Wicklow crushed in under 16 hurling
Thursday, July 28, 2005
Kildare 14-14 Wicklow 0-4
THE scoreline in this under 16 hurling match at Arklow on Saturday tells its own story.
Wicklow struggled to get enough bodies to fill jerseys, in fact they started with 14 and only reached the required number by drafting in a ten year old for the second half - a very disappointing end to the year for Colm Gaskins and his helpers.
It was an equally disappointing afternoon for Kildare. They were pleased with a win to keep them in the Championship but would also like to have their metal tested at this stage.
Top scorer Paurig Keegan, James Phelan, John O’Malley and Mark Dempsey all found theWicklow net with the greatest of easy in the first half as Kildare built up a half time lead of 8-8 to 0-1.
Kildare used up their subs early in the second half but the pattern of the play continued. Leo Quinn, Peter Warren, Sean Buggy and Kealan Domimican all added their names to the score sheet wiile Wicklow’s only reply come from midfielder Elliot Duglas who scored all 4 points.
KILDARE: Martin Fitzgerald, Ardclough; Cohn Chan, Confey, Brendan D’Arcy Castledermot, Donal McSweeney, Naas; Niall O’Muichan, Celbridge, John O’Malley(2-1) Naas, Peter Warren (0-1), Maynoth; Sean Buggy (1-1) Ardclough, Kalin Domican (0-1), Kill; Sean Flynn (0-1),Celbridge; Padraig Keegan (-5-2), Confey Leo Quinn(2-3), Celbridge; Martin Dempsey (2-1), Naas, James Phelan (3-1), Ardclough, Hughey Gormly. Subs - Gavin Sunderland , Maynoth; Aidan McDonagh, Celbridge, Brendan Phelan Naas, Daniel Glennan Celbridge.
WICKLOW: (All Eire Og unless stated) - Martin Joyce; Colm Coogan (Ml Dwyers), Scott Smullen, Dan O’Connor; Martin Linnane, Glenealy, Fintan Donnelly, Phelim Byrne; Elliot Duglas(Bray)(0-4) Darrell O’Neil l(Glenealy); Duglas Hempenstal, Finn Craul(Kilbride), Keith Nolan; Conor Finn, Jim Byrne (Ml Dwyers; Conor Linnane (Glenealy).
REFEREE: Jim Owens Wexford.
Young Returns to Bray Wanderers
Thursday, July 28, 2005
Well-travelled goalkeeper Alan Young has returned to eircom League Premier Division club Bray Wanderers, where he enjoyed a two-season spell earlier in his career.
Young was part of the side that won the old Reserve Division crown in 1998/99, but injury prevented him from making an impact in his second season.
The Enniskerry native left his local senior club after the arrival of Matt Gregg, joining Harps before moving on to Newry Town in the Irish League.
Young, 27, will battle for the first team spot with Australian youth international Chris O’Connor.
Roche welcomes €1.5 m sports grants for County Wicklow
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Minister Dick Roche has welcomed the allocation of funds totalling over €1.5 million under the Sports Capital Programme to clubs and organisations throughout the county.
The 2005 allocation of funds is up almost €700,000 on the 2003 allocation. This is a very welcome boost for local sporting clubs and community organisations.
This Fianna Fail led Government has spent €610m nationally on sport since 1997.
The annual sports budget has increased from €17m in 1997 to €131m in 2005.
Greystones United comes at the top of this year's allocation list receiving €400,000. My good friends in Bray Wanderers received €375,000 and Bray Emmets €275,000 to continue their wonderful work. Dunlavin, Eire Og, and Arklow Rock Parnell’s GAA clubs all got €50,000 each. Meanwhile the rugby club in Rathdrum got €100,000.
“I am delighted with the funding given to clubs and organisations in the county this year” the Minister said.
New sports in the area such as the Cobra Gymnastics Club and Rathdrum Gymnastics immense work has been recognised with significant grants.
“I am particularly pleased that a number of clubs and organisations, which have large scale and ambitious development programmes under way, are to receive substantial funding allocations.”
Ballinacor Community Project, for example received €110,000 for the development of a playing pitch and running track. “This level of funding is vital to an ambitious project such as that at Ballinacor “-- Minister Roche concluded.
Total list
Arklow Rock Parnells GAA Club €50,000
Ballinacor Community Project €110,000
Bray Bowling Club €10,000
Bray Emmets GAA Club €275,000
Bray Wanderers €375,000
Bray Wheelers Cycling Club €3,000
Cobra Gymnastics Club €10,000
Dunlavin GAA Club €50,000
Eire Og GAA Club Greystones €50,000
Greystones United Football Club €400,000
Hollywood Shamrocks GAA Club €50,000
Rathdrum Gymnastics Club €14,000
Rathdrum Rugby Football Club €100,000
Shillelagh GAA Club €15,000
St. Anthony's Football Club, Kilcoole €15,000
Bray firm seeks €10m for Internet Project
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
A small Bray internet firm is raising €10m to develop a secure payments package developed by it.
Internet Payments revealed its hoped for fund raising in its annual accounts, signed off last month. The firm, founded by Tony Foran and Joseph Corcoran has several patents for its online payments technology.
It has raised around €1.5m so far, including more than €400,000 last year.
It had €1.17m in accumulated losses up to the end of June 2004.
Man dies in Greystones road accident
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
A 27-year-old man was killed over the weekend when the car he was driving left a road in the Redford area of Greystones, Co Wicklow and struck a pole.
The victim, who was from Wicklow, was travelling alone when the accident happened around 1am. No other vehicle was involved.
Bray rebuff Saints’ Zayed bid
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Bray Wanderers have knocked back an approach from St Patrick’s Athletic for star striker Eamon Zayed.
Zayed is the top scorer in the eircom League Premier Division this season with nine goals, including five in his last five games.
The former under-21 international, who had spells in England with Leicester City and Crewe, had been linked with Cork City earlier this year – but Saints stepped in with an audacious bid this week.
The offer, reputed to be worth in the region of €20,000, was immediately turned down by Bray.
St Pats boss John McDonnell said: "We are very keen on Eamonn but it looks like we will have to look elsewhere now."
Preview: St Patrick’s Athletic v Waterford United
Soccer: Blues bow to Bray in the RSC
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
By: Leo Dunne
Eircom League Premier Division
WATERFORD UTD. 1 BRAY WANDERERS 2
TWO clubs with a common cause met in the RSC on Friday. Waterford United and Bray Wanderers had started their respective Premier campaigns in something akin to a blaze of glory, but somewhere along the line both had contrived to slip.
Bray were without a win in five games, Waterford even worse, and the end result was to see the two of them slide from a comfortable position in the table to a point perilously close to the relegation zone.
From every point of view, points from this game were destined to be of critical importance.
If anything, Waterford’s position was the worse. Plauged by financial problems, and lacking the firm control of a manager, they lurched from one crisis to the next.
Along the way however there remained glimmers of hope. Although some players clearly decided to jump ship, others came in to restore faith in a cause apparently lost.
While that provided hope for the future, it would have been far too optimistic to anticipate results in the short term. Still and all, the visit of Bray Wanderers apparently presented an opportunity to obtain welcome relief.
Bray were if anything brothers in mis-fortune, and while no one would be rash enough to claim they were there for the taking, at the very least the local Blues were in with a chance.
CAUSE FOR OPTIMISM
Optimism appeared justified when Water-ford jumped into a tonic lead after just nine minutes play, but the feel good factor lasted exactly four minutes beyond that.
Bray struck an equaliser that effectively turned the tables and not too long after that they went ahead. They should have had a third before half-time as they took control of the game, and Waterford rarely looked capable of fighting back.
A tedious second half didn’t provide a single note for the assembled scribes until fifteen minutes from the finish, and at the final whistle Waterford were somewhat fortunate not to have been defeated more heavily.
It was all in sharp contrast to a lively opening spell in which Eamon Zayed produced a fine diving save from Pakie Holden in the very first minute.
Waterford showed two changes from the team that had played a scoreless draw against UCD the previous week. Vinny Sullivan and Derek McCarthy came in to replace Willie Bruton and Sean Finn.
An unchanged defence provided little cause for worry. Once again however there was little coming through from midfield, and the two front men, Neil Andrews and Derek McCarthy, were as often as not playing a lone hand.
The opening exchanges suggested otherwise, and the home support was galvanised when after nine minutes Dave Mulcahy slung a long ball out of defence. McCarthy feinted to let it go and in doing so unhinged the Bray defence. The ball ran for Andrews to collect and slam to the net to give Waterford the lead.
BRAY BATTLE TO WIN
Any hopes that this goal out of the blue would unsettle the visitors, were quickly dashed. Bray forced a corner on the right four minutes later, taken by Dave Tyrell, and Zayed had the freedom of the park as he headed the equaliser.
The visitors had an interesting newcomer in Andrei Georgescu, a diminutive Romanian who had been playing Junior football with North Athletic in the Dublin AUL. His skill and ball control were easy to appreciate, and he flashed on to the scene after 23 minutes when he gained possession along the left.
Showing excellent close control, he weaved his way past David Breen and sent low across the goal for Zayed to tap the visitors into the lead from close range.
We didn’t know it at the time, but that was effectively the end of the road for the Blues. Before half-time Zayed squandered his chance of a hattrick as he blazed over when clear in front of goal.
Time remained for Tyrrell to blast a 30-yard free narrowly wide, but there was no relief for Waterford in a dull second half.
With 15 minutes left a right-wing corner from Tyrell nearly had Waterford in trouble, but it was scrambles clear by Kenny Browne. Zayed and Jones then combined to find Tyrell, whose low shot was turned out for a corner by Holden.
Seven minutes remained when Water-ford had another letoff as Tyrell parted to Georgescu, whose low drive from 25 yards came back off an upright.
WATERFORD UNITED: (4-4-2): Pakie Holden; Kenny Browne, David Breen, Dave Mulcahy, Kevin Waters; Vinny Sullivan (Darryl Kavanagh 60), Stephen Grant (Sean Finn h.t.), Paul Crowley (Paul McCarthy 84), Colm Heffernan; Neil Andrews, Derek McCarthy.
BRAY WANDERERS (4-4-2): Chris O’Connor; Colm Tresson, Brian McGovern, Jodie Lynch, Philip Keogh; Kevin O’Brien (Paul Claffery 56), Stephen Gifford (Colm Jones 56), Stephen Fox, David Tyrell (Kieran O’Brien 87); Eamon Zayed, Andrei Georgescu.
Referee: Hugo Whoriskey, Meath.
From: Waterford News & Star - http://www.waterford-news.ie
Bray Emmets Notes by John Smith
Sunday, July 24, 2005
All club notes should start with good news, and I have great news. During the week, our club was informed that we were getting a grant of €275,000, under the sports capital programme of the Department of Arts, Sport, and Tourism. This is very welcome news, as we have a serious shortfall of funds to complete our dressing rooms at Old Connaught Avenue, and this grant will make it more manageable. It also brings forward the date when we will be using our new premises, and when we will no longer be without proper facilities. I would like to thank Minister Dick Roche, and Councilor David Grant, for their assistance with our submissions.
We all hoped we would be competing for three in a row this year, in the Ladies senior football championship. In a wet and windy Dunlavin on Sunday evening, our hopes were dashed, when our team were well beaten, by a superior Blessington team on the day. We were missing a few key players, and this became obvious as the game progressed. However as a club we should not be too down hearted, as there is a number of young players coming along, and I can safely say, we will be back.
Our senior football team played Coolkenno in the league last week, and had a good win. However whether by design, or otherwise, the opposition were missing some key players. Some people even suggested that they did not want to show their hand, before we again play them in the championship. My spies tell me that they will field a different, and stronger team then. As you are aware, our next championship game, should be listed for the weekend 6/7th August, and as always, we now need your support, more than ever.
Our successful junior "A" football team are out again in the championship this weekend, when we play Kiltegan, on Saturday, at 7.30pm in Aughrim. While on Sunday afternoon, at 1pm at the same venue, our intermediate hurlers play Carnew. Both of these teams should be supported, and it is a nice drive to Aughrim this time of the year. However do check the fixture list elsewhere in this paper, as sometimes, they do tend to change without warning.
Our junior "B" football team were scheduled to play a postponed game, in the league, against Enniskerry, last Thursday. Unfortunately at very short notice the game was cancelled. Some of our players were a bit annoyed, as some of them had traveled long distances from the country. Indeed Tom Taylor had come all the way from Roscommon.
