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THE QUALITY OF Ireland’s environment is “not what it should be”, according to a new report from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
It also says that the outlook is not optimistic unless policy efforts are ramped up and integrated into a national framework. That’s according to the latest State of the Environment report, a document published every four years by the EPA.
The EPA is an independent public body responsible for environmental research and enforcing environmental law in Ireland.
The report, the seventh in the series, provides a comprehensive look at the current state of the environment in Ireland, across key areas like climate, air and water quality, waste and agriculture.
Micheal Lehane, the director of the EPA’s office of environmental assessment, said the report has three main messages.
These are:
Lehane said at a briefing before the report’s publication: “If we had a full national environmental policy position, it would mean that you would have a much greater chance of the sum of all the different parts really adding up to a much more coherent whole.”
He added that if all policies currently in place were fully implemented, it would “go an awful long way” to addressing the current environmental problems facing the country.
EPA director general Laura Burke said: “Environmental issues and challenges such as climate change, air quality, water quality and biodiversity cannot be looked at in isolation, as they are complex, interconnected and need to be tackled in an integrated way.”
The extensive 450-page report highlights climate and biodiversity as two of the key issues to be addressed in Ireland. It says that environmental indicators are going in the wrong direction in many areas.
The report also outlines the challenges facing the environment in Ireland over the next decade.
These include stopping any further deterioration of the natural environment, accelerating action to decarbonise and green the economy, and starting to restore habitats and water bodies lost over time.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the key sections explored in the detailed report.
Slowly but surely, political consensus has begun to converge around the fact that climate change is, as the EPA notes, “the defining challenge for this century”.
In Ireland, “a marked escalation in social awareness and public engagement” on the issue has been central to this shift in the political debate.
Last year, the government published its Climate Action Plan, “an important step,” the EPA says in reaching national and EU climate goals.
However, when it comes to tackling the causes of climate change — greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the form of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide — the EPA grades the country’s current performance as “very poor”.
Overall, Irish GHG emissions have increased by over 10% since 1990.
Under an “existing measures scenario” — which assumes that no additional policy measures are implemented “beyond those already in place by the end of 2018” — the EPA forecasts total Irish emissions to decrease by 6% over the next decade.
Under an alternative scenario — which assumes implementation of an additional suite of government policies adopted after the end of 2018 — emissions are estimated to decrease by one-quarter by 2030.
Agriculture is the single largest contributor to the overall GHG emissions at 35.3%, followed by transport, energy industries and the residential sector, at 20.3% 15.8% and 10.9%, respectively.
Across the latter three categories, emissions are forecast to decline over the next 10 years if politicians do nothing other than enforce existing measures.
That is not the case with agriculture. Unless additional policy solutions are found, emissions from agriculture are set to increase by 3.5% over the next 10 years.
With additional measures, a reduction of 11.5% by 2030 is possible, the EPA believes.
According to the report, emissions from agriculture have increased since 2011 with an overall peak observed in 2018.
One major source of these emissions is a general increase in the amount of Irish dairy cows.
“In the last 10 years,” the report highlights, “dairy cow numbers have increased by 38.3% with a corresponding milk production increase of 66.9%”, as a result of the government’s Food Wise 2025 plan for Irish agri-food and the removal of EU milk quotas in 2015.
Overall, Ireland is unlikely to meet its 2020 EU emissions targets and the report casts doubt on whether government policies enacted before the end of 2018 will be enough to achieve more long-term goals.
“Ireland’s 2030 target is to reduce GHG emissions by 30% compared with 2005 levels, with annual limits ensuring the required downwards trajectory to 2030,” the report highlights.
However, according to the EPA’s latest projections, only with the full implementation and adoption of the government’s Climate Action Plan can those longer-term targets be met.
The report says air pollution is the “single largest environmental health risk in Europe”.
The three main sources of air pollution in Ireland are:
Emissions from the use of solid fuels like coal and peat continue to add to localised high levels of particulate matter and PAH during the heating season, the report says.
PAH is polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, a type of chemical naturally occurring in coal. Particulate matter (PM) is all solid and liquid particles found in the air, some of which are harmful.
“The most recent year’s data for particulate matter show exceedances of the WHO guideline values throughout the country,” the report says.
It adds that the latest estimates from the European Environment Agency (EEA) show there is an excess of 1,300 premature deaths due to poor air quality in Ireland each year.
In terms of other emissions, Ireland exceeded the emission limit of 65 kilotonnes of nitrogen oxide in 2010, but was compliant in the years after, up to and including 2018.
Current projections show the nitrogen oxide emissions exceeding the reduction commitment for 2020, but complying in 2030 if the 2019 Climate Action Plan is fully implemented.
The country is on track to comply with both 2020 and 2030 reduction commitments for sulphur dioxide.
