An TaisceÂ’s heritage is not Irish, but British, says councillor

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    • #710743
      hutton
      Participant

      Turns out there’s an anti-Irish body at work who want to save British heritage, are “a member of An Bord Pleanála and a judge in their own cases”, and also ignore that “the people of Connemara need 3000sq ft houses if they are to survive”!!!
      Wail ‘til hutton gets hold of these scourges of our countryfolk!

      An Taisce’s heritage is not Irish, but British, says councillor

      Galway Advertiser, July 23, 2009.

      The heritage that An Taisce and such organisations is trying to protect when objecting to planning in Connemara is not Irish heritage, but British heritage, the county council was told on Monday.

      During a debate on restrictions on planning, Cllr Seamus Walsh said that much of the basis of objections is the desire to maintain an element of heritage in our buildings.

      ‘Dormer houses are being refused on the basis that they are not in keeping with the traditional heritage.

      “But the two-storey mansions that are getting the go ahead are not Irish heritage at all, but are more in keeping with British heritage,” he said, adding that new eight-metre restrictions on gable depths could see some houses being left with an attic that is just three feet high.

      He said that the people of Connemara needed 3000sq ft houses if they are to survive, despite what he said was the unwarranted intervention of “yuppies in Dublin” to influence matters.

      He was supported by Cllr Peter Feeney who aid that the eight-metre restriction affects the type of house that is designed and can often lead to inefficiencies in heating etc.

      Cllr Tom Welby was also vocal on the matter saying that it is a disgrace that the Government is funding An Taisce and subsidising their objections.

      “This is harebrained situation. Who is funding these faceless individuals,” he said, while Cllr Seosaimh O Tuaririsg said that it was not right that An Taisce is a member of An Bord Pleanala and is therefore a judge in their own cases. — Declan Varley

      http://www.advertiser.ie/galway/article/14945

      Being the helpful sort, hutton has looked up the councillors concerned, and first off, leading the charge there’s Seamus Walsh.

      Seamus is a member of Fianna Fail and looks like this:

      Shame us Walsh, FF Galway co co

      Seamus’s declared interests state he is “Engineer WALSH ENGINEERING PREPARATION of MAPS, DRAWINGS, SURVEYING of SITES, Preparation of Banking Documents, CONSULTING WITH LAND OWNERS regarding PLANNING”.

      Given Seamus is clearly a leading light planning professional, it is most odd that he didn’t for clarity correct the record when other elected officials advance off-the-wall goobledegook, such as An Taisce being part of An Bord Pleanála, and bizarre theories as to minimum spec requirements. Then again, Seamus may have already been too pre-occupied advancing his own beliefs “the heritage that An Taisce and such organisations is trying to protect when objecting to planning in Connemara is not Irish heritage, but British heritage”. And of course that “the people of Connemara need 3000sq ft houses if they are to survive” – but the “yuppies in Dublin” are trying to stop them – killing them, so they are!

      Seamus is an elected councilor for Oughterard.
      Oughterard is the largest town in Co. Galway allowing sewage to flow into Lough Corrib, from its out of date treatment plant.

      Meanwhile Peter Feeney is a Fine Gael councilor from Athenry and looks like this:

      Peter Feeney Galway FG co co

      Peter supported Seamus’s concerns, as he believes, “the eight-metre restriction affects the type of house that is designed can often lead to inefficiencies in heating etc”. Unlike Seamus who cites “PLANNING” on his declaration of interests, Peter appears to have no expertise in the area, citing only “Farming” on his declaration of interests.

      As reported in the Sunday Business Post in 2007, Athenry has major sewage problems, with the town having grown 50% in the last number of years

      ‘[According to local Caroline McCormack] “What will happen if they realise human waste is polluting the River Shannon?” she asked. In the town of Athenry, a 49 per cent increase in the population in the last four years has also caused sewerage problems. Joe Dennison, the chairman of the community council in Athenry, said terrible odours were coming from the town’s small sewerage plant which is ‘‘overworked’’.

      ‘‘All these new housing estates have temporary treatment systems, but they have a life span of about five years,” he said. ‘‘When they get full, the sewage is flushed down to the main system, which is then overloaded, and the backlog causes a stench. There is an approval for a new plant for the town, but it is not likely to be up and running until 2011,” he said. The towns of Oughterard, Clarinbridge and Dunmore are also experiencing sewerage problems, including raw sewage flowing into Lough Corrib from Dunmore’s Sinking River.’

      More at:
      http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2007/05/06/story23381.asp

      Peter Feeney became Chairman of Galway County Council in 2008.

      Thomas Welby is an independent, is from Oughterard, and looks like this:

      Thomas Welby, Ind Galway Co Co

      Thomas owns a petrol station in Oughterard. Yet rather than concentrating on cleaning up the environmental mess that Oughterard has become, Thomas has other priorities as he believes ‘it is a disgrace that the Government is funding An Taisce and subsidising their objections’, saying ‘This is harebrained situation. Who is funding these faceless individuals?’

      Seán Ó Tuairisg is a Fianna Faíl councilor, representing Connemara, and appears like this:

      Seán Ó Tuairisg FF Galway Co Co

      Despite his own party having been in government for the last 12 years, and having brought through the Planning Act in 2000, regrettably Seán does not seem to be too familiar with the way the system operates. Not that he allows ignorance of facts get in his way, as Seán made sure to say “it was not right that An Taisce is a member of An Bord Pleanala and is therefore a judge in their own cases”. Perhaps Seán maybe concerned about other matters as well, such as the quality of Galway drinking water (much contaminated by faulty septic tanks of bungalows), or that the entire road from Galway city to Carraroe was reduced to 60 km per hour – primarily because of the amount of “one-offs” and ribbon development on the same. I also suspect Seán would be a man to lead the charge against “Dublin-driven discrimination” if and when school bus services are not provided to new one-offs, arising out of cost.