County Manager has "serious questions to answer" on Blessington landfill, says de Burca
Friday, July 22, 2005
Following a recent Special Meeting of Wicklow County Council to discuss the EPA’s proposed decision not to grant a waste licence to Roadstone to develop a landfill on its lands at Blessington, Green Party councillor Deirdre de Burca has called on County Manager Eddie Sheehy to explain why he directed the company to develop a landfill above an important local groundwater supply.
According to de Burca, the EPA Inspector’s main reason for refusal of the waste licence was that the proposed landfill would have been directly above the local aquifer or groundwater supply.
She quoted the Inspector’s report : “The siting of the proposed landfill facility on the locally important unconfined aquifer in proximity to the Wicklow County Council Blessington wellfield would constitute an unacceptable risk of environmental pollution. The zone of contribution of the Blessington wellfield lies directly in the path of and down/cross gradient of the proposed landfill cells”.
According to the Green councillor, these comments made by the Inspector raise very serious questions about how the County Manager could have directed Roadstone, through a Section 55 Motion issued in July 2004, to create a landfill on its lands which are directly above the aquifer.
“Only one year later the EPA rightfully rejected Roadstone’s application for a waste licence for this landfill” says de Burca. “In the meantime however, the Manager has wasted a year during which local people have been exposed to dangerous landfill gases and local water supplies have been exposed to possible contamination from the illegal waste”.
She points out that the Manager’s decision to direct Roadstone to develop a landfill on the aquifer was quite inexplicable in the light of the statement in the EPA report that the Blessington aquifer had previously been designated as an R3 area by the Landfill Matrix drawn up by the Geological Survey of Ireland/ Department of the Environment and Local Government/ EPA.
“The R3 designation means that the siting of a landfill in the area would not be acceptable unless (a) the groundwater is confined (b) there is no significant impact on the groundwater (c) it is not practicable to find a site in a lower risk area” says de Burca. “As the Blessington aquifer is unconfined, and as the illegal waste has already begun to contaminate the groundwater in the area, it would appear that the Manager must have relied on the third criterion (c), that it was not practicable to find a site for the landfill in a lower risk area. This however, is obviously not the case”.
De Burca points out that while leaving the illegal waste on Roadstone’s land was the cheapest option for the company, she found it strange that the Manager’s direction coincided with what would have been Roadstone’s first preference for the illegally dumped waste. At the Special Meeting she questioned the County Manager as to whether Roadstone’s embarrassing allegations about Wicklow County Council’s past dumping on its lands had anything to do with the Manager’s direction to the company to develop a landfill there.
De Burca believes that the most worrying aspect of the Manager’s direction to create a landfill above the Blessington aquifer was the general support this proposal had from the Minister for the Environment, Dick Roche. “The Minister recently criticised Deputy Liz Mc Manus about her comment to the New York Times paper in which she compared the waste situation in Wicklow to something out of ‘the Sopranos’” s says de Burca. “In my opinion, the “sweetheart deal” between Wicklow County Council and Roadstone, with the Minister’s endorsement, reflects the kind of skulduggery that would be worthy of the Sopranos themselves”.
The Green Party has called on the County Manager to issue a new Section 55 notice to Roadstone obliging the company to remove all illegally dumped waste to be removed off-site. Councillor de Burca has also called on the DPP to revisit his decision not to prosecute Roadstone for the illegal waste found on its land.
Bray Wanderers v Shelbourne, Carlisle Grounds (Kick off 7:45)
Friday, July 22, 2005
Shelbourne are back in League action just 48 hours after seeing off Glentoran 6-2 on aggregate in their Champions League first round clash when they meet Bray Wanderers at the Carlisle Grounds.
With next week’s second round Champions League tie against Steaua Bucharest in mind, Shelbourne manager Pat Fenlon is expected to re-jig his squad which could mean that new signing Curtis Fleming could start.
Bray Wanderers have injury doubts over Stephen Gifford, Keith Long and Graham O’Hanlon. Derek Tyrell is ineligible under the terms of his loan move from Shelbourne.
Kieran ‘Tarzan’ O’Brien will also make a club record 274 appearances for the club if he plays.
Approval given for construction of 23 new homes in Bray
Friday, July 22, 2005
Mr. Dick Roche, T.D, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government today (21st July, 2005) announced that he has approved Bray Town Council's proposals to accept a tender for the construction of 23 new dwellings at Richmond Hill in Bray at an estimated cost of €3.5 million.
The Minister stated that he was very pleased to convey his approval to Bray Town Council to accept the tender for these new dwellings which consists of a mixture of houses and apartments and the construction of a retail unit.
The Minister commended the Town Council on using this infill site to develop a high quality housing scheme. "I congratulate the Council on the variety of house types in the development which includes houses, apartments and duplexes which has been designed to take advantage of the sloping nature of the site and the need to integrate the development into its existing surroundings," said the Minister.
The Minister continued that he has allocated €3.8 million to the Town Council for their housing programme this year. "I would urge the Town Council to sign the contract for the development as soon as possible so construction can start without delay," concluded the Minister.
€1.5 million in sports grants for County Wicklow
Friday, July 22, 2005
Minister Dick Roche has welcomed the allocation of funds totalling over €1.5 million under the Sports Capital Programme to clubs and organisations throughout the county.
The 2005 allocation of funds is up almost €700,000 on the 2003 allocation. This is a very welcome boost for local sporting clubs and community organisations.
This Fianna Fail led Government has spent €610m nationally on sport since 1997.
The annual sports budget has increased from €17m in 1997 to €131m in 2005.
Greystones United comes at the top of this year's allocation list receiving €400,000. My good friends in Bray Wanderers received €375,000 and Bray Emmets €275,000 to continue their wonderful work. Dunlavin, Eire Og, and Arklow Rock Parnell's GAA clubs all got €50,000 each. Meanwhile the rugby club in Rathdrum got €100,000.
"I am delighted with the funding given to clubs and organisations in the county this year" the Minister said.
New sports in the area such as the Cobra Gymnastics Club and Rathdrum Gymnastics immense work has been recognised with significant grants.
"I am particularly pleased that a number of clubs and organisations, which have large scale and ambitious development programmes under way, are to receive substantial funding allocations."
Ballinacor Community Project, for example received €110,000 for the development of a playing pitch and running track. "This level of funding is vital to an ambitious project such as that at Ballinacor "-- Minister Roche concluded.
Greenstar now tops for Tetrapak, Timmins
Thursday, July 21, 2005
“I am delighted that Greenstar Waste Disposal Company has now agreed to accept Tetrapak cartons in their green bins and bags for recyclable goods,” says local TD Billy Timmins.
“Every week the average household uses between 12 and 20 milk and juice cartons made from Tetrapak. This amounts to a considerable percentage of space in the typical black bin. And most of the larger two-litre plastic milk containers will be accepted for recycling too. If the letters HDPE or PETE are at the bottom of any plastic bottle or container, it will be accepted by Greenstar.
“And I am pleased that Co Wicklow people are making such effective use of bottle banks. The bottle bank at Tesco in Bray, for example, took in more than a million bottles last year.”
“I just wish that politicians in the north of the county would stop blaming each other for the failure to provide Recycling Amenity Centres in Bray and Greystones. I call on all politicians in North Wicklow to work together to provide their constituents with an excellent facility such as the one at The Murrough in Wicklow Town,” concludes Deputy Timmins.
Sinn Féin to protest at Kilmacanogue Shell station again
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Following an appeal from the families of the Rossport 5, at a rally held in Ballina on Sunday, for a national Day of action to to held this coming Friday, July 22nd, Wicklow Sinn Fein Councillor John Brady has said that the party will hold a protest on Friday at the Shell service station in Kilmacanogue starting at 6.30pm.
This will be the second protest organised by Sinn Fein in Wicklow in support of the Shell to Sea campaign.
Cllr Brady said: "Fridays protest in Kilmac will be the second organised by Sinn Fein in the County in support of the Shell to Sea campaign. From the outset of this campaign, we have made it very clear that our objective is to raise public awareness as to the plight of the imprisoned men and their families, of the serious safety issues surrounding this potentially lethal pipeline and of the wider issue surrounding the terms under which this government and previous governments have given away Irelands natural resources with no gain whatsoever to the Irish people.
The beneficial owners of this particular pipeline are Shell who hold 45%; Statoil with 36.5% and Marathon Oil who own 18.5%. The reality is that Norway owns 70.5% of statoil so we have the crazy situation where the people of Norway will own over 25% of the gas passing through the high pressure pipeline in Rossport while the people of Ireland will own nothing.
Thanks to the deals worked out by Ray Burke and Bobby Molloy, and now presided over by Dempsey and Bertie Ahern, the multi-national oil companies control 100% of Irish natural resources.
"The very simple reason why they do not wish to process this at sea is because it is the cheaper for them to process it inshore. So we have the unbelieveable situation where the state has given away our natural resources for nothing and has then allowed the safety and lives of Irish citzens to be seriously endangered by the construction of a potentially lethal pipeline which saves the multi-nationaloil companies even more money.
"The long concealed facts around this case are something that every Irish citizen should be enraged about.
"Sinn Fein will continue to support these families, will continue to support the Shell to Sea campaign and will continue to demand that the terms under which these oil companies have been granted exploration licences should be reviewed."
Kenny boost for Wicklow
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Wicklow manager Hugh Kenny has revealed his desire to remain at the helm for another season.
The Garden County’s participation in competitive matches is over for the year after their defeat to Longford in the Tommy Murphy Cup last weekend.
Speculation was rife that Kenny would follow in the footsteps of the likes of Padraig Nolan and Liam Kearns and step down from his position.
Nonetheless, he has admitted that he made the decision to stay a long time ago and although the former player has yet to be ratified in the position by the county board, it is thought that will only be a formality.
"Really I had made my mind up long ago that I would remain on for another year. The players were aware of my intentions last week and I had never contemplated leaving," said Kenny.
"We made considerable progress this year, played very well in both championship games. We have a number of young players coming into the squad so for next year the squad will be even stronger."
Broadband Scheme welcomed by Deputy Mildred Fox
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Independent Deputy Mildred Fox has welcomed the announcement of the latest phase of rural broadband projects approved by the Minister for Communications under the County & Group Broadband Scheme.
Among the areas in Wicklow to benefit from this are Carnew and North East Wicklow. This includes Newcastle, Roundwood, Ashford, Kilcoole West, Kilpedder and Kilmacanogue.
According to Deputy Fox, when in place, this project will be of great benefit to many businesses in the county who currently are finding the existing technology far too slow for commercial purposes. At present, broadband is only available to a limited number of customers who live in the urban areas of the county.
The Group Broadband Scheme is targeted at rural and low population areas that would be unlikely to get broadband services in the near term. So far, 38 projects countywide have been covered and a total grant aid package of €1,230,000 has been approved
Arklow's James Moore to take on New York
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Arklow's James Moore is to make his long-awaited professional debut in New York next month.
The 2001 World Amateur bronze-medallist has returned to the Big Apple following an interview for his sports visa. Light middleweight Moore is scheduled to fight an as-yet-unnamed opponent over four rounds at the Manhattan Center on Friday, August 4.
Moore, 27, is being managed Stateside by Mayo native Eddie McLoughlin, who said of the two-time Irish champion: "We're very excited to have James on board. He's one of the most sought-after amateurs in Ireland."
On the same night as Moore's maiden bout, Irish middleweight champion Matthew Macklin, 23, will make his US debut in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Macklin, whose father is from Roscommon and mother hails from Tipperary, claimed the middleweight belt against Michael Monaghan on the undercard of Bernard Dunne's last Dublin outing in May.
Washington middleweight Larry Brothers is the rumoured opponent for Macklin's US bow at the Borgata Hotel Casino. The Atlantic City card is being staged by Golden Boy Promotions, a firm owned by six-times world champion Oscar De La Hoya.
Mayo Denied by Wicklow’s Late Surge
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Christy Ring Cup
Wicklow 3-16, Mayo 3-12
A late surge that saw Wicklow record 2-3 without reply in the closing ten minutes of this Christy Ring Cup Round 5 tie was the turning point of the game as Mayo threw away a five-point lead to concede defeat.
Even though both sides were destined to the relegation play-offs prior to the game, a fabulous seventy minutes of hurling was witnessed by the small number of supporters present at Pearse Park in Arklow.
