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Pressure mounts on government over Shannon Airport munitions inspections

by admin 24 November, 2023

By Conor O’Carroll Over sixty TDs and Senators have signed an open letter addressed to Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan TD, calling on him to review the government’s policy on munitions inspections at airports. The letter, which was published by the Seanad Civil Engagement Group (CEG) and signed by 67 TDs and Senators from Sinn Féin, Labour, the Social Democrats, and People Before Profit (PBP), as well as independents, requests the Minister to “ensure Ireland is not complicit in arming Israel”. It cites a report from Village Magazine last week in which a spike in munitions exemptions for flights travelling through Irish airspace coincided with the conflict in Gaza, raising questions over Ireland’s role in the supply of weapons to the region. Data from the Department of Transport shows that 98% of applications since 2016 were granted exemptions. Of the 8,264 exemption applications received by the Department, just 109 have been refused Over 180 exemption applications were granted by the Department of Transport to carry munitions through the State in October, the highest monthly total from available records dating back to 2016. The vast majority of the granted exemptions permitted flights to fly through Irish sovereign airspace, while a smaller number permitted flights to land and take off from Irish airports. Tracking seven civil aircraft used by the US military, Village found there have been at least 26 layovers in Shannon Airport since the outbreak of the conflict in Gaza, and one in Dublin. There were also a further 35 entries into Irish airspace by these aircraft. Many of these aircraft used call signs associated with the US Transportation Command and arrived having visited US military bases before crossing the Atlantic. These flights went on to connect to US military bases in Europe & the Middle East. Under the Air Navigation (Carriage of Munitions of War, Weapons and Dangerous Goods) Orders 1973 and 1989, Minister Ryan has the discretion to deny any exemption application made under these Orders, and it is prohibited to carry munitions through Irish airspace without being granted an exemption. However, data from the Department of Transport shows that 98% of applications since 2016 were granted exemptions. Of the 8,264 exemption applications received by the Department, just 109 have been refused. The letter calls on Minister Ryan to “commit publicly to using Ministerial discretion to deny exemptions to all flights carrying munitions destined for Israel, or where the end user is Israel”. It also calls on the Minister to implement a system of inspections for flights that land at Shannon Airport. Village reported last week that no inspections have taken place on any aircraft transiting through Irish sovereign territory, with a Department spokesperson saying: “While the orders do provide for the inspection of a civil aircraft to ensure compliance, it is only whenever it appears that a flight would be in contravention of them. There is no provision for such an inspection without this prerequisite”. Speaking on RTÉ’s The Week in Politics over the weekend, the Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar TD, said that Shannon Airport was not being used to supply weapons to Israel. However, the Department of Transport did not respond to a question posed by Village last week asking whether it seeks a final destination of any munitions it provides an exemption for. The Department instead stated that the exemption “is not an approval to land at any airport outside the State”. The Seanad CEG letter also cites recent evidence uncovered by Israeli newspaper Haaretz suggesting that the US may be supplying weapons through proxy countries, such as Cyprus and Jordan. In a statement to Village, independent Senator Frances Black, a member of the Seanad CEG, said: “We are concerned by figures which show an unusually large number of exemptions granted to munitions flights by the Minister in October, with no inspections being carried out and a lack of clarity around information on end users. In this context, we have serious concerns around the government’s assurances that weapons bound for Israel are not transiting through Ireland. We urgently need a rigorous, transparent inspection system if we are to uphold our human rights obligations”. The letter calls on Minister Ryan to “commit publicly to using Ministerial discretion to deny exemptions to all flights carrying munitions destined for Israel, or where the end user is Israel” Village contacted Minister Ryan for comment in response to the letter but has not received a response. Separately, as part of a wide-ranging motion before the Dáil today submitted by PBP TDs, the government was called to “close Shannon Airport to the US military immediately, by banning US military and US military contracted aircraft, including troop carriers, from landing at the airport”. The motion claims that “Shannon Airport is effectively a forward operating base for the US military, used to support their operations in the Middle East, with approximately three million US troops and their weapons, and US Air Force/Navy cargo planes passing through Shannon Airport since 2002, and over 51,000 US military personnel have passed through Shannon Airport in 2023 to mid-November”, stating this has undermined Ireland’s constitutional neutrality. Speaking at a Dáil debate on the motion, Paul Murphy TD said: “Is Shannon Airport being used to transport weapons from the US to Israel? The truth is, I do not know. The truth is that the Tánaiste and the government do not know either because they refuse to do inspections”. An amendment to the motion submitted by the Tánaiste, Micheál Martin TD, asserts that “there are no planes with weapons en route to Israel stopping at Shannon Airport or any other Irish airport”. Responding to the PBP motion in the Dáil, the Tánaiste said: “The Government is clear that no airport in Ireland, whether Shannon or any other airport, is being used to transfer weapons to the Middle East or to any other war. This policy is well known and fully understood by our partners. No applications have been received or exemptions granted in relation to civil aircraft travelling to Israel