Transport is the principal source of nitrous oxide emissions, contributing to approximately 41% of the total in 2018. The vast majority of these emissions come from diesel and petrol from private cars and trucks.
Although nitrous oxide emissions have been on a downward trajectory since the 1990s — owing to heavy EU regulation and technological changes — the EPA notes that “recent increases in the size of the national vehicle fleet and moves towards diesel engines have limited further improvement”.
According to the most recent figure, the national fleet of licensed vehicles increased by over 3% from last year to 2.2 million in March 2020.
Emissions of ammonia, a gas with a distinct smell, are tied back to agriculture in Ireland, with 99% of emissions stemming from this sector.
Ireland exceeded the ammonia limits between 2016 and 2018, and is further expected to exceed limits in 2020 and 2030 without further measures in place.
The report said there is “an immediate requirement” to implement abatement measures at farm level such as low-emission manure spreading techniques.
It said that tackling the sources of nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter is the key challenge for Ireland over the next decade.
Overall, the quality of Ireland’s surface water resources - rivers, lakes, estuaries and nearshore coastal waters – is under severe pressure due to human activities.
Extremes in water temperatures and flows caused by more extreme weather as a result of climate change are likely to exacerbate the damage caused by underlying water pollution, the report says.
As a whole, water quality has essentially gotten worse in Ireland, despite different actions taken to reverse this.
Almost half of the surface water bodies in Ireland are failing to meet the water quality objectives set by the EU water framework directive, due to pollution and other human disturbances.
The number of the most pristine rivers has also fallen from over 500 to just 20 over a 30-year period.
Groundwater, which is the source of drinking water for around one-quarter of people in Ireland, is described as being of good quality in general.
The top three big pressures on the health and quality of water in Ireland are:
It’s not news that the Irish economy has gone from bust to boom and back again over the past decade. Naturally, increased economic activity and improving fortunes have put pressure on waste management infrastructure.
Although the EPA notes that Ireland is line to meet its legislative targets for waste collection, recovery and recycling, and diversion from landfill, significant issues have appeared in the four years covered by the report.
Published in September, the government’s Waste Management Plan for a Circular Economy puts a stronger emphasis on waste prevention than previous policies.
But meeting future targets for recycling and treatment could prove tricky, the report notes. One issue is the sheer volume of waste our economy produces.
In 2018, Ireland produced 14 million tonnes of waste across all economic sectors and households, up from around 12 million tonnes in 2014.
Some 6.2 million tonnes of waste relating to construction and demolition (C&D) work were collected in 2018.
This is “up significantly”, the report notes, from the 4.7 million collected in 2017 and the 3.3 million collected in 2014, during the last downturn.
The EPA notes that it’s possible that by 2028 up to 7.5 million tonnes of C&D waste will be collected.
This uptick will in part be fueled by the government’s €116 billion capital infrastructure spending programme, Project Ireland 2040, “which will result in significant growth in the construction sector”.
Generation of municipal waste — “household waste and commercial waste that is similar in nature to household waste” — has increased by 15% since 2015.
“Challenging to manage and treat because of its varied nature and composition”, in 2018, we produced close to 3 million tonnes of the stuff — 53% from households and 47% from commercial sources.
In 2018, one-third of municipal waste was exported for treatment. This over-reliance “poses a risk to the State in the event of export markets closing at short notice.”
The EPA recommends that contingency landfill capacity needs to be “secured without delay”.
“Ireland has reached a plateau in relation to waste management” particularly with regard to packaging and municipal waste recycling rates,” the report notes.
So while we’re on track, the watchdog warns that meeting future targets could prove tricky.
The full EPA State of the Environment report was published today with further details available on the agency’s website.
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I truly think this is one of the most horrific crimes ever committed in the state. All murders are horrific, but even this has brought these so called gang feuds to a new low.
I truly hope they are caught and never are released from prison, people that a capable of crimes like this should never be in society.
Bew laws should be brought into tackle gang crimes, obviously a new prison should be built. But judges should hand out the 10 year sentence mandatory for certain amounts of possession and supply of drugs.
Gun possession another 10 years mandatory
Gang related murder minimum 30 year tariff on a life sentence (actually for all murder)
The only way to do stop this is by taking them off the streets, break their gangs up and snuff the big guys out… the so called Kartels
@Paul O’Sullivan: Unfortunately Paul the politicians are afraid of the Judiciary and thus refuse to force them to implement mandatory sentences. They also have a tendency to listen to academics on how to run our Prison System instead of those that actually work on the Frontline in them.
Until the Politicians grow a pair and start listening to those that actually know what will and won’t work, things will stay the same.
@Mick.: The prisons are full there is nowhere to put them all thats the problem.
@Peter Hughes: They are full because they are under the current regime of softly softy, ineffective.