With six regulars missing due to injury, the Mayo management team had no choice but to be in experimental mood with team selection, with only five players retaining the same jersey from the team which were defeated by Kerry in the penultimate round. However, a hamstring injury picked up by Derek McConn, as well as a straight red card for Mayo makeshift full forward John Duffy, will pose further problems for the upcoming relegation battle against either Roscommon or Derry.
The match itself which was played at a ferocious pace in blistering hot conditions, served up a total of 34 scores, as both sides went at it hammer and togs in the opening half. Don Hyland (0-3), Jonathon O’Neill (0-3) and David Moran (1-0) were Wicklow’s chief attackers in the opening half as they raced into a 1-8 to 1-6 half-time lead.
Mayo, who played some crisp hurling at stages in the opening half were kept intact by points from Adrian Freeman (0-4) and Stephen Broderick (0-2), with Mayo’s opening half goal coming from Derek McConn before he was forced to retire injured.
The second period saw a Mayo surge, helped by a 2-2 contribution by makeshift full forward John Duffy, as Mayo raced into a five point lead. Duffy, who recorded majors in the 37th and 49th minutes, sent Mayo into a 3-11 to 1-12 lead going into the final quarter of the game. Duffy’s contribution was marred however as he received his marching order’s late on for an alleged off the ball incident. Other notable Mayo contributions came from Stephen Broderick at midfield as he accounted for five points, four from play, as he lorded proceedings around the middle for Mayo.
The Mayo half back line of Con Ryan, Shane Morley and Paul Lynch were also contributing handsomely to Mayo’s dominance, especially Ryan who consistently cleared his lines throughout.
The turning point of the game came in the 61st minute when a high dropping ball in around the Mayo square was doubled on and netted by sharp shooting corner forward Don Hyland.
This coupled with a goal from a penalty by Wicklow midfielder Jonathon O’Neill minutes later brought Wicklow back into contention, and late points from Alan Tiernan, Hyland again and substitute Pat Lee pulled Wicklow clear for a four point win.
Even though the outcome of this tie was irrelevant, the Mayo management learnt much during this encounter. However, with key men Keith Higgins (Elbow), Paddy Barrett (Broken Thumb), Ger Whyte (Ankle), James Hogan (Foot), Pierse Higgins (Back), Paul Broderick (Knee) and now Derek McConn (Hamstring) all out of action, the odds are very much stacked against Mayo’s survival in the Tier Two Championship for 2006.
Mayo: Tom Duffy (Ballina); Derek Walsh (Ballyhaunis), Seami Barrett (Belmullet), Brian Delaney (Tooreen); Con Ryan (Westport), Shane Morley (Tooreen), Paul Lynch (Ballyhaunis); Stephen Coyne (Tooreen), Stephen Broderick (0-5,1f) (Westport); Derek McConn (1-0) (Ballyhaunis), Kevin Healy (Ballina), Paul Reape (Ballina); Adrian Freeman (0-5,4f) (Tooreen), John Duffy (2-2) (Ballina), Rory Campion (Ballina). Subs: Daniel Kirby (Ballina) for McConn inj.
Wicklow: T. Finn; MJ O’Neill, G. Kehoe, D. Moran (1-0); G. Murray, L. Kennedy, D. Doran (0-1,1f); J. Bermingham, J. O’Neill (1-6,1-5f); A. Tiernan (0-1), J. Murphy, B. Rickerby (0-1); D. Hyland (1-5), E. Kennedy, TJ Byrne Sub: T. Collins (0-1), P. Lee (0-1).
New TV Station to Reach North Wicklow
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
A new television station for the greater Dublin area will broadcast 24 hours, seven days a week. It will be a niche service providing dedicated information and entertainment specifically of interest to the Dublin area. Programming will include lifestyle subjects such as Motoring, Property, Local Government, Dublin Culture, What’s-On Guide, Shopping and Travel, in addition to transport and weather updates.
The service will be carried on the ntl digital platform in Dublin further to section 41 of the Broadcasting Act 2001. The service will form part of ntl’s digital standard television subscription package.
City Channel, due to start up in September, revealed plans for the show ‘Free to Express’ covering issues from men’s health to the capital’s gay pride parade.
Eddie McGuinness, presenter of the show, said it would take a look at issues affecting the gay and lesbian community and also offer ongoing information on venues and forthcoming events.
“I’m delighted to be involved in this initiative. It is exciting to be so closely involved with the first ever TV programme produced and presented by and for the gay and lesbian community in Ireland,” he said.
“It is also an insight for the wider audience to understand the make up and the diversity of Dublin’s gay and lesbian scene.”
While City Channel’s core audience will be in the greater Dublin area it is hoped viewers as far north as Dundalk, Co Louth and south to Greystones, Co Wicklow will be able to pick up the station.
The channel will broadcast 24 hours, seven days a week, providing dedicated information and entertainment specifically of interest to the Dublin area.
City Channel will be carried on the NTL digital platform as part of the standard package. Broadcasting to 100,000 homes initially, City Channel will have a potential audience of 400,000 along the east coast.
Raron Gas a serious issue says Deputy Mildred Fox
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Independent Deputy Mildred Fox has called on Wicklow County Council to start treating the issue of Radon gas with the seriousness which it deserves. She says the attitude of this local authority contrasts poorly with that of other Local Authorities who have both policies and personnel to deal with this issue. Wicklow County Council has neither.
Responding to queries from local authority tenants concerned at the high levels of Radon in their houses, Deputy Fox was alarmed to discover that despite being landlords of these homes, the issue of Radon gas was one on which no one within the council could take action. As Radon is a contributory cause of lung cancer, this attitude is totally unacceptable. Deputy Fox would like to see someone within the council appointed to deal with this issue, liasing with their own tenants and providing information and assistance to those who have concerns relating to Radon.
Deputy Fox also said that funding should be made available to assist people take whatever measures are necessary if high levels of Radon are found in their homes. She said that the Department of the Environment should be prepared to fund this, given their responsibility for local authorities.
Illegal dump contaminating groundwater, committee hears
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
A major illegal dump by construction giant, Cement Roadstone Holdings Plc in West Wicklow has already contaminated the area’s groundwater, it was claimed today.
But the Environmental Protection Agency today said it could be 100 years before drinking water for Dublin at a nearby reservoir would be affected.
The EPA recently rejected a licence application by CRH to move the waste to a new landfill on its lands and the firm is currently appealing this decision.
Speaking of the CRH dump in Blessington, EPA director general Dr Mary Kelly told the Oireachtas Environment Committee: “To my knowledge, there is contamination beginning to occur into the groundwater from the site.
“However it is moving at a very slow pace and it imposes no threat. The figure I have seen is up to 100 years.”
Wicklow Labour TD Liz McManus said: “The situation in Co Wicklow is very stark and extremely disturbing.”
Senator Terry Leyden of Fianna Fáil said that Wicklow, as the ’Garden of Ireland’ was in danger of becoming known as the ’Illegal Dump of Ireland’.
Fergus O’Dowd of Fine Gael said: “Local authorities should be absolutely and totally embarrassed if they’re not doing their job.”
Ciaran Cuffe of the Green Party claimed that illegal dumps near Blessington in Co Wicklow were upstream from Dublin’s major reservoir.
He said that over a number of years, hundreds of thousands of tonnes of illegal waste were deposited on CRH lands.
He said that CRH came before the committee in 2003 and “denied all knowledge” of the waste.
“Frankly I think it an outrageous and incredible statement from CRH that it had no knowledge of when or who deposited that waste on its lands,” he said.
Dr Kelly has had several meetings with CRH and Wicklow Co Council and their respective consultants about the waste.
She said CRH has applied for a licence in December 2004 to move the waste into a properly managed landfill site on its lands.
They refused the application on the grounds that there would be an unacceptable risk to environmental pollution to a local aquifer, the excavation of the waste could contaminate ground water and cause odours and that CRH didn’t satisfy EPA that it would dispose of all of the waste concerned.
“I understand people’s concerns that this is dragging on for quite a number of years,” said Dr Kelly.
CRH has a 28-day statutory period to appeal the EPA decision.
Ms McManus calculated that 630,000 tonnes of waste had been found on three separate sites in West Wicklow.
“This adds up to enormous criminal activity, a very lucrative business, hundreds of thousands of illegal waste.
“Yet only four years on, there has only been one court case. I do think we need to look at why there has been so little outcome,” she said.
Dr Kelly said that a major report on illegal dumping to be published in September would find that Wicklow and Kildare were the worst-affected counties in the country.
She said that gardaí and detectives from the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation were pursuing prosecutions in relation to the discovery of waste in several sites in Wicklow.
“We’re not happy at all that there is an illegal landfill so close to the residents [in two residential estates in Blessington].
“Our intention would be to have the waste removed from that site as soon as possible.”
Congratulating the EPA for its decision to refuse CRH’s licence application, Senator Shane Ross (Ind) said: “It’s very unusual for CRH to have anything refused to it in this country at all.
“They are normally granted what they wish by any agency in the country they apply to. I think it has taken independence and courage for you to do that.”
He called for greater powers for local authorities and the EPA to punish multinationals “behaving in cowboy fashion.”
€92,000 allocated for Wicklow footpaths
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Mr. Dick Roche, T.D., Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government today (19th July, 2005) announced details of the 2005 allocations to Wicklow County Council under a new grant scheme for the provision and improvement of footpaths in Town Council areas which were formerly Town Commissioner areas. The Minister will make a formal announcement in relation to the national allocations at a meeting tomorrow with the President of the Association of Municipal Authorities, Councillor Sean Connick.
The Minister said "In January, at the launch of the 2005 non-national road grant allocations, I said that I was providing an initial allocation of ?1/2 million this year for this new grant scheme. However, in view of the huge interest in the scheme and the valuable work which will be carried out, I have now decided to increase the grant aid available from my Department to almost ?740,000 - an increase of 50% on the initial allocation."
The Minister said that under the scheme, which was developed in consultation with the Association of Municipal Authorities, County Councils were asked to consult with the relevant Town Councils and submit applications for consideration. "This scheme shows", the Minister added, "my continuing commitment to ensure that local communities have an input into decisions which affect them in their own neighbourhoods. Wicklow County Council consulted with Greystones Town Council in this regard."
The Minister continued "I am delighted to say that all of the 6 applications submitted by Wicklow County Council for new footpaths and footpath improvement works in the Greystones area have been approved for funding this year. The total 2005 grant allocation from my Department towards these projects is €92,000."
Details of the projects in Greystones which have received allocations in 2005 under the scheme are:
Project Allocation
Church Lane footpath improvements €16,000
New footpath on Trafalgar Road €10,667
New footpath on Rathdown Road €16,000
New footpath in Applewood Heights €12,667
New footpath in Mountain View Park, La Touche Park €12,667
New footpath in Carrick Villas €24,000
The Minister concluded "I am confident that this targeted investment will lead to a very noticeable improvement in footpath conditions in Greystones and I look forward to seeing the completed work."
EPA warns of Blessington contamination
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
The Director General of the Environmental Protection Agency has said there is evidence that an illegal dump on land owned by Cement Roadstone in Blessington Co Wicklow, is beginning to contaminate ground water at the site.
Mary Kelly was addressing the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Environment and Local Government.
Ms Kelly said that it was the EPA's view that the problem of illegal dumping was worst in Wicklow and Kildare.
Row over New York Times Article Continues
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Green Party councillor, Deirdre de Burca, has responded to recent media attacks upon her by Minister Dick Roche by calling on him to start “delivering” for the people of Bray. She has accused him of trying to distract from his own poor performance in Bray, and elsewhere in Wicklow, by attacking her instead.
The Green Party councillor has been repeatedly criticised by the Minister for comments that she made to the New York Times about the waste problem in Wicklow. “Minister Roche prefers to follow the old Fianna Fail mantra of ‘Hear no Evil, See no Evil, Speak no Evil’ when it comes to the illegal waste scandal and other scandals in Wicklow” says de Burca. “I personally believe that the only way we are going to get this complacent government to do anything about the national scourge of illegal dumping is to embarrass it into action”.
Councillor de Burca says that Minister Roche’s suggestion that she, as Chairperson of Bray Town Council, should be able to sort out the problem that has emerged with Bray’s old civic dump falling into the sea is “ridiculous”. “I have been Chairperson of Bray Town Council for one month now and I made the problem of the collapsing Bray dump a priority on the council’s agenda” says de Burca. “However, discussions are now ongoing between the Town Engineer and the Department of the Environment as to how the remediate the dump. As always, the matter goes back to the Department of the Environment, and Bray Town Council will be relying on it to provide much of the necessary funding for the expensive works to secure the dump from further erosion. I hope the Minister will deliver this funding”.