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No aircraft inspections as highest monthly munitions exemptions reported

by admin 24 November, 2023

The Department of Transport’s failure to inspect aircraft at Shannon Airport leaves Ireland relying on the good faith of those transporting munitions through Irish sovereign territory. By Conor O’Carroll The highest number of munitions exemptions since 2016 was granted by the Department of Transport in October, raising questions over whether Ireland has facilitated the supply of munitions to the ongoing conflict in Gaza through its sovereign territory. 182 applications were granted by the Department last month, up from 122 in September. This represents the highest monthly total from the available records, which date back to 2016. The figures come from the routinely published statistics on the number of exemptions granted to civil aircraft under the Air Navigation (Carriage of Munitions of War, Weapons and Dangerous Goods) Orders 1973 and 1989. Under these orders, “it is expressly prohibited for civil aircraft to carry munitions of war in Irish sovereign territory, without being granted an exemption to do so by the Minister for Transport”, Minister of State Jack Chambers TD said in response to a parliamentary question posed by independent TD, Thomas Pringle, in September. The latest figures show that there was a 42% increase in the number of applications received by the Department in October, though it should be noted that the figures are based on the date the Department issued a decision on each application, not the date the application was received or the date of the flight itself. The vast majority of the exemptions granted (158) permitted flights to fly through Irish sovereign territory, while the remaining 24 exemptions permitted flights to land and take off from Ireland. These flights relate to civilian aircraft that are contracted by militaries, typically the US, to transport munitions to different parts of the globe. Some exceptions also relate to diplomatic flights where security personnel are armed. The Department also does not appear to inspect the planes that land in Ireland, to ensure they are carrying what their applications say Designated military aircraft are the responsibility of the Department of Foreign Affairs and any aircraft wishing to enter Irish airspace requires diplomatic clearance from the Minister for Foreign Affairs. This clearance is subject to strict conditions, according to the government, with a requirement that the aircraft be unarmed, carrying no arms and not be part of intelligence gathering or a military operation. The presence of US military aircraft in Irish airspace has been a hotly debated topic for many years. Peace activists have long demanded that Ireland end its arrangement with the US military, arguing that it violates the constitutional protection of neutrality. Two weeks ago pro-Palestinian supporters staged a protest outside the Department of Transport, demanding that Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan TD, stop providing exemptions to US military aircraft headed for Israel. Many of the munitions carried through Irish airspace on US military aircraft drop off at regional bases, such as in Eastern Europe for Ukrainian supplies, or in bases in the Middle East, meaning tracking where the munitions end up is practically impossible. Village asked the Department of Transport whether it seeks the final destination of any munitions it provides an exemption for. A spokesperson for the Department did not respond specifically, but did say that the exemption “is not an approval to land at any airport outside the State”. The Department also does not appear to inspect the planes that land in Ireland, to ensure they are carrying what their applications say. In the same response to Pringle, Minister Chambers said “insofar as it can be determined, there is no record of an inspection of a civil aircraft having been carried out pursuant to these Orders”. The latest figures show that there was a 42% increase in the number of applications received by the Department in October. A Department spokesperson told Village: “While the orders do provide for the inspection of a civil aircraft to ensure compliance, it is only whenever it appears that a flight would be in contravention of them. There is no provision for such an inspection without this prerequisite”. They also provided the same response from Minister Chambers when asked whether an aircraft had ever been inspected. “The complete lack of willingness to inspect the flights is shocking”, Pringle told Village. “As an independent state we can take the view that other states can transit through our airports and airspace but the very least we could do is check that they are complying with our laws and respecting our status as a neutral independent state”, he continued. *** One of the US military aircraft that flew through Irish airspace last month disappeared off-radar over Jordan, Village Magazine can reveal, further complicating the task of tracking the final destination of the aircraft and its cargo. The aircraft, which is owned by Omni Air International, entered Irish airspace in the early hours of 11 October 11 en route to Bulgaria, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. It had taken off from Bangor International Airport, in Maine, the previous evening, but had made stops at Hill Air Force Base in Utah and Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota before crossing the Atlantic. The aircraft also used a call sign reserved for the US Transportation Command (CMB), the US Department of Defence body responsible for providing the US military with air, land, and sea transportation. Flight logs show that the aircraft disappeared abruptly over Jordan, before reappearing several hours later and continuing on its journey, suggesting it turned off its transponder to mask its location. This practice isn’t unusual when travelling over or close to a warzone, but the time difference between the pings on the map above is significant. A spokesperson confirmed that this aircraft received an exemption from the Department of Transport in Ireland. Tracking six other US military aircraft since the outbreak of the conflict in Gaza, Village found a further five ‘disappearances’ over Jordan, though in every other case, the aircraft avoided entering Irish airspace. The flight logs of these seven aircraft also show

