Underground DART plans on track despite €3bn price tag
IARNROD Eireann will seek planning permission early next year to build an underground DART line in Dublin costing up to €3bn. The proposed new line would run from the Docklands to Inchicore. Capacity would be 20 trains in each direction per hour, potentially allowing 64,000 commuters to use the line every 60 minutes. The completed...
Gormley ‘open’ to nuclear debate
The use of nuclear power should be open for debate, Minister for the Environment John Gormley told a climate change forum in Dublin today. “The technologies being developed, which people claim are 100 per cent safe, are still in their infancy,” he said. “I’ve seen presentations on chlorine fluoride reactors and on pebble bed technology...
Gormley publishes International Review of Waste Management Policy
Landfill levy will increase to €30 per tonne, incineration levy will be €20-€38 per tonne; root and branch review of waste policy will benefit the environment and drive job creation, says Green Leader Green Party Leader and Environment Minister John Gormley today launched a report underpinning a major review of waste management policy. The report...
Gormley’s claim over incinerator rejected
THE DUBLIN city engineer has rejected claims by Minister for the Environment John Gormley that the taxpayer could face bills of €18 million a year for the next 20 years if the Poolbeg incinerator goes ahead as planned. The Minister was speaking after the publication yesterday of a report commissioned by private waste contractors which...
Rents at lowest level ‘in decade’
Rents have fallen to their lowest level in a decade to an average of €771 a month, the latest property report revealed today. Housing website Daft.ie recorded a 4 per cent fall in the last three months with the Dublin market hit harder than anywhere else. Rents fell by more than 18 per cent in...
10,000 EPA orders in two years
A report from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found its officials and local authorities issued 10,000 enforcement actions over the last two years. The study – Focus on Environmental Enforcement in Ireland – found the EPA issued 45 legally binding directions to local authorities two years ago to meet tougher drinking water standards. The concerns...
Dublin ban on four-axle lorries not to go ahead
A ROAD safety and traffic management measure that would have meant hundreds of large lorries removed from Dublin city streets daily has been set aside because the city council has no budget for the plan. Despite the success of a heavy goods vehicle (HGV) ban introduced following the opening of the Dublin Port Tunnel, the...
Tunnel lorry numbers halved
THE NUMBER of large lorries using the Dublin Port Tunnel has halved in the last two years according to figures from Dublin City Council. The tunnel, which brings vehicles from the M1 to Dublin Port avoiding the city centre, opened in December 2006 and has had a steady increase in use by four- and five-axle...
Poolbeg capacity ‘should be halved’
The Irish Waste Management Association (IWMA) today claimed the proposed Poolbeg incinerator was “grossly oversized” relative to waste needs and called for an urgent review of the project. The IWMA was releasing the findings of an independent report on the facility it commissioned. “The report firmly establishes that the facility is grossly oversized and goes...
Luas trams will not stop at new Brennanstown station
LUAS TRAMS will not stop at a new station being built in south Dublin because development planned for the area has not materialised, the Rail Procurement Agency (RPA) has said. A new Luas line from Sandyford to Cherrywood in south Dublin is currently under construction, and is expected to be operational next autumn. Costs for...
The great experiment by our planners to copy the European tradition of having middle income families live in apartments has largely failed