The Green Party councillor claims that the Minister Roche has failed to deliver what the town of Bray really needs since he was appointed to Ministerial office. “He has failed to deliver on a recycling centre for Bray” says de Burca. “Unfortunately Wicklow County Council -and not Bray Town Council -has the legal responsibility for finding a recycling centre for Bray. The officials of Wicklow County Council have told me that the Minister has not provided enough money to cover the cost of a site in Bray given the high cost of land in North Wicklow. He obviously has also failed to give Wicklow County Council a deadline for establishing a recycling centre and so the matter drags on. His own party is one of the largest parties on Wicklow County Council, unlike the Green Party which only has one councillor, and yet Fianna Fail has done very little to progress the issue of establishing a recycling centre for Bray”
Councillor de Burca also points out that the Minister, while he has given over half a million euros for the proposed development of the Harbour and North Beach area of Bray, has failed to provide any funding for flood protection works on the Dargle River. “In fact local people are being told that they will have to tolerate high density development on the flood plain of the golf club lands in order to get the developers to pay for flood protection works that have been outstanding for nineteen years. And yet the Minister can find half a million euros to subsidise another lucrative development at the Harbour/North Beach. It would seem that the needs of big developers are the priority for the Minister, rather than the needs of the ordinary people of Bray.”
Roche Challenges McManus & DeBurca over New York Times Article
Monday, July 18, 2005
Minister for the Environment Dick Roche has castigated Deputy McManus and Councillor DeBurca for comments in the New York Times & International Herald Tribune in which both portray Bray and County Wicklow in the most unflattering terms.
"Deputy McManus and Councillor DeBurca seem incapable of avoiding a cheap headline even when, as in this case, serious damage is inflicted by their actions.
Both articles portray Bray and Wicklow in the most unflattering terms.
McManus suggests that the place is run by some form of Mafia, odd coming from the Deputy Leader of one of the political parties controlling Bray Council.
It is true that there is a major problem with the old dump at Bray Harbour. Bray is by no means the only town in this country or elsewhere with an old dump that requires attention. New York State, for example, has had more than its fair share of problems with major landfill sites and toxic dumps over the years, problems on a vastly greater scale than anything encountered in Ireland or indeed in Europe. Yet McManus and De Burca have chosen to portray Bray and county Wicklow as being uniquely despoiled by litter & waste. There are certainly problems in county Wicklow and indeed in Bray but the problems should be addressed by the local councils and in particular, in the case of Bray by Bray Town Council which is controlled by McManus & DeBurca. A solution to the problems in Bray can and should be found in the local council. It will certainly not be found in the pages of either the New York Times or the International Herald Tribune, " Minister Roche said.
"The hypocrisy of McManus and DeBurca is demonstrated by the fact that neither have made any positive contribution in support of the creation of a modern waste infrastructure in Ireland. Yet both decided to criticised the position in this country in the international media.
There is a reference to the not in my backyard syndrome in the New York Times article. DeBurca and McManus would know a great deal about that syndrome. Both, for example, have opposed the idea of creating proper landfill space in Ireland and both also oppose the idea of creating proper heat treatment facilities for waste. Neither have added any constructive contribution to the problems of dealing with the waste issues in county Wicklow. Both have been long on criticism but short in terms of solutions.
The most hypocritical aspect of McManus and DeBurca's comments is that their parties have combined to take control of Bray town Council. Yet De Burca and McManus had done nothing positive in Bray to deal with the problem. Bray town Council is unique in that it was offered government funding last year to build a recycling centre and to date it has failed to do so when much smaller towns up and down the country have built modern well used recycling centres.
The comments from Deputy Mc Manus are particularly damaging from the point of view of tourism in county Wicklow and from the point of view of attracting foreign investment into the county.
McManus portrays county Wicklow as being like something out of the "Sopranos". Suggesting that county Wicklow is run by the Mafia might grab Deputy Mc Manus a cheap headline but it does absolutely nothing for tourism in County Wicklow and even less for industrial development.
Over the last few months we have had the usual hand wringing from the Labour Party about jobs in county Wicklow. Deputy Mc Manus has put headline grabbing ahead of the interests of people who are trying to encourage inward investment into county Wicklow. The New York Times and the International Herald Tribune are papers which are widely circulated in the United States and which are read by the business community, the very people who make investment decisions. Suggesting that county Wicklow is run by the Mafia or that the county has problems which it cannot control will undoubtedly do damage to efforts to encourage the same US industrial leaders to invest in this county.
McManus has also done irreparable damage to tourism in Co Wicklow. Bray Chamber of Commerce, Bray Tourism & County Wicklow Tourism has been making huge efforts in recent times to encourage more tourism into County Wicklow. What tour operator in the United States reading the comments from Deputy Mc Manus would put Bray on a tourism route? Again Deputy McManus' insatiable appetite for headlines has put her personal interest ahead of the interests of people who are trying to do something positive for County Wicklow.
The people of Wicklow are entitled to an apology from McManus & DeBurca.
Girl drowns in Glendalough lake
Monday, July 18, 2005
A 12-year-old girl has drowned in a lake in Co Wicklow.
It is understood the youngster got into difficulty when either paddling or swimming at Glendalough at around 4.15pm this afternoon. It is believed she was on a trip with a youth group.
Emergency services were contacted immediately and a search and rescue operation got underway a short time later.
The girl's body was recovered at 8.40pm this evening from the Upper Lake.
Her body has been taken to Loughlinstown Hospital for a post mortem examination.
Brady chosen as Sinn Féin candidate in Wicklow
Monday, July 18, 2005
Cllr. John Brady has been chosen as Sinn Féin's candidate for the next general election.
He was unanimously chosen by representatives from around the county at the party's selection convention at the Grand Hotel in Wicklow Town last Friday night. The convention was also attended by Sinn Féin's vice-chairperson, Pat Doherty, MP for West Tyrone. Doherty spoke very highly of Brady and of Sinn Féin's advances in Wicklow over the past two years.
In his acceptance speech, Brady spoke of the inequality, squandered resources and incompetence that have bedeviled the state during the Celtic Tiger period. He was particularly scathing of the government's handling of the Shell gas fiasco in Mayo. "Only too recently we have seen how the 26-county government has sold off, at a whim, one of our biggest resources in the Corrib gas field and the jailing of five Irish citizens for daring to stand up and say No," he said. "Shame on the Irish government, shame on Shell. Release the Rossport Five immediately."
Brady also slammed the anti-Peace Process parties, notably Lady Wicklow's (Liz McManus) right-wing Labour Party. "We have seen the leaderships of the Labour Party and Fine Gael, who have never been comfortable with the Peace Process, colluding once again in a vicious anti-Sinn Féin agenda. This is all about party politics. But the Peace Process is bigger than party politics -- and so is the right of people of this island to live together in freedom and in peace," Brady said.
"Our opponents view us as a threat because they don't like the fact that Eamonn Long is sitting on Wicklow Town Council and I am on Bray Town Council. But the threat we pose is entirely democratic and peaceful. The threat we pose is the radical, progressive, political party we are building right across the island of Ireland."
Longford beat Wicklow in first round of Tommy Murphy Cup
Monday, July 18, 2005
Longford beat Wicklow in the first round of the Tommy Murphy Cup.
Longford 1-13
Wicklow 0-10
The game was only 90 second old when Longford were awarded a penalty and Barden had little difficulty planting the spot kick into the Wicklow net.
Three further scores from the impressive midfielder kept Longford ticking over but at the interval they led by just 1-7 to 0-6 as Wicklow bean to come more into the game.
In the second half Longford continued to dominate even if they scoring pattern of the game slowed considerably, something that was undoubtedly contributed to by the fact that Barden was forced to leave the pitch with an apparent ankle injury.
Wicklow battled gallantly but could make little impression against a teak tough Longford defence and the visitors cause was not helped by the dismissal of Dave Fenton with 13 minutes left to play.
Longford - D Sheridan; D Brady, D Corcoran, E Ledwith; C Conefrey, A O’Connor, S Mulligan; P Barden 1-3, L Keenan; K Smyth, K Mulligan 0-3, D Reilly; J Martin 0-3, B Kavanagh 0-4, T Smullen. Subs - D Glennon, S Lynch, P O’Hara.
Wicklow - I Burke; A Halpin, B Daly, C Davis; K Manning, W Callaghan, B O hAnnaidh; G Duffy, J Stafford; D Smullen, L Glynn 0-1, T Harney 0-2; JP Davis 0-2, W O’Gorman 0-1, J Daniels 0-4. Subs - D Dillon; D Fenton; G Doran; A Ellis; D O’Sullivan.
Referee - S Doyle (Wexford).
Wicklow's Group B hurlers beat Mayo
Monday, July 18, 2005
Wicklow's Group B hurlers, helped by the presence of dual star Wayne O'Gorman, edged bottom side Mayo 3-16 to 3-12, but the win was not enough to save the Garden county from the relegation semi-finals.
There, they will face Group A basement side Derry, while Mayo will meet Roscommon in the other play-off for the second-tier drop.
Bray too good for struggling United
Monday, July 18, 2005
Bray Wanderers won 2-1to secure their fist win in six games in this Premier Division basement battle, while Waterford United's crisis-hit campaign plunged to new depths.
United, without a win since April 29, were denied the services of new signings PJ Banville and John Lester following a registration mix-up.
Yet it was Waterford who made the perfect start, opening the scoring after nine minutes.
A speculative long ball from Dave Mulcahy fell to Neil Andrews who lofted the ball beyond the stranded Chris O'Connor into the empty Bray net.
But United's lead lasted only four minutes, after Eamon Zayed nodded home unchallenged from four yards following a David Tyrrell corner.
Three minutes later, Bray's Colm Tresson was played in by new Romanian recruit Andrei Georgescu, but the full back's volley sailed over Pakie Holden's crossbar.
Things got even better for Bray on 23 minutes when Zayed struck again from point blank range, after Georgescu had bamboozled David Breen on the left flank.
And Zayed was left scratching his head 12 minutes later, when he blazed a half volley over from 10 yards after Kevin Waters had failed to clear.
A forgettable second half yielded little worth recording, although the lively Georgescu was unlucky to see his 20-yard shot cannon off Holden's right upright on 82 minutes.
Waterford United: P Holden; K Waters, P Crowley (P McCarthy, 84), D Breen, D Mulcahy; V Sullivan (D Kavanagh, 60), S Grant (S Finn, 45), C Heffernan; N Andrews, D McCarthy,
Subs not used: P Purcell and J Fyffe.
Bray Wanderers: C O'Connor; C Tresson, P Keogh, J Lynch, B McGovern; S Gifford (C Jones, 56), Kevin O'Brien (P Caffrey, 56), S Fox, D Tyrrell (Kieran O'Brien, 87) E Zayed; A Georgescu.
Subs not used: P O'Reilly.
Referee: Hugh Whoriskey (Meath).
Bray eye up more transfer swoops
Monday, July 18, 2005
Bray Wanderers, who completed the signings of midfielders Paul Caffrey, Stuart Holt and Andrei Georgescu within the past week, are also running the rule over Sparta Rotterdam pair Jayson Trommel and Omar Zaroual, who made guest appearances during a friendly defeat at the hands of Hearts this week.
Defender Trommel has had trials with Sheffield United and Grimsby Town in England and Belgian side Mechelen in the past.
Zaroual, who can play either on the wing or up front, parted company with Rotterdam at the end of last season.
100 tonnes of waste dumped on Sugar Loaf Mountain
Monday, July 18, 2005
The Minister for the Environment, Dick Roche, is to ask Wicklow County Council to work as quickly as possible to clean up 100 tonnes of waste dumped at the back of the Sugar Loaf Mountain in Co Wicklow.
The waste is all that remains after a group of up to nine Traveller families, who had moved onto the common land during an annual visit to the area, moved away at the weekend after staying five weeks.
The area is a well-known beauty spot, and is popular with local walkers and tourists.
Amongst the waste on the site are three smashed up caravans, a car, building and domestic waste, as well as numerous fridges, cookers and other white goods.
The council estimates it will take up to three days to clean the site, at a cost of up to €5,000.
The council says it has to deal with around five cases of dumping of this size each year.
It believes much of the rubbish originates from people who paid others to dispose of it on their behalf.
The council is appealing to householders and businesses not to pay others to dispose of waste unless they are certain that they hold a valid waste management permit.