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Conor Lenihan interviewed Michael McGrath on the eve of the budget. The Minister for Finance is but days away from his first budget but he’s on top of his brief and cool, except when it comes to Health overruns.

by Village 10 October, 2023

The background is €65bn in budget surpluses between now and 2026. However, the ESRi is forecasting negative GDP growth of 1.6% for the year and there was a shock fall in corporation tax of €1bn in August, down 23% in the third quarter of 2023. Meanwhile Sinn Féin is expecting to wrest some of the levers of budgetary power next year. Overall, it seems likely McGrath’s budget will be cautious, reducing taxes by €1.15bn including lowering the lowest Universal Social Charge rate from 2% to 1% at a cost of about €300m, and the highest rate from 4.5% to 4%, and increasing the wage at which the tax rate is 40% from €40,000 to €41,500, costing €400m. There will be spending increases of around €5.25bn, as well as a non-core package of temporary spending, mostly on Ukrainian refugees, Brexit and Covid of €4bn, and a final cost-of living package of perhaps €3bn. It is likely to provide for social welfare increases of only €12 weekly at a cost of €350m annually. McGrath is from, in his own words, a “humble“ background. His father was a labourer and he was the first of his family to go to university where he earned a first-class honours in his Commerce degree. Later he worked as an accountant at KPMG where he met his wife Sarah, also an accountant. From 1999 to now he has climbed the Fianna Fáil political ladder from Town Council to which he was elected at just 23 years of age, to County Council and then in 2007 into Leinster House as a TD for Cork South Central— a competitive constituency he shares with his older colleague and party leader Micheál Martin. He walks a difficult tightrope of simultaneous loyalty to Martin and the demands of competing with his colleague to retain the party’s second seat. In recent years he has been touted as a possible successor to Martin. McGrath is frequently described as conservative on social and economic issues. He was pro-life on the abortion issue but prefers to define himself as a “centrist” in political terms. Some newspapers over the summer headlined him as “ Mr Cautious.” This is hardly a surprise as it is the default setting for a Minister for Finance. In my interview with him, I asked McGrath about Health, indigenous industry, the public finances and coalition with Sinn Féin. Health McGrath confesses to being “brassed off“ at the seventh annual spending over-run in eight years at the HSE, this time of an extraordinary nearly €2bn out of a total budget package of€11bn: “front line workers in the health service are working in difficult circumstances. Spending over-runs are a cause of great frustration”. It is understood they have reduced the scope for new health initiatives such as extending free GP care and improving mental-health and disability services, as well of course as scandalising other more scrupulous government departnments. There have been overruns in all the country’s acute hospitals of 15-22%; inflation in medical supplies is 21%, rising to 31% in laboratory supplies. McGrath warns that this all “points to a need for reform at a whole lot of levels, not least in their systems; and there’s an urgent need for an integrated financial management system in the HSE”. He insists health executives must apply discipline to keep within their budgets. He tells me: “One of the frustrations I had when I was Minister for Public Expenditure was trying to get a handle on the underlying position within Health because you had cash-based reporting and then you had accruals-based reporting. These were very different and it wasn’t always possible to get a tight reconciliation so you could fully understand what was the underlying position. He also notes technology deficits. “I do think we have to invest in more in digitalisation and we are undoubtedly laggards in that regard in health services”. He considers that “accurate and timely reporting of data is where you start in getting a handle on expenditure patterns and plans are now in place to invest in such a system and that is an urgent reform that we need to deliver quickly”. I ask him how quickly, given that the HSE was established to bring professionalism to the provision of these services and he says “my understanding is it will take a number of years”. He thinks the new consultants’ contract will help and he notes the difficulties of Covid, the increase in acute presentations in the health system and general health-services inflation. I ask him if this means he’s saying it’s okay if the HSE overruns next year but he is firm: “No we’re certainly not saying that at all”. Tax receipts The Summer Economic Statement which set out the parameters for the budget stressed the perils of relying on the billions being thrown the exchequer’s way by a small number of giant multinationals. McGrath has spent the last year tracing out three new initiatives that will take these once-off tax receipts and use them for continued construction of public infrastructure, providing for the future pension needs of a rapidly ageing population, and paying down our massive public debt attributable to both Covid and the financial crisis that began in 2008. The fact that he can afford these prudential plans is testimony to the country’s continued success at luring foreign direct investment (FDI). “We need to ensure we’re not forced again into what happened 15 years ago, where capital expenditure was smashed by 60%. We need to invest in infrastructure through the cycle – by creating a contra-cyclical fund to smooth out the investment cycle”. These new funds are the product of the good times and McGrath seems determined to put them on a proper legislative footing so that they cannot be casually raided by future ministers when the economy takes a turn for the worse. Advancing indigenous industry McGrath is keen to recognise the end of the Foreign Direct Investment bonanza years while pointing to the threats

