura Brennan HPV catch-up scheme
Serious concerns have been raised that the Government has "abandoned" its commitment to restart the Laura Brennan HPV catch-up programme. Taoiseach Micheál Martin was unable to provide clarity around when such a programme, which would target thousands of young people who miss out on the vaccine each year, will be rolled out. Campaigners have raised concerns around a backslide in uptake of the vaccine which can prevent a number of cancers, including cervical and throat cancer, and are urging the coalition to restart what was previously a highly successful catch-up programme. Raising the issue in the Dáil, Roderic O'Gorman pointed out that the vaccination rates have been dropping since 2019, and around 16,000 young people now do not get it each year. He said the programme for Government pledges to extend the Laura Brennan HPV catch-up vaccination programme to anyone under 25 who missed the original vaccination. "I have been in touch with both the department of health and the HSE to find out when the new programme will run. No one has been able to give me a straight answer," he said. They tell me how important the HPV vaccine is. I agree. They tell me they are going to run a distinct programme for minority groups. That is brilliant. However, no one can tell me when the Laura Brennan programme will run again. "I am worried that they have decided not to do it and more importantly, the Irish Cancer Society is concerned that this scheme is not going to run again," the Green Party leader said. Mr Martin said significant progress has been made in achieving the goal of eradicating HPV-related cancers through the vaccine. "I will check with the minister for health in respect of the catch-up programme. I will ask the minister to revert back to the deputy in respect of it. It is a fair question to raise and I will follow it up." Afterwards, Mr O'Gorman said he was "disappointed" that the Taoiseach could not provide an update on the status of the catch-up programme. During the 2022/23 school year, 80% of girls and around 77% of boys received the HPV jab. However, this is down since the 2019/20 academic year — when 84.1% of girls and 81.5% of boys took up the vaccine. Read More Should we all consider getting vaccinated against HPV?