Minister Roche, who is a local TD, has condemned the dumping. He said the Travelling community had a responsibility not to behave in such a manner.
Labour's Deputy Leader, and another local TD, Liz McManus, also condemned the dumping.
She called for swift action by the council and gardaí in bringing the perpetrators to justice.
Deputy McManus said it would take the jailing of people responsible for such dumping, or those they are dumping goods on behalf of, to get the message through.
A spokesman for the nearby Bray Traveller Development Group said that it would not condone such illegal dumping by anyone anywhere. But the spokesman questioned why the council had not taken action against those responsible earlier.
Wicklow's Tara Blaise releases new album
Monday, July 18, 2005
Tara Blaise - Dancing on Tables Barefoot
Spokes Records - 2005 - 45 minutes
Wicklow girl Tara Blaise contributed vocals to Corrs manager John Hughes' solo effort 'Wild Ocean' last year and that collaboration created a songwriting partnership, which led to the release of Blaise's stirring solo debut.
'Dancing on Tables Barefoot' opens with the peppy 'The Three Degrees', but moves into mellower territory in 'Superman in a Bottle' and the fragile 'Fool for Love'. It's rich in ballads, but the pop songs give it real lift too.
A few of these tracks are a little inane; 'Later', for instance, belies the maturity of the rest of the album. But 'Radio Star' is a nice pop tune and it gives the album a pleasant diversity.
Blaise's wonderfully rich voice is a joy to listen to, achingly brittle on 'Fool for Love' and powerfully confident on recent single 'Paperback Cliché'. Her enthusiasm for what she does shines, particularly on the pop tunes.
'Dancing on Tables Barefoot' may make you want to do just that.
Katie Moten
Tracklisting: The Three Degrees - Superman in a Bottle - Fool for Love - 21 Years - Paperback Cliché - Later - For Your Own Good - Feel Free - Radio Star - Ladybird - Little Girl - Unbearable Lightness
[From rte.ie]
Bray Emmets Notes by John Smith
Sunday, July 17, 2005
We are in another senior football semi final this Sunday, in far away Dunlavin, at 6pm. Then, our ladies senior football team will take on their old adversaries Blessington, in the semi final of the ladies senior football championship. It's difficult to understand why this game is listed for Dunlavin, which is so close to Blessington, and so far from Bray. There must be some pitch more suitable for both teams available, such as Laragh, Roundwood, Newtown, or even Arklow. Certainly a championship game should be at a venue which would be equally assessable to both sets of supporters. Anyway, in spite of the politics, Bray Emmets are playing in a Championship semi final, and it essential that that each and every member of our club make an effort to support our team.
The same team were out against An Tochar, in the league, last week in St Thomas's, and had a good win. I was impressed with some of the younger players, who displayed some great skills, in kicking, and carrying the ball. We were of course without Aisling O'Hannaigh, and Eadaoin Lenihan, who are in Chicago for the summer, and I would like to wish both of them a speedy recovery from injuries they received in Chicago, - from what else, only Ladies football.
Our junior "A" football team had a successful outing on Saturday, when we defeated Ballincor, in a closely fought game in the championship. We had a good lead in the first half, but then had it whittled away, and showed great debts of character to win in the end. There were numerous complaints at the end of the game over a bit of "sharp practice" as we came in. We were charged €8, and told by no less than a County Board officer, that the reason for the high charge was that there was going to be two games. When our game ended, we heard that the second match had been cancelled, earlier that day.
Our junior "B" football team had a good win over An Tochar, last Thursday, again in Roundwood. Mick Doherty, and Jim McCormack were not available, so Jerry Walsh had complete charge, as Tom Taylor played. Maybe that was why, we played so well, and some of our minors gave great displays. I understand we are out again this Thursday, but you will need to look up the fixtures list.
Finally congratulations to the County Wicklow minor hurling team, who are now in the All Ireland "B" final. We defeated no less a team than my native Roscommon, 3-9 to 0-13. Our club have 6 players on the panel. Mikey Browne 2-3, Owen Mason, Michael Walsh, Christy Morehouse 0-2, Ed Keating, and Colm Johnson. The final will be against our neighbors, Carlow.
Kilmacanogue church renovated and rededicated
Friday, July 15, 2005
Kilmacanogue parishioners and Archbishop Diarmuid Martin joined together at a rededication Mass to celebrate the opening of their newly renovated church. St Mochonog's church was closed for six months as work was completed on a new sacristy, a parish office and a small meeting room.
Parish priest Father Owen Lynch and Father Pat Farnan, Parish Priest at Enniskerry, were concelebrants at the rededication service. The refurbishment was largely funded by parishioner Esther Cooney, who passed away in 1999, leaving a large sum of money to the parish. The nearest living relatives to Ms Cooney, Christopher and Timothy Hopkins, brought up the offertory gifts at the Mass.
16 injured in Wicklow coach crash
Thursday, July 14, 2005
Sixteen people are being treated in hospital after a coach crash in Co Wicklow.
The accident happened at around 4pm this afternoon at New Long Hill, near Kilmacanogue.
Twelve children are in Crumlin Hospital, with an adult and three children in Tallaght Hospital.
All are being treated for minor injuries.
Roche ruse to deflect bad news --Timmins
Thursday, July 14, 2005
“When Minister Dick Roche resorts to hurling personal abuse at opposition politicians one can be sure it’s a ruse to deflect public attention from embarrassing government decisions,” says Wicklow Fine Gael TD, Billy Timmins.
“In the local media last week Minister Roche accused me and Fine Gael of seeking to flood every village and town with off-licence premises.”
Said Deputy Timmins, “This absurd accusation is intended to deflect from the news that each government minister pocketed a €10k per annum pay increase and in the same week they reached into the pockets of vulnerable senior citizens to grab nursing home charges. As Minister Roche engaged in his penchant for bluster second hand house prices in the Greater Dublin Area reached cleared €411,000 and the ESB announced its intention to raise their charges by another 10 per cent.”
“If Minister Roche is serious about curbing drink-related anti-social behaviour he could start with introducing the 2,000 Gardaí so long promised instead of a clamp down on off-licences.”
“The people of Ireland would prefer if the Government acted on existing laws, such as those which require off-licences to identify themselves by labelling the drink that they sell, thus making it easier to convict those who sell to under-18s,” concluded Deputy Timmins.
EPA decision takes pressure off Roche, says de Burca
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Green Party councillor, Deirdre de Burca, claims that the recent decision by the Environmental Protection Agency to refuse a waste licence for a purpose-built landfill on Roadstone’s lands at Blessington has “taken the pressure” off Minister Dick Roche. She points out that as Minister for the Environment, Minister Roche had endorsed the Section 55 Notice issued by Wicklow County Council, requiring Roadstone Dublin Ltd to create a purpose-built landfill on its lands at Blessington to deal with more than 100,000 tonnes of illegal waste found dumped there without having to go through the planning process. ”This meant that if the EPA had actually granted the waste licence to Roadstone to develop the landfill, local people would have been deprived of the opportunity to object to the landfill through the normal planning process” says de Burca.
“If the EPA had granted the licence and the development of the landfill had gone ahead on Roadstone’s land, I think there would have been a popular uprising in Blessington” says de Burca. “Local people could see that a ‘sweetheart deal’ had been agreed between Wicklow County Council and Roadstone and that this was being done at the expense of people who lived in the town. The independent report by environmental consultants TMS that was commissioned by the Blessington Forum reached the conclusion that the proposed location for the landfill was not a suitable one. The report actually stated that the location for the landfill appeared to be dictated more by Roadstone’s commercial considerations than any real assessment of the possible public health or environmental impacts”.
Councillor de Burca claims that there was a huge level of anger amongst local residents at the fact that Minister Dick Roche had not used his power as Minister for the Environment to require Roadstone to go through the planning process as part of the development of the landfill on its lands at Blessington.
The Green party councillor has expressed her delight at the decision by the EPA, which she claims is “historic”. “To my knowledge, the EPA has never before refused a waste licence for a major landfill such as this” she says. “I congratulate all of the residents of Blessington, including the BRAD group and the Blessington Forum for the sustained campaign they have carried out in opposing this opportunistic proposal to create a landfill on Roadstone’s lands at Blessington to cater for the illegal waste that was found there. The EPA has made the right decision and now the onus is back on the County Manager of Wicklow County Council to decide on a more appropriate course of action. It is my hope that this will be done as soon as possible because residents in Blessington are still living with the daily fear of contamination of their water supplies because of the leaching of the illegal waste into the local groundwater supply. Others are living only several metres from landfill gas vents and this is totally unacceptable, either in the short or long-term”.
Roche Welcomes Roadstone Waste Licence Refusal
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Mr Dick Roche T.D., Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government today (13 July, 2005) welcomed the proposed decision of the Environmental Protection Agency to refuse an application by Roadstone Dublin Ltd for a waste licence in relation to illegally deposited waste at Blessington, Co. Wicklow.
The Minister said: "I welcome the announcement by the EPA. I am conscious that it is, at this stage, a proposed decision, and objections may be lodged. I urge all concerned to reflect on the decision and seek to do whatever is necessary to remove the waste, protect the groundwater and the integrity of the residential properties in the vicinity."
The Minister stressed that:
· the people of Blessington who properly used the legal process to object to the licence application have seen their decision vindicated in this proposed decision;
· those who implied that the regulatory process could not be trusted and so sought to impugn the integrity and independence of the Agency are seen to be wrong.
The Minister added: "I am glad that I was in a position to issue my policy direction under section 60 of the Waste Management Act in sufficient time for the Agency to have regard to it in reaching their proposed decision. This direction sets the benchmark for dealing with illegally deposited waste into the future. Crucially it requires, among many other things, that illegal waste sites adjacent to housing should always be remediated unless to do so would present a greater risk to the people and environment."
The Minister continued: "I appreciate that a lot of time has elapsed since the illegal waste site was first discovered in Blessington. It is perfectly understandable for residents and others likely to be affected to want quick solutions and an end to the illegal deposition. I fully share these concerns and expectations. Waste removal must, however, be done in a regulated fashion in order to ensure that the environment and public health is fully protected and that proper procedures are followed. This must be borne in mind by those who may wish to bring an earlier resolution to the problems being caused by illegal deposition.
While not in any way interfering in the waste licensing process, I want to make it clear that I will do everything within my powers to facilitate an early resolution to the situation. I believe that Roadstone, as a major Corporation, should immediately discuss with Wicklow County Council and the Office of Environmental Enforcement what steps can now be undertaken to solve this problem and bring it to finality at the earliest possible time".
EPA Refuses Roadstone Application for Blessington Waste Licence
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
[EPA Press Release]
The licence application sought permission for a landfill for non-hazardous waste and remediation of illegal waste deposits. The types of wastes are mixed construction, commercial and municipal wastes.
In reaching this decision the EPA has considered the application and supporting documentation received from the applicant, all submissions received from other parties and the report of its inspector.
The reasons for the recommended decision are as follows:
1. The siting of the proposed landfill facility on the locally important unconfined aquifer in proximity to the Wicklow County Council Blessington wellfield would constitute an unacceptable risk of environmental pollution. The zone of contribution of the Blessington wellfield lies directly in the path of and down/cross gradient of the proposed landfill cells.
2. The applicant has not demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Agency the requirement to dispose of all of the quantity of waste as proposed in the licence application.
3. The applicant has not demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Agency that it is not practicable to identify or establish a landfill disposal site in a lower risk area, and particularly at a suitably licensed facility elsewhere.
4. The measures proposed for excavation of waste at Area 6 are not sufficient to adequately ensure that odour nuisance and groundwater contamination will not arise thus causing environmental pollution.
Twenty one submissions were received on the licence application. All parties, and the applicant can object to the decision to refuse the licence within a 28-day period. The Board of the EPA will then make a final decision.
The EPA received the licence application on 7 December 2004. Further information was sought from the applicant and was received by the EPA on 30 May 2005. The inspector’s report is available on the EPA website’s at www.epa.ie/Licensing/Waste Licensing/Search for a licence/ . The waste licence application number is 213-1.
€100,000 announced for Elderly Scheme in Eastern Region
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Mr Dick Roche T.D., today (13th July 2005) announced that the Task Force on Special Housing Aid for the Elderly, under the aegis of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, is allocating grants totalling €100,000 to the Health Services Executive (Eastern Region), for the carrying out of essential repairs to houses occupied by elderly persons living on their own. This is in addition to the initial funding of €1,600,000 already provided to the board.