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Michael McGrath: Mild centrist in frenetic and fractious times.

by admin 9 October, 2023

Michael Smith conducted a wide ranging interview with the Minister for Finance, on the eve of the Budget MS: How were you influenced by your childhood? MMG: We’re all a reflection of where we come from and our childhood experience. I had a fantastic childhood and come from a very humble background. And I suppose I was really determined growing up to take the opportunities that I had and which my parents didn’t have by virtue of their own life experience and their journey. I think it’d be a hunger and a drive to do well but also it gave me a very good sense of perspective about what’s most important in life and it definitely helped to lead me to a life of public service. Because I think there’s great meaning and great value from public service and I get huge enjoyment from it; and I think that concern can be traced back to my background. MS: What do you consider your main achievements in politics so far? MMG: I really think it’s for others to come to a view about what your achievements are and for me much of the satisfaction comes from the quiet, private moments that you have interacting with constituents in your office on sometimes extremely sensitive and personal issues and helping them through those issues; and I know I and my team have changed lives for the better in many, many instances. MS: Could you mention an instance of that? MMG: In our role you come across all kinds of circumstances: serious illness and bereavement and tragedy and financial difficulty — just instances where the system has let somebody down. I have had cases including just recognition of birth certs and recognition of parentage — things like, that that have been really life changing for people. I believe in giving people opportunity and working with others in a spirit of co-operation and collaboration; being decent and having good values in that sense MS: How would you describe your political philosophy and your vision for Ireland? MMG: You know it would be it would be centrist by nature. I believe in giving people opportunity and working with others in a spirit of co-operation and collaboration; being decent and having good values in that sense. And so my philosophy is a pragmatic one but it is it is certainly about working towards a country that is fair and that affords opportunity to people. MS: And a vision for Ireland specifically? MMG: I think there is very good economic opportunity in Ireland and I think we have work to do to bring the quality of our services up to match where our economy is at and where public expectations are rightly high, particularly in housing and that is undoubtedly the number one domestic priority as far as I’m concerned. MS: Who are your political heroes, nationally and internationally? MMG: Brian Lenihan had a huge influence on me. I did work closely with him in those latter years. I was only a backbench TD, newly elected but came from a financial background and so Brian would have taken me into to confidence. I’m very proud to have a portrait of him hanging in my office in the Department of Finance because I have a huge amount of regard and respect for him. MS: Anyone internationally? MMG: No, I’ll leave it at Brian. I’m happy with the one. MS: So just in terms of your political philosophy or your politics would it be fair to describe you, as has been done, as socially and economically conservative? MMG: I’m not really into labels. Judge me by my response on any given issue. I don’t think I’m conservative when it comes to ambition for Ireland and the need that I see for us to improve the services we provide. I get very frustrated at the experience of many families who have a child with a disability. I just think we can do far better. I’m not conservative when it comes to people and this country. We are the person that we are. MS: Do you believe in equality and if so what type? MMG: I believe in human dignity and respect for each other and I think that is evidenced by my approach to politics. I can work well with people and because I respect others I respect difference and I absolutely believe in equality in all respects. MS: Would you be more inclined to equality of outcome or equality of opportunity? MMG: I think equality of opportunity is one that we can most assure. I think through our policy decisions and safety nets we have and the supports that are in place and providing resources in disadvantaged areas. I think you can go a long way to providing equality of opportunity. You can certainly aim for it. I think guaranteeing equality of outcome is not really possible because there are so many variables involved in that but I do think that you can go a long way as a country to making sure there’s an opportunity for everyone and I think we have made progress in that regard but there are communities now that they feel they are that behind and I think that is work we have to do better on. MS: How would you define the ideological differences between FF, FG and SF? MMG: I’d prefer to speak about Fianna Fáil and who were are rather than defining us relative to other parties. We’re a centre-left party. We believe in giving people opportunities through education and employment and support for the most vulnerable. We believe in investment in education and we believe in the enterprise company. This will be reflected in the decisions that I make in the budget. MS: What do you consider the major dangers to the economy? Is there a danger of an Irish or a global recession, near-term? MMG: I think the biggest immediate danger to the health of the global economy is the

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The Brendan O’Connor Show: revisiting analysis of RTÉ’s Newspaper Panel: Professional classes over weekend brunch… safe and a bit incestuous, with little diversity, but with equal numbers of women unlike with Marian. By Mark Cullinane.