      The Galway Advertiser article above dates from July 23rd this year, after the local elections. All councillors quoted feature on Galway County Council’s website.

      Yesterday, September 3rd, 2009, in the Connacht Tribune it was reported:

      Council to face massive fines for water pollution

      A NEW pollution monitoring system signals good news for five County Galway towns whose sewerage systems are full to capacity and are crying out for new and upgraded facilities.

      In a number of cases, the overstretched sewerage systems are causing pollution to local rivers and this will result in savage fines for both Galway County Council and the Department of the Environment.

      Once the Department and the local authority are slapped with crippling fines, it is expected that this will prompt funding to be made available for major sewerage upgrades to take place.

      Towns like Athenry, Loughrea, Mountbellew, Oughterard and Clifden are all awaiting new sewerage schemes to get underway.

      In a number of cases planning permissions have been refused on the basis that the existing sewage treatment plants could not take any additional houses or industry.

      And concern has also been expressed over the amount of pollution being caused to rivers from the overflowing sewage pipes in Mountbellew, Athenry and Oughterard in particular.

      Now, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is set to monitor the levels of pollution emanating from the treatment plants in these towns and impose stiff fines accordingly.

      Last year Galway County Council had to pay out over €3,500 in fines and costs when they were convicted of polluting the River Clarin resulting in… [subscription need for more]”

      http://www.galwaynews.ie/8689-council-face-massive-fines-water-pollution

      A most informative debate all round. Not an informed debate of course, but informative as to what local bastions of our democracy actually believe. Of course the tragic part to all this is that these councillors are the newly elected/ re-elected lot. What hope for the country if this is the quality of our elected representatives?

    • #809716
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      Sure what right have faceless D4 birocrats got to tell us to stop drinkin’ our own shite? Tis not doin’ me any harm at all.

    • #809717
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      Well of course the people elected them….so when they find their water contaminated by shit from their one off houses I say…let them drink Vittel!

      What goes around comes around folks.

    • #809718
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      These two have never been seen in the same room together – sssshh!

      Peter Feeney Galway FG co co

      Peter Feeney Andy Wig

    • #809719
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      Seán Ó Tuairisg is a Fianna Faíl councilor, representing Connemara, and appears like this:

      Seán Ó Tuairisg FF Galway Co Co

      Since we’re on the theme of ridiculing ineffective politicians I’d just like to say that looks like a toupee. With eyebrow toupees

    • #809720
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      @Johnny Brady TD, FF wrote:

      Someone talked about British rule, something which I do not – thanks be to God – remember. However, I have been told by my late father and very elderly people how many people lived in rural Ireland when there were big families and no water or sewage facilities. There could have been 40 houses on one road in my area – and, of course, the British landlords evicted them. Now unfortunate people are trying to get planning permission in those areas today but there is a new British landlord, An Taisce, objecting to them. That is tragic, I hoped you might have had a little common sense and respect for those who were born, bred and reared in rural Ireland rather than driving them into areas in the larger towns and cities with social problems.

      Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture 23/sep/2003

    • #809721
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      I wonder if you could say the same about the government.
      Anyway… The Galway in water made me sick when on holidays with the folks not good…
      But who is going to introduce water charges… (let me think) add salt and it might conduct things as well or make a perfect mixture of hydrogen and oxygen.
      Does Ireland export water?

    • #809722
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      We shall also fight them on the beaches….

      May 2008
      The Environmental Protection Agency report, which was published yesterday, identifies county Galway as having two of the worst beaches for water quality in Ireland. The environmental watchdog deemed the water at two Galway beaches, Clifden and Na Forbacha, unsafe to swim or bathe in because they failed to meet the standards for ‘faecal coliforms’ — human or animal waste material in the water.

      Just two other beaches in the country have failed to meet this basic European water quality standard.

      It is the third year in a row Clifden failed to comply with the regulations while Na Forbacha also failed in 2005 but complied in 2006.

    • #809723
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      Incidentally, anyone else find it ironic that our Seamus organises (commercially) conferences such as … “The Role of Local Government in Protecting our Water Resources”

      Last one held at The Connemara Gateway Hotel, Oughterard, Co. Galway.
      Cost per delegate: €1067.27

      and

      “Alternative Enterprises, the key to sustaining the Rural Economy”

    • #809724
      admin
      Keymaster

      Edit

    • #809725
      admin
      Keymaster

      You would think in the current climate that there would be an absolute prohibition on public funds being wasted on non-university training. Taking seminar (i)

      http://www.fingalcoco.ie/YourLocalCouncil/LocalDemocracy/Meetings/2009Agendas/FullCouncil/FileDownload,23273,en.doc

      run by DIT there is no charge and the event had the benefit of 15 presentations from respected academics.

      http://update.dit.ie/02-03-09/docs/RPL%20Seminar%20Invitation%2012%20March%20DIT.doc

      I wonder what Colm McCarthy would think of bombarded local authorities having the ability to dole out courses in holiday zones where it takes half a day in each direction to just get there?

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