Announcing the funding, the Minister said that he was very pleased with the effectiveness of the scheme in helping the elderly people to continue to live independently in as much comfort as possible.
Bray hit for five by Hearts
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Scottish Premier Division side Hearts ended their pre-season tour of Ireland unbeaten after defeating Bray 5-1 at the Carlisle Grounds.
Having drawn 0-0 with St Pat's last weekend, George Burley earned his first win as manager of the Jambos thanks to three second half strikes.
Lithuanian winger Deividas Cesnauskis gave the visitors a 16th minute lead which was doubled by Stephen Simmons's free kick ten minutes later.
In the second period, the visitors added three more through substitutes Calum Elliott (69), Marius Kizys (73) and Scottish international Paul Hartley (81).
Bray bagged a stunning consolation from new Romanian signing Franceso Georgescu who found the net from fully 35 yards.
Euro Report from Avril Doyle, MEP
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
STRASBOURG EURO NEWS
- Avril Doyle, MEP for Ireland East-
ON THE RECORD AT THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
July 2005
The European Parliament meets one week out of four in plenary session in Strasbourg.
No amount of propaganda or spin can sell 'the euro' says Avril Doyle
The European Parliament voted, on Tuesday 5 July, in favour of the Maaten Report on a Communication strategy on the euro. The report was adopted with 493 votes in favour, 117 against and 14 abstentions.
Speaking in the debate Avril Doyle Fine Gael MEP for the East said: "That the euro may suffer from a popularity deficit in some countries in the euro zone should come as no surprise. There are two main reasons for this, neither of which has anything to do with the lack of a communication strategy.
"First of all, the perception that the introduction of the euro has resulted in increasing inflation in Member States has done serious damage to its image, even though, according to official figures, only 0.2% of the increase is attributable to the euro. However, this average figure disguises large price increases in a long list of everyday items such as coffee, vegetables, bread, hairdressing and parking meters, largely due to opportunistic marking up or rounding-off during the changeover period.
"Secondly, our citizens’ attitudes to the euro reflect the economic situations in their own countries and their insecurity about their futures, pensions, jobs for their children and many other issues. It is no coincidence that the euro has been fully accepted in Ireland. We had a very successful changeover programme but, more importantly, we have 4% unemployment, less than half the EU average, and our economic growth is approaching 6%, three times the EU average. Whilst the euro can help promote economic growth, it cannot do that on its own without sensible fiscal policies and sound economic management in each Member State. No amount of propaganda or spin can ever sell it on its own", she concluded.
Ban on dangerous substances in toys
Parliament voted in favour of a permanent ban on six phthalates in toys and childcare articles. Phthalates are used to soften plastic. Since 1999, the use of six types of phthalate has been temporarily banned in the manufacture of toys and childcare articles for children under the age of three because of their carcinogenic, mutagenic and reprotoxic effects.
Besides toys and childcare articles, MEPs, led by the EPP-ED Group also called on the Commission to look at other types of material containing these phthalates, especially in the field of healthcare.
In the debate surrounding this issue, Avril Doyle MEP, called for the application of the precautionary principle in this case, given that "the risk assessment is not yet complete". She continued "I welcome the Commission´s commitment to examine the question of fragrances as part of the next revision of the directive on toys. There is a danger that manufacturers may use aromatic products to mask the naturally unpleasant odour of phthalates, encouraging children to put the articles into their mouths, thereby swallowing toxic substances".
Fine Gael MEPs call on Irish Government to set example for rest of Europe on aid
The five Fine Gael MEPs Avril Doyle, MEP; Simon Coveney, TD, MEP; Gay Mitchell, TD, MEP; Senator Jim Higgins, MEP and Mairead McGuinness, MEP supported the Global Call to Action Against Poverty by signing the white band at the European Parliament in Strasbourg today, and called on the Irish Government to set an example for the rest of Europe on overseas aid.
Speaking in advance of a joint debate on Africa, globalisation and poverty in the European Parliament in Strasbourg today, Wednesday 6 July, the five FG MEPs said the European Union should honour its commitment of 0.7% of GDP in aid to the developing world and that Ireland should lead by example.
The European Parliament chamber in Strasbourg will be wrapped in a white band from 4 -7 July as a visible symbol of the 'Action against poverty' campaign.
Yesterday joy and celebration, today shock and disbelief
Speaking in the European Parliament on Thursday 7 July, in the wake of the attack on Lon"Yesterday was a day of joy and celebration in London. Today is one of shock and disbelief.
"If, as seems likely, the series of co-ordinated attacks in London this morning are terrorist attacks then clearly it is an assault on all of us in the European Union.
"It is especially sinister given that Britain has only in the last few days taken over the Presidency of the European Union, and the G8 Summit is underway in Gleneagles under British Presidency.
"Our memories of Madrid are very recent, and while we work in Strasbourg today our thoughts and prayers are with the people of London.
"As leader of the Irish Delegation to the EPP-ED I would like to offer my sincere condolences to all those affected by this traumatic event. I also offer support to the people of London, to people everywhere who are worrying about loved ones caught up in this horror and to the large number of Irish people living and working there.
"I echo the sentiments of the President of the European Parliament when he said we stand with the British people today. We will not allow terrorism to distract from what we have all worked so hard to achieve - peace and solidarity across Europe."
The next Plenary Session in Strasbourg is from the 5th-8th September
Public Meeting Called on Bray Flooding fears for New Town Development
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
On Thursday next, 14th July, a group of concerned residents living close to the Dargle River in Bray are hosting a Public Meeting in St. Peter’s Parish Hall, beside the cemetery in Little Bray, at 8pm. The purpose of the meeting is to explain our fears about the zoning on which the proposed development on the old Bray Golf Club lands is based.
We have invited our councillors to nominate one representative from each political party to explain the rationale behind their party’s vote on the rezoning of the flood plain alongside the river from its original Open Space zoning in 1998 to its ultimate Town Centre zoning in 2004. Newly elected councillors from the Green Party and Sinn Fein protested against this rezoning in the Bray Draft Development Plan last December because of the danger of exacerbated flooding when the traditional escape route of the flood waters to the sea is blocked. They were defeated by Labour, Fianna Fail, and Fine Gael representatives, who were already in power when this Plan was drafted.
This issue was not allowed to be revisited at the Amendment stage, despite a petition signed by over 350 local people in less than a week, and despite petitions to both Labour (three of whose four members on the Council represent an area which has been disastrously flooded in 1905, 1931, 1965, and 1986) and the Minister for Local Government and the Environment. Minister Dick Roche’s home overlooks the Dargle in Big Bray.
Minister Roche, along with the other Wicklow TDs – Liz McManus, Billy Timmins, Mildred Fox, and Joe Jacob – have been invited to attend Thursday’s meeting also.
We do not want to prevent this development. We simply want enough of the 16.5 acres of green space located – crazily – on high ground away from the river ‘swapped’ with the high density buildings proposed for the riverside to protect our lives and our homes. This is why we are calling ourselves ‘SWAP’. Anything below 7m above the bed of the river in the present plans for buildings alongside the Dargle is car parking only, and is protected by a solid ‘promenade’ from future flooding.
We are suggesting:-
 That the Bray Development Plan 2005-2011 be amended so that the land alongside the river – and the land at Rehills further up the flood plain, which has also been rezoned as Town Centre – be returned to their original, safe Public Amenity zoning;
 That our local Minister for Environment and Local Government, Dick Roche – not developers, who have already said they will expect to be looked on favourably for future planning applications if they carry out flood protection beyond their development - fulfils the stale promise to our community to complete Phase II of the Barry Report commissioned after the 1986 floods;
 That Bray Town Council carry out in an environmentally friendly way the regular maintenance and repairs on the Dargle River which the Barry Report insisted was necessary, and for which money has regularly been set aside in the Council’s Estimates.
Visit our website at www.braywatch.com for fuller information. Contact us at swap@braywatch.com. And please send someone along on Thursday next at 8pm. to St. Peter’s Parish Hall in Little Bray.
Man dies in motorbike accident on Wicklow Gap
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
A man in his 40s died after his motorbike hit a tree in Co Wicklow.
The accident happened at Turlough Hill in the Wicklow Gap Sunday afternoon.
In Wicklow, tons of trash and nowhere to put it
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
BRAY, Ireland The earthen cliffs near this seaside harbor town have been sporting colorful decorations recently: Erosion by the gentle waves of the Irish Sea has exposed the scraggly remnants of hundreds of blue, black and yellow trash bags. The shredding plastic flutters in the wind alongside jutting scraps of rusted metal; the twisted wrecks of unidentifiable junked machines already lie on the rocky beach below.
Some 200,000 tons of rubbish was buried over generations at this municipal landfill, half an hour south of Dublin, until it was closed in the early 1980s. Now that the dump is falling into the sea, the mess on the beach has become the symbolic tip of another iceberg: This island nation's historic inability to deal with its garbage.
Bray, some say, is the forefather of a waste-management situation that has spiraled out of control. Ireland's "Celtic Tiger" economy generated a vast increase in garbage over the last decade. That unpleasantly tangible side effect met with Ireland's inadequate capacity, expensive landfill fees and lax oversight to create a roaring black market in garbage collection. Construction companies and even homeowners paid unscrupulous truckers to cart away rubble and trash.
Carting industry executives say as much as 1 million tons of waste, or 15 percent of the national total, still disappear illegally each year, and the money changing hands over it may reach up to $120 million.
"It was like 'The Sopranos,"' said Liz McManus, a Labor Party member of Parliament who lives in Bray. "It was hugely lucrative, very large-scale, and some people were simply bought off."
The government is struggling to find alternatives. It has managed to get zoning and environmental approval for a huge incinerator near Cork, and hopes to build six more in what one newspaper called a "necklace of incineration" around Ireland. But every month the devastation of another scenic spot comes to light, littered with broken refrigerators and shattered televisions. Illegal dumps are unearthed so often that they barely warrant a headline. Some illegal landfills, with tens or even hundreds of thousands of tons of material, have been found in abandoned quarries; several have been found to contain untreated hazardous material - like hospital waste - that could contaminate watersheds and conservation areas, like spawning grounds for wild salmon.
The seaside dump in Bray, while not an illegal site, has taken on symbolic significance because Dick Roche, the environment minister, lives here, and because Wicklow County, which contains Bray and several of the country's most egregious dumps, proudly calls itself "the Garden of Ireland."
Geography, psychology, politics and tradition helped to lay the groundwork for the waste management problem, which has been described as a "crisis" for a decade, and has been turning up at the European Court of Justice as the European Union's executive branch tries to make Ireland meet its environmental standards.
The Irish sense of living in a land apart - from Europe in general and from Britain in particular - helped foster an independent streak in the national psyche, and an insistence that things here work differently.
For a long time, they did. Many of the world's pressing environmental concerns have passed Ireland by. The country has no nuclear power and imports much of its electricity. Until the multinational pharmaceutical industry arrived 20 years ago, there was little hazardous waste to worry about.
With Ireland's complicated zoning, there were also few places to put it. As demand has grown, fees to use the legal landfills are high: about $180 per metric ton of waste, compared with about $54 in Britain. "It's a chicken-and-egg situation," said Steve Cowman, chief executive of Greenstar, Ireland's largest waste management company. "We're trying to catch up, but we just don't have the infrastructure. We're moving from the dark ages."
Now that Ireland plays a larger role on the world stage - having one of the world's fastest-growing economies, and holding key positions in European politics - it has started to develop a more continental-style environmental consciousness. It signed the Kyoto Protocol and is struggling to meet the ensuing commitments, though it will never contribute more than a drop in the global bucket of carbon dioxide emissions.
But NIMBYism - not in my backyard - has made a real national garbage policy impossible, some analysts say. Politicians pushing for change find themselves hamstrung by an electoral system that gives favored status to local concerns - like constituents' refusal to have a dump or incinerator built near their neighborhoods.
"Our political system leads in many cases to the individual interest being put ahead of the collective interest, and consistently puts the local interest ahead of the national," said Peter Clinch, a professor of environmental policy at University College Dublin.
Clinch said he knew a government minister - the equivalent of a U.S. cabinet secretary - who spent time campaigning to move a speed bump in his parliamentary constituency when residents complained.
The Irish have also tended to tolerate illegal dumps because they fit in with traditional practice in rural societies, according to Frank Convery, an economist and professor at University College Dublin who wrote a book with Clinch on the topic.
Complaints that runoff from illegal dumps has tainted aquifers prompted two recent judgments by the European Court of Justice that Ireland had not fulfilled its environmental commitments even after earlier scoldings. The judgments could be followed by hefty fines.