by admin 7 October, 2023

“Professionals over weekend brunch… formulaic and incestuous” was the unsparing verdict of Village in 2014 when contributor Rónán Lynch cast an analytical eye over the RTÉ flagship weekend radio Marian Finucane show, focusing on the Sunday programme’s newspaper review slot. Lynch’s review of guest contributors on that mainstay of Sunday radio was a straightforward but apt piece of media analysis, not just because of its findings but because of the clarifying power of the slot itself as the basis for critical analysis of the underlying logics that inform the selection of on-air contributors for public service broadcast radio. The top 25 most frequently used contributors themselves make up almost a full third of appearances The hour-long and typically four-to-five-person panel, after all, is a format not comparable to other journalist-led ‘hard’ news or current affairs programming where strong professional and genre conventions limit the pool of potential voices heard and faces seen to those endowed with formal authority, suitably accredited expertise or an individual proximity to developments covered in the news. The buttoned-down atmosphere of the newspaper review panel, less beholden to the dictates of balance, is an unusual one in broadcasting terms in being in theory at least open to anyone capable of perusing a newspaper and selecting a story or two as a jumping-off point for discussion on contemporary developments. Lynch’s analysis of the composition of programme panels over the course of a full year revealed how this broad discretion enjoyed by the programme producers was, in practice, wielded strikingly narrowly. He highlighted in particular the overwhelming preponderance in its 250-odd guest appearances of contributors drawn from the ranks of the upper professional classes in general and in particular the favouring of other journalists and “professionally articulate agents of monied interests” of various hues, including public relations. The on-air results, he concluded, were conversations about the news that, shorn of due representation from wider strata of society, often exuded an insider-ish, cosy and unchallenging feel. With a generational changing of the guard at the show since host Marian Finucane’s death in early 2020, Village thought it opportune to once again measure this barometer of RTÉ’s appetite for representational range. By conventional metrics of success, the programme itself has gone from strength to strength since the appointment of new host, Sunday Independent columnist Brendan O’Connor, who has maintained the outsized audience share built up by Finucane and kept both weekend editions of the programme close to the very top of national radio programme popularity rankings. And though opinions will vary on the personal appeal of O’Connor as a commentator in his own right, the organisation will no doubt feel that his proven ability to attract large audiences, combined with his assured broadcasting style and savvy navigation of the vagaries of broadcasting speech regulations make him a safe pair of hands well worth the hefty quarter of a million a year investment. The show has maintained its pre-eminence in a radio market that has proved surprisingly resilient amid a welter of disruption and audience fragmentation in the media industries, yet the changed cultural environment in which broadcast journalism also now operates has posed increasing challenges of its own which are every bit as tricky to weather as changing media-consumption habits. As a more sceptical and media-savvy population increasingly concerns itself with a host of vexed questions of mediated representation, like to whom is the national megaphone passed, on what criteria of inclusion and in the service of what conception of balance, media incumbents generally (and in particular national public service broadcasters with universalist obligations) have been forced to take diversity more seriously. Over the last five years, such pressures have seen at RTÉ the elevation of diversity and inclusion to the formal status of major organisational objective. Its first dedicated action plan on the topic in 2018 articulates, in the worthy if grandiose style of such things, a series of commitments and associated cross-organisational actions to transform RTÉ into no less than a ‘leader in diversity and inclusion, both on and off air”, with a view to “ensuring our audiences recognise themselves in us, and us in them”. Five years into RTÉ’s diversity drive – a plan whose implementation would be aided in part by more systematic internal monitoring of programme output – it was perhaps surprising to learn that Village would once again have to spin up its own spreadsheet software for this fresh analysis of programme panellists; the production team citing a lack of time and resources to share a list of contributors used. Our own list, then, covers a period encompassing the entire three-and-a-half-year Brendan O’Connor era of the programme, and comprises a total of 819 separate appearances by newspaper-review contributors across all 183 Sunday editions of the programme. It, and accompanying methodological notes are available on request to all readers who may wish to browse, scrutinise or remix the data in ways that we haven’t the space to explore here. It is in the area of gender balance that the most significant and obvious improvement in contributor diversity since Village last ran the rule over the numbers is apparent, with a considerably more even 54% (male) to 46% (female) split across the period as a whole when compared to the 65% (male) to 35% (female) result found in 2014. Much of the headway appears to have been recent: discount the first year’s worth of contributors in 2020 and the result from subsequent years is very close to the sought-for goal of parity of gender representation. Welcome signs of progress then, but gender balance is the area where Irish media have made the most progress generally – if still typically on a voluntary basis. Other “diversity characteristics” earmarked for substantive remedial responses by RTÉ and elsewhere in the media industries, such as race and ethnicity, disability and sexual orientation, remain for various reasons much further down the pecking order. Though not the focus of this analysis, a cursory look at the hundreds of names in

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“The thought of being homeless again is terrifying, it gives me nightmares”: Students struggle for college accommodation

by admin 7 September, 2023

By Ava Liange After two consecutive years of COVID-19, online learning and postponed exams, the housing crisis is once again the main obstacle that prevents students from pursuing their studies. With the start of the new academic year just around the corner, it is becoming increasingly challenging for students to find accommodation near universities. Many are confronted with the choice of commuting several hours a day to access their course, paying extortionate rent for on-campus accommodation, or turning to unregulated ‘digs’ accommodation. Faced with these choices, sacrifices on affordability and living conditions are often made. “We’ve had to deal with mould and rodents”, Jamie Clarke, an Atlantic Technological University (ATU) student, explained to Village Magazine. “[Our landlord] said he’d paint the house with anti-mould paint and call in an exterminator, but they never came back to check in and it didn’t work so we had to deal with it ourselves”. The housing crisis has become a great source of anxiety for students “Every summer it’s like a déjà vu all over again as we wonder just how much worse matters can get”, says Molly Greenough, President of the Students’ Union at University College Dublin (UCD), following the release of their latest Accommodation Report. According to the new figures, around two-thirds of students pay up to €750 a month for student accommodation, considerably higher than a national average of €469 cited in a recent Higher Education Authority study. “The acute shortage of beds is starting to have a seriously worrying impact on the pursuit of education”, continued Greenough, with the report highlighting how many students are forced into the private rental market where they pay market rates and compete with working professionals. Due to inflationary pressures on the rental market and a lack of options for on-campus accommodation, more and more students are drawn to ‘digs’, where students rent a room in a house where the landlord lives. While often times cheaper than the alternative, these arrangements leave the students with very few rights. ‘Digs’ don’t fall under the remit of the Residential Tenancies Board meaning there are no minimum physical standards that the property must comply with and the restrictions on rent increases for other private rented accommodation do not apply. Students have reported being denied access to facilities or certain areas of the house, landlords invading their privacy by entering their room unannounced or when they aren’t there, and being hit with unnotified rent increases. One student living in ‘digs’ last year described the experience as being treated like a burden rather than a person, while others said they felt “infantilised”. The impact of this search for accommodation can be draining on students’ mental health. “There’s just a period of time when you’re searching for a house, and you’re losing time you could use doing assignments”, says Jamie. “It definitely affects your energy levels and how you’re able to focus on things”, he continues. On top of affecting their studies, the housing crisis has become a source of anxiety for students. “The thought of being homeless again is terrifying”, says Brigid MacBrough, another student from ATU, “it gives me nightmares”. Students who have to commute spend a large amount of time and money each day and find themselves exposed to anxiety as well, “The last year of college I tried to find accommodation, but I couldn’t so I had to commute for three hours a day”, says Dawid Blasevac, a former student. “I hated it, that on top of stressing about finishing the course and the stress of finding a job after. I did feel incredibly garbage after each day”. Many students are forced into the private rental market where they pay market rates and compete with working professionals There seems little sign of improvement either, according to Aiobhe O’Brien, Welfare Officer at the University College of Cork. This crisis is a burden “for students at any given year”, she explains. “It is becoming an increasing problem because nothing is changing, it’s getting worse on the number of rooms but also on how much they’re charging per room…there are so many scams, landlords say they’re out of the country and just ask for the money”. The lack of options leaves some students wondering whether they would be better served going abroad to study. Brigid is one student who has concerns about continuing with her studies. While thinking of doing a master’s in Dublin she “considered going abroad because the cost of living as a whole would still be cheaper”. With the housing crisis having reached a point where students have to choose whether they want to move abroad to pursue their studies or do so in Ireland at an excruciating price, it’s clear that something has to change soon before Ireland loses another generation of young people to emigration.

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Environmental Protection: More Than A Good Idea?