The rulings have prompted some changes. Roche, the environment minister, created a special enforcement team and ordered the local authorities to crack down on illegal dumping; several criminal prosecutions are under way.
But for the foreseeable future, garbage will bedevil the isle.
"We have a Third World attitude in Ireland to the whole issue of waste," said Deirdre de Burca, the Irish Green Party's spokeswoman on waste management. "Once it's out of sight, it's out of mind. There's no sense of responsibility."
BRAY, Ireland The earthen cliffs near this seaside harbor town have been sporting colorful decorations recently: Erosion by the gentle waves of the Irish Sea has exposed the scraggly remnants of hundreds of blue, black and yellow trash bags. The shredding plastic flutters in the wind alongside jutting scraps of rusted metal; the twisted wrecks of unidentifiable junked machines already lie on the rocky beach below.
Some 200,000 tons of rubbish was buried over generations at this municipal landfill, half an hour south of Dublin, until it was closed in the early 1980s. Now that the dump is falling into the sea, the mess on the beach has become the symbolic tip of another iceberg: This island nation's historic inability to deal with its garbage.
Bray, some say, is the forefather of a waste-management situation that has spiraled out of control. Ireland's "Celtic Tiger" economy generated a vast increase in garbage over the last decade. That unpleasantly tangible side effect met with Ireland's inadequate capacity, expensive landfill fees and lax oversight to create a roaring black market in garbage collection. Construction companies and even homeowners paid unscrupulous truckers to cart away rubble and trash.
Carting industry executives say as much as 1 million tons of waste, or 15 percent of the national total, still disappear illegally each year, and the money changing hands over it may reach up to $120 million.
"It was like 'The Sopranos,"' said Liz McManus, a Labor Party member of Parliament who lives in Bray. "It was hugely lucrative, very large-scale, and some people were simply bought off."
The government is struggling to find alternatives. It has managed to get zoning and environmental approval for a huge incinerator near Cork, and hopes to build six more in what one newspaper called a "necklace of incineration" around Ireland. But every month the devastation of another scenic spot comes to light, littered with broken refrigerators and shattered televisions. Illegal dumps are unearthed so often that they barely warrant a headline. Some illegal landfills, with tens or even hundreds of thousands of tons of material, have been found in abandoned quarries; several have been found to contain untreated hazardous material - like hospital waste - that could contaminate watersheds and conservation areas, like spawning grounds for wild salmon.
The seaside dump in Bray, while not an illegal site, has taken on symbolic significance because Dick Roche, the environment minister, lives here, and because Wicklow County, which contains Bray and several of the country's most egregious dumps, proudly calls itself "the Garden of Ireland."
Geography, psychology, politics and tradition helped to lay the groundwork for the waste management problem, which has been described as a "crisis" for a decade, and has been turning up at the European Court of Justice as the European Union's executive branch tries to make Ireland meet its environmental standards.
The Irish sense of living in a land apart - from Europe in general and from Britain in particular - helped foster an independent streak in the national psyche, and an insistence that things here work differently.
For a long time, they did. Many of the world's pressing environmental concerns have passed Ireland by. The country has no nuclear power and imports much of its electricity. Until the multinational pharmaceutical industry arrived 20 years ago, there was little hazardous waste to worry about.
With Ireland's complicated zoning, there were also few places to put it. As demand has grown, fees to use the legal landfills are high: about $180 per metric ton of waste, compared with about $54 in Britain. "It's a chicken-and-egg situation," said Steve Cowman, chief executive of Greenstar, Ireland's largest waste management company. "We're trying to catch up, but we just don't have the infrastructure. We're moving from the dark ages."
Now that Ireland plays a larger role on the world stage - having one of the world's fastest-growing economies, and holding key positions in European politics - it has started to develop a more continental-style environmental consciousness. It signed the Kyoto Protocol and is struggling to meet the ensuing commitments, though it will never contribute more than a drop in the global bucket of carbon dioxide emissions.
But NIMBYism - not in my backyard - has made a real national garbage policy impossible, some analysts say. Politicians pushing for change find themselves hamstrung by an electoral system that gives favored status to local concerns - like constituents' refusal to have a dump or incinerator built near their neighborhoods.
"Our political system leads in many cases to the individual interest being put ahead of the collective interest, and consistently puts the local interest ahead of the national," said Peter Clinch, a professor of environmental policy at University College Dublin.
Clinch said he knew a government minister - the equivalent of a U.S. cabinet secretary - who spent time campaigning to move a speed bump in his parliamentary constituency when residents complained.
The Irish have also tended to tolerate illegal dumps because they fit in with traditional practice in rural societies, according to Frank Convery, an economist and professor at University College Dublin who wrote a book with Clinch on the topic.
Complaints that runoff from illegal dumps has tainted aquifers prompted two recent judgments by the European Court of Justice that Ireland had not fulfilled its environmental commitments even after earlier scoldings. The judgments could be followed by hefty fines.
The rulings have prompted some changes. Roche, the environment minister, created a special enforcement team and ordered the local authorities to crack down on illegal dumping; several criminal prosecutions are under way.
But for the foreseeable future, garbage will bedevil the isle.
"We have a Third World attitude in Ireland to the whole issue of waste," said Deirdre de Burca, the Irish Green Party's spokeswoman on waste management. "Once it's out of sight, it's out of mind. There's no sense of responsibility."
Wicklow draw puts Kerry out
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Any hopes the Kingdom had of progressing in this year’s Christy Ring Cup were ended as Wicklow earned a deserved draw at Austin Stack Park.
Kerry 3-11
Wicklow 2-14
The home side wasn’t exactly buoyed by the support it received as the stands in Tralee were eerily empty.
Michael Conway’s free taking was vital for the Kingdom but Wicklow had more than the measure of their opponents for most of the opening half.
Two second half majors from Dooley and Fitzgerald seemed to be enough for the home side but when Wicklow dual player Wayne Gorman goaled for the second time, there was to be no denying the visitors.
Kerry - T Flynn; A Keane, A Healy, C Harris; K O’Sullivan, J McCarthy, P McCarthy; D Young, E Sheehy; D Dineen, M Conway 0-6, E Tuohy; S Sheehan, J M Dooley 1-3, P Randles 0-2. Subs - T McKenna for Sheehan, E Fitzgerald 1-0 for Dineen, P Lyons for Sheehy, S Synnott for Randles.
Wicklow - T Finn; M J O’Neill, G Kehoe, W Collins; B Cuddihy, J Murphy, D Doran; J Bermingham 0-2, T Collins; B Rickerby 0-1, J O’Neill 0-4, C Monaghan; D Hyland 0-4, D Moran, W Gorman 2-1. Subs - P Lee for Moran, L Kennedy 0-2for Rickerby.
Referee - G Hoey (Clare).
Colm Tóibín on Wicklow's JM Synge
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
When they first met in Paris in 1896, in an encounter that would become a foundation myth of the Irish Literary Revival, WB Yeats was 31 and JM Synge was 25. Later, Yeats would chronicle what happened, suggesting that it was his advice in that meeting that led to the making of Synge as a playwright and an artist. Yeats wrote: "He told me that he had been living in France and Germany, reading French and German literature, and that he wished to become a writer. He had, however, nothing to show but one or two poems and impressionistic essays ... Life had cast no light upon his writings. He had learned Irish years ago, but had begun to forget it ... I said 'Give up Paris. You will never create anything by reading Racine, and Arthur Symons will always be a better critic of French literature. Go to the Aran Islands. Live there as if you were one of the people themselves; express a life that has never found expression.'"
After Synge's early death in 1909, Lady Gregory, who with Yeats and Synge had founded the Abbey Theatre, wrote to Yeats: "You did more than anyone for him, you gave him a means of expression. You have given me mine, but I should have found something else to do, though not anything coming near this, but I don't think Synge would have done anything but drift but for you and the theatre ... I think you and I supplied him with vitality when he was with us as the wild people did in the Blaskets."
And so began the claiming of Synge by his two co-directors. Roy Foster, in an essay on Yeats and Synge, takes a more nuanced view of that first meeting. The Synges, in the carefully graded world of the Anglo-Irish elite, were grander than the Yeatses. Also, "Yeats had no money," Foster writes, "while Synge had a small private income. Yeats had no university education, whereas Synge had been to Trinity [College Dublin] ... Another important difference between them, which reflects upon background and education, is that Synge, for all his unpretentiousness, was really cosmopolitan; whereas Yeats, when they met, was desperately trying to be."
Synge's uncle, who was a Protestant missionary, had lived on the Aran Islands, so that the existence of a world more primitive and alluring on the west coast was a part of the fabric of Synge's childhood on the east coast of Ireland. He did not need Yeats to tell him about it. When he arrived on the islands, he wrote to his mother that the islanders had found out he was "related to Uncle Aleck". Also, in Paris he had been studying Breton culture and taking an interest, through friends and lectures, in Celtic studies. Even before he met Yeats, he was, as Declan Kiberd has written, "heading in that direction from the very beginning".
There is a wonderful moment, then, in 1898, which is not part of the foundation myth of the Irish literary revival, but would make a perfect opening for a movie. Synge was on the largest of the Aran Islands, and so was Lady Gregory (whom he did not know), seeking nourishment from a world that contained an astonishing life force and an ancient culture. They decided to ignore each other, literally pass each other by with their noses in the air. "I was staying there," Lady Gregory wrote, "gathering folklore, talking to the people, and felt a real pang of indignation when I passed another outsider walking here and there, talking also to the people. I was jealous of not being alone on the island among the fishers and the seaweed gatherers. I did not speak to the stranger nor was he inclined to speak to me. He also looked upon me as an intruder."
Soon, however, Synge was invited to her house at Coole Park in County Galway. He showed her his first attempt at a play, which she told him was of no literary interest. She encouraged him, however, in the writing of his wonderful book on the Aran Islands. But it was still not clear until the end of 1902 what sort of talent he had. He was shy and diffident, mostly silent. "I have often envied him his absorption," Yeats wrote, "as I have envied Verlaine his vice."
In May 1902, as Synge was attempting to find a language and tone for a number of plays, he read Lady Gregory's translation of the ancient Cuchulain cycle of stories, in which she had used a dialect of English close to the one spoken near her home in Galway. She had found what Yeats would call "a living speech" and transformed it for literary purposes. Synge reviewed the book, describing the language as "wonderfully simple and powerful ... almost Elizabethan", with "a force and colour that make it the only form of English that is quite suitable for incidents of the epic kind, and in her intercourse with the peasants of the west Lady Gregory has learned to use this vocabulary in a new way, while she carries with her plaintive Gaelic constructions that make her language, in a true sense, a language of Ireland."
His own language has something of this same force. Late in 1902 he showed two new plays to Lady Gregory and Yeats - Riders to the Sea and The Shadow of the Glen - which Lady Gregory described as "both masterpieces, both perfect in their way". Later she wrote: "He had gathered emotion, the driving force he needed from his life among the people, and it was the working in dialect that set free his style." Yeats also saw the influence of the Bible, a book in which Synge's mother, to whom he remained close, took a serious personal interest.
These plays were produced in 1903 and 1904 by the company that would soon become the Abbey Theatre. In 1905, as the company began rehearsals for a new play, The Well of the Saints, Synge met the young actress Molly Allgood, with whom he fell in love. She was to star as Pegeen Mike in Synge's greatest play, The Playboy of the Western World
Yeats, Lady Gregory and Synge were committed in these years to a resurgence of Irish culture and a reorientation of the Irish identity, but always on their own terms. As Irish Protestants from privileged backgrounds of varying degrees, they were often under suspicion by diehard nationalists and Catholics, who wished to believe, for example, that the women of the west of Ireland were as pure as the driven snow. From the beginning, Synge's plays caused controversy. When the Fay brothers, who were involved in the production of Playboy, tried to convince Synge to soften the tone and "to make Pegeen a decent likable country girl ... and to take out the torture scenes in the last act, where the peasants burn Christy with lit turf ... we might as well have tried to move the Hill of Howth as move Synge". The production of the play resulted in riots and a debate, orchestrated by Yeats, about freedom of speech in Ireland.
The origin of Synge's genius remains a mystery. He kept himself in abeyance; he was sensitive, sincere, courteous, mysterious, ironic. His characters are quite the opposite; his language and settings are exuberant, highly dramatic and wild, vastly tragic or hilariously funny. He loved the opposite of himself, and he made this love the centre of his art.