by admin 31 August, 2023

Caroline Hurley argues that the EPA can and should be doing more to protect Ireland’s vital environment and biodiversity. Situated between the North Atlantic’s main storm tracks, Ireland has always been vulnerable to the weather. In the Royal Irish Academy’s 2020 collection of essays on Climate and Irish Society from prehistoric times, John Sweeney, a Professor of Geography at Maynooth University, explains that while the country was historically a prisoner of climate, struggling to ensure sufficient food, fodder and fuel, the relationship is now reversed. Irish society has lagged in confronting climate change but is now waking up with better monitoring, more public awareness, activism, and international agreements. Environmental protection makes multiple demands. As natural ecosystems degraded during the twentieth century, international climate bodies such as The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change were established. Five years later, the Irish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was founded in 1993, following the enactment of the EPA Act 1992 and the completion of the first national environmental impact assessment. What Does the EPA Do? According to its website, the EPA commits to delivering good environmental outcomes, based on the best knowledge, regulation, and advocacy. It conducts R&D, issues licences, and is the national body for environment enforcement, strategic review, and water management. As an EPA staff member explained: “We provide knowledge through targeted and timely environmental data, information and assessment to inform decision-making. And, we work with others to advocate for a clean, productive and well-protected environment”. The EPA measures the quality of air, drinking and wastewater, freshwater and seawater, and shares guidance on radiation, noise, climate change and the circular economy. In terms of services and regulated activities, the EPA’s wide remit includes authorising activities impacting the environment or human health. “We carry out monitoring of the quality of our air, our freshwater, groundwater and marine waterbodies and our use of natural resources. Through our research and development programme, we are generating the knowledge and expertise needed to protect and manage Ireland’s environment”. The dearth of environmental representatives, including EPA members, on key State Boards significantly reduces the chance of changing the business-as-usual narrative However, these assurances were challenged by Gerry McGovern in a two-part report on mining published by Hot Press last April, revealing that 28% of the Republic’s total land area is currently cleared for mining prospecting. McGovern states that “A normal member of the public, stressed out with enough worries, will instinctively assume that if the EPA thinks it’s good for the environment, or doesn’t object to it, then everything must be ok…those illusions were badly shaken by almost everyone I spoke to who is opposed to new mining licences being handed out in Ireland”. In 2018, Village highlighted contamination of the Silvermines area and called for a Superfund to clean up 450 polluted sites around the country. After talking to people affected by pollution of land, air and water, particularly in Tipperary and Limerick, McGovern warns of the hazards of light-touch regulation: “The primary role of the EPA is to support government policy. And