The Hodgkin's disease that killed him in 1909 became apparent first a decade earlier. In the summer of 1897 his mother wrote in her diary: "Johnnie is at home still. He has to get those large glands taken out of his neck, poor fellow. It is very unpleasant ... Since his hair fell out he got cold in the glands, and they became so large they were, or rather are, quite disfiguring to him."
In these years he tended to spend the winter in Paris and the summer in County Wicklow in the company of his mother, who disapproved of his work. No member of his family ever attended a performance of one of his plays. Later, his mother also disapproved of his relationship with Molly Allgood, who was a Catholic. In 1895 when his mother rented a summer house in County Wicklow, it was, according to her grandson, "with some misgivings ... for as the house was owned by Roman Catholics, she feared it would not be free from fleas."
The doomed playwright did not go gently towards death. It is clear from his letters to Molly Allgood and the work he was planning that he would have given anything to live. In November 1908, a few months before his death, he sent Molly a draft of a new poem:
I asked if I got sick and died would you
With my black funeral go walking too,
If you'd stand close to them and walk and pray
While I'm let down in that steep bank of clay.
And, No, you said, for if you saw a crew
Of living idiots, pressing round that new
Oak-Coffin - they alive, I dead beneath
That board - you'd rave and rend them with your teeth.
Twenty-five years ago, Synge was not a fashionable writer in Ireland. There had been too many bad productions of his plays, and the language he used had been copied and spoken in ways that made it seem stage-Irish and ridiculous. Now he seems the most exciting theatrical voice from that brilliant period in Irish writing; he seems unpredictable, fresh and unorthodox. His book on the Aran Islands is a model of close, clear observation; it has also a reticence and introspection. Unlike most travel books of 100 years ago, it has not dated at all.
Synge took language itself and worked with it as though it were clay, creating rhythms and phrases of astonishing wit and sensuousness. His plays cannot be performed as pieces of pure realism, even if some of them are set in Irish kitchens; they are deeply stylised and physical pieces of theatre. Their revival has been greatly facilitated, almost created, by the work of director Garry Hynes of the Druid Theatre in Galway, who, with the help of superb actors such as Brid Brennan and Marie Mullan, has made and remade the plays in new productions over the past 25 years, emphasising in her 1982 production, for example, the sheer physicality, theatricality and, indeed, brutality of Playboy. And, in her more recent production, she has rethought the entire work, emphasising the wild love story at the heart of the text. She has made Synge, the strange doomed genius of the Irish literary revival, once more our contemporary.
· Synge: A Celebration, edited by Colm Toibin, is published on Monday by Carysfort Press. Druid Theatre Company perform the Synge Cycle at Galway Town Hall Theatre (00 353 91 569 777), July 16-31, then touring to Dublin and the Edinburgh Festival.
McManus calls for support of cleanliness efforts at Loughlinstown Hospital
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
The Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, Liz McManus TD has urged the Minister for Health to support efforts at St. Columcille’s Hospital in Loughlinstown to improve cleanliness in the hospital.
“We are all aware of the need for the highest standards of hospital hygiene particularly in light of the risk of MRSA”, said Deputy McManus.
“I welcome the news that new cleaning equipment has been purchased for the CT waiting room in Loughlinstown. However there are still issues to be dealt with including regular cleaning of the public toilets after 4.00 pm.
“The national hygiene audit will highlight needs in hospitals generally when it is published shortly. It is vital that the Minister for Health provides resources to address all issues of cleanliness in our hospitals”, concluded the Deputy.
McManus supports call for Palermo bus service
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
The Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, Deputy Liz McManus, has come out in support of the residents of Palermo in Little Bray in their campaign to retain a full bus service for local residents.
“I am in contact with Dublin Bus in support of the local residents who have contacted me”, said Deputy McManus. “Last Saturday a number of buses did not run without any advance warning and the public – some of them elderly people – were left stranded.
“This is totally unacceptable. This bus service is vital for the people of Little Bray and I am determined to ensure it is retained in full”, concluded the Deputy.
De Burca 'disappointed' at response to Ethics Report
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Green Party councillor, Deirdre de Burca has claimed that she is “extremely disappointed” with the reaction of her fellow councillors on Wicklow County Council to the publication of a report based on an Ethics complaint she made in August 2004.
She points out that far from “exonerating” Cllr Whittle from the charge that he did not declare a conflict of interest when making a rezoning proposal last July, the report found that he had made an “error of judgement” and had acted “unwisely”. She claims that the report did not find Cllr Whittle guilty because he apparently had not experienced a “beneficial or pecuniary interest” from proposing the rezoning. She questions this and argues that because there was an existing commercial relationship between Cllr Whittle and the landowner in question, it was difficult to accept that there was no beneficial interest of any kind involved.
“My colleagues on Wicklow County Council do not appear to believe that it is wrong for a practising solicitor such as Cllr Whittle to propose rezoning the land of a client who he was representing legally at the same time in relation to the activities happening at the site” says de Burca. “In fact, rather than supporting me in attempting to put a stop to this kind of questionable behaviour, they have attacked me and called me unfit for public office. What kind of crazy standards apply in local government these days” she asks.
Councillor de Burca states that she entered politics because she is idealistic and believes in the importance of political decision-making in creating a healthy and fair society. “There is a lot of public cynicism about politics and politicians at the
moment” says de Burca. “This is because people have lost trust in politicians and don’t believe that they represent the broad public interest any more. My own experiences of local government have been quite depressing at times. However, rather than staying outside the political system and complaining about it, I decided to get into it and to try to bring about change. This is often very difficult but I believe it is necessary if we want to reform and reclaim our local democracy”.
Councillor de Burca says that although she has found the extremely negative coverage she has received over the past week very unpleasant, she has no intention of letting it prevent her from continuing to represent the people who have elected her as effectively as she can. “I campaigned on a ticket of Clean Politics in the last two local elections” she says. “I am very fortunate since last June to have two Green Party colleagues on Bray Town Council with me who are people of the highest integrity. This reinforces my belief that good people can make a real difference in the political system. I am a determined person and I will not let the very negative treatment I am receiving from other councillors or local papers prevent me from continuing to represent the public interest”.
Bray Cathaoirleach extends sympathies on London bombing
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Bray Cathaoirleach and Green Party councillor , Deirdre de Burca expressed her shock and concern following reports of explosions and casualties in London this morning.
“I am deeply shocked at today’s events and, on behalf of Bray Town Council, send our sympathies to the victims and families. I want to convey our shock and express our solidarity with the victims and all those bereaved, injured and traumatised by the unpalatable cruelty of these explosions.”
Bray Emmets Notes by John Smith
Sunday, July 10, 2005
We all traveled to Aughrim with high hopes on Sunday, for our second round clash with Shillelagh, in the senior football championship. We had every reason to feel confident, as a number of us had followed our senior football team in the league, over the spring and early summer. On Sunday there was a great attendance from Bray, but our hopes were dashed, and we all came home with nothing to celebrate.
Our team certainly hit a bad day, and almost everyone, with the exception of Conor Flannery, who kept us in the game with his free taking, underperformed. However it was just one game, which is now over, and we have to move on, and what is done is done. We can improve, believe in ourselves, and still have a successful championship. I am sure our backroom team, Rory McGarry, John Walsh, Jimmy Ganly, and Pat Monaghan will have learned from all this, and will come up with new tactics against Coolkenno. Please continue to support this team.
It was a different story with our minor football team, who played St Bridgets, in Newcastle last week. Even though we were missing some key players, anyone not familiar with the team would be unaware of this. Each and everyone of our players played their hearts out, and we won by a good margin. I had to admire St Bridget's, who even though clearly outclassed on the day, did not give up. Of course the fact that their team bus was involved in a traffic accident on the way to Newcastle, probably had a serious effect on some of the players. Thankfully nobody was injured. Many thanks to the management committee of Newcastle, who allowed us to use their excellent facilities for the game. We certainly have good neighbors.
I understand that hopefully the ball barriers will be erected in Old Connaught in the next week. The poles are very visible from the N11. There was some delay caused by the special stay wires not being available, but we have been assured by the suppliers that it is on the way. Oliver O'Farrell had some fertilizer spread on the pitches, and they look great. When the ball barriers are erected, we will be playing there.
Our junior "B" team made up for their exit from the championship, by having a good win over An Tochar, in Roundwood, on Thursday. Michael Doherty had a number of minors playing, who made all the difference. They are at home against An Tochar "B" this week. Our junior "A" football team are in action against Ballinacor on Saturday. If you intend going, check the fixtures elsewhere in this paper.
Bray Wanderers v Longford Town
Thursday, July 7, 2005
Bray Wanderers v Longford Town, Carlisle Grounds (Kick off 7:45)
Bray Wanderers will be hoping to arrest the slide of four games without a win when they face Longford Town at the Carlisle Grounds.
Bray have got several injury doubts with Colm Tresson, Jody Lynch, Keith Long, Stephen Gifford, Graham O’Hanlon and Ciaran Ryan all doubtful meaning new signing Kevin O’Brien is likely to make his debut.
Michael Dempsey is ruled out for the season for Longford while Stephen Paisley, Dean Fitzgerald, John Martin and Paul Keegan are all doubtful.
Wicklow man appointed commercial director of UK Airline
Thursday, July 7, 2005
Bmibaby, the award winning airline with tiny fares, has appointed Wicklow man Steve Burns as commercial director. Steve, 30, came into post on Friday (1 July 2005) and brings to bmibaby a wealth of experience in the low cost sector, having previously held various commercial roles with EasyJet.
As commercial director within bmibaby he will manage sales and distribution, network planning and development, e-commerce, revenue management and customer service functions.
Steve Burns commented:
"bmibaby is an extremely fast growing airline and has firmly established itself in the European low cost sector. I'm looking forward to working with a fantastic brand, which has already helped the airline stand out in what is becoming a crowded marketplace. bmibaby has very ambitious plans for the future and the opportunity to be able to help influence the coming years of bmibaby's growth was one I couldn't resist. I'm delighted to join the company at such an exciting time."
Originally from County Wicklow, Steve currently lives in Bedford but will be relocating close to bmibaby's headquarters in the East Midlands.
Cllr Vincent Blake appointmented as Parliamentary Assistant to Billy Timmins T.D.
Thursday, July 7, 2005
Following the decision of the Houses of the Oireachtas to recruit additional staff for Members of Dáil Éireann, Billy Timmins TD is pleased to announce the appointment of two Parliamentary Assistants –on a job-sharing basis.
Cllr Vincent Blake MCC from Tinahely, a former employee of Irish Fertilisers Industries, and now a full-time public representative, will assist Deputy Timmins with constituency matters.
Pat Hunt from Bray will assist Deputy Timmins with public relations and research. A teacher in the Brigidine Convent, Tullow, Co Carlow (1968-73) and Loreto Secondary School Bray (1973-2000), Pat has more recently been working as a freelance journalist and educational consultant.
Although Parliamentary Assistants are nominated by Dáil Deputies, each application was assessed and approved by an independent assessment board and appointments were approved by the personnel section of the Oireachtas.
Traffic Calming Measures for Enniskerry Village
Thursday, July 7, 2005
Labour Councillor Anne Ferris has welcomed the announcement by Wicklow County Council that funding has been made available for traffic calming measures in Enniskerry village.
“I have been informed by Wicklow County Council that €25,000 has been set aside to carry out much needed works in Enniskerry village”, said Cllr. Ferris. “The works proposed from this budget are the relocation of the existing footpath from the village to Bog Meadow to the west side of the road, the provision of road markings at junctions and repairs to the footpath from Monastery to the village.
“In addition the Council has agreed to provide €6,000 for the erection of warning lights at St. Mary & St. Gerard’s National School in Enniskerry. This is indeed very welcome news for Enniskerry as local residents have been very concerned for a long time now about road safety and the proposed improvements should help with traffic calming in the village”, concluded Cllr. Ferris.
Timmins asks why Greenstar won't accept Tetra-Pak cartons
Thursday, July 7, 2005
Billy Timmins TD (Fine Gael) has written to Greenstar Waste Company to ask why they refuse to accept Tetra-Pak cartons for recycling purposes.
“Oxigen, the biggest waste collection company in the Dublin area, accepts Tetra-Pak cartons in their Green Bins,” says Deputy Timmins. “Given that most milk and juice cartons are made from Tetra-Pak, I can’t see why Greenstar reject this product. The average family could use up to 20 such cartons every week. I think it’s only fair that Greenstar should collect the same range of recycling pr