government policy is to encourage and facilitate mining. As a result, the EPA ends up in the curious – and many would say contradictory – position of having to defend mining activities and interests”. The EPA claims to be a technical rather than political body. Although nominally independent, it derives funding from both government and industry licensing fees. Largely, for now, the EPA generates information for others making decisions, rarely taking preventive or protective action yet, despite its mission statement. If EPA resources are being mobilised for goals besides and perhaps antithetical to environmental protection, the problem of decarbonisation logjams makes more sense. Despite the organisation’s expert teams qualified to be watchdogs and leaders, restrictions mean it may be left to precarious independent researchers to expose truths and demand change. Meanwhile, silent policy affords cover to get rich quick merchants who have no quibbles about inflicting long-lasting environmental ruin. Limits of the EPA The dearth of environmental representatives, including EPA members, on key State Boards, such as Teagasc and the IFA, significantly reduces the chance of changing the business-as-usual narrative. Given the crisis unfolding before us, every policy and decision made across the public-private spectrum should be subject to environmental impact analysis. Conflicting considerations of consequences for wildlife are illustrated by the ESB’s plans for hydroelectricity, and laying of astroturf pitches around Dublin. While the EPA can assess toxicity levels and air quality, for example, it is limited in uncovering the potential health implications of its assessments: “Any research, studies or investigations into the risk or health implications associated with exposure…is a public health matter and so it would be dealt with by public health officials or researchers in this area, which is not within the remit of our organisation”. The problems continue underwater too. Earth scarring by mining on land is more visible than the rapidly spreading technology of sea mining. This industry is already inflicting environmental damage. Interfering with water routes interferes with biodiversity. Offshore wind farms are not exempt from negative impacts on ocean life either. According to a 2019 OECD report on pharmaceutical residues in freshwater: “Laboratory and field tests show traces of oral contraceptives causing the feminisation of fish and amphibians, and residues of psychiatric drugs altering fish behaviour…[and] antimicrobial resistance”. A 2022 paper for the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Journal reinforces these points: “Overall, the results show that API (active pharmaceutical ingredients) pollution is a global problem that is likely negatively affecting the health of the world’s rivers. To meet the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, work is urgently needed to tackle the problem and bring concentrations down to an acceptable level”. Crayfish studies illustrate biodiversity imbalances caused. Levels of carcinogenic chemicals in drinking water are raising concerns too. Researchers have discovered microscopic plastic particles in the fats and lungs of two-thirds of the marine mammals in a study of ocean microplastics. Challenges mutate and multiply. The Environment of the Future? With transnational corporations outgrowing countries, the structural governance