There is no “Fear of Prison”. As it stands anyone convicted and sentenced automatically gets 1/4 cut off their sentence as remission. They don’t have to earn it by good behaviour. They are not required to work or attend school while in Prison, they receive a weekly gratuity from the State to spend as they see fit in the Prison Shop. They are not mandated to wear a Prison Uniform, they are given better care in Prison that many Pensioners are in care homes. They have medical staff on call 24/7/365, they have access to Psychology services, dental services, optical services all free, their diet is decided by Nutritionists, they have access to fully equipped gyms with qualifed Gym instructiors. They have education from basic literacy to University Doctorates if they so choose. They have libraries and computer workshops. They are out of cell in many cases 8 to 10 hours a day every day. And they have as much drugs as they could ever want.
There needs to be a root and branch system change in the Prison Regime. Where Prison is a place to be feared. Where hard physical labour is mandatory 6 days a week, 8 Hours a day. Where any form of resistance and disent is utterly crushed immediately and harshly.
Softly softly has been tried and has failed miserably. Time to try the opposite way.
@Mick.: what absolute rubbish.
@Shazam37: Do give us your expert opinion then. Tell what you know about the Prison Regime we currently use!
@Shazam37: Its setup like that so the inmates won’t butcher the prison gaurds.
@Peter Hughes: Not at all. It’s set up by academics and do gooders who think that criminals can be “saved and redeemed” by being soft a touchy feely. The only thing these guys respect is Fear. You Fear those more powerful and dangerous that you and you exploite those weaker than you. They laugh and sneer at those who think they are doing good. And they exploite the system currently in use because they know it is weak. Make Prisons a place of mind bending self defecating fear, and they would respect it.
@Mick.: The idea that harsh prisons deter criminals was debunked decades ago. It doesn’t do anything other than increase repeat offenders.
And even if it wasn’t it should be painfully clear that the threat of extreme violence is not deterring these guys, if they get caught by the rival gang they get executed, and that hasn’t stopped them doing anything. That should in of itself demonstrate to you that this medieval notion of crime and punishment doesn’t work as a deterrence.
@ReadOnlyIrl: Debunked by whom, the very academics that are currently listened to? One only has to look at the Prison population say 50 years ago compared to today’s. Softly Softly has failed and has been a failure for decades. There are far more people in Prison now than there has ever been. And as for rehabilitation the very best results will show about 0.05% success rate. Failed on every level. But still they cling to it, because for them to admit it has failed means they have failed.
@Mick.: Yes Mick, the people who actually study this scientifically. Not the people who go on what their gut tells them. That is in fact the point of science. Do you think Victorian Ireland when were were cutting off hands and hanging people for minor offenses were a crime free utopia?
Crime has been failing consistently across the western world as “softly softly” liberal academics have been shaping public policy. And in places that take a populist “tough on crime” approach just end up endless social problems and increase in crime rates.
It might make you personally feel better that criminals are suffering in prison but it does nothing to prevent crime.
Again these are people risking death to be in these gangs, not sure exactly what you want prisons to threaten to be worse than being shot and dismembered
@Mick.: the evidence of harsh prisons and the death penalty being a deterrent was debunked decades ago and prison that are designed around prisoner rehabilitation and prisoner focused including serial offenders are a proven resource in countries in Scandinavia and Holland where the prison population is declining at an incredible rate. My advice is research this & leave your emotions out of the discussion. It’s solutions that are needed & not emotional baggage. Also stop buying drugs illegally including cannabis. We are in part responsible for these killing.
@Mick.: apparently fat Freddy was crying like a kid when he got prison,he wanted to be moved here and there because the ones he knocked off over the years had family in there etc,and he’s apparently a high ranking cartel member
@ReadOnlyIrl: And what of those that work on the Frontline in Prisons? They are the ones that know exactly what is required not some academic that has never set foot inside a Prison let alone wore the uniform and dealt with the convicts face to face on a daily basis. Those that have to deal with consequences of those decisions made by people who spend their lives in study. It’s Frontline Prison Staff that see and deal with a convicts when they are told NO but hear ” What do you mean no, I am entitled”. And it is this sense of entitlement that they have formented.
@Aaron Jones: Horse shit. He was wandering around like a Lord making demands and getting them.
@Mjhint: As yes the “Scandinavia” argument. I was wondering when that would appear. One simple question to that. Do we live in a Scandinavian society? What works in a society different to ours doesn’t work here. Rehabilition is a failure. One only has to look the the vast majority of convicts in our Prisons. 100+ Convictions is more common than not, multiple times in Prison is the norm. So if rehabilitation is working why are our Prisons full of repeat offenders?
Quite obviously it is a failed policy. The Square Peg won’t go into the Round Hole no matter how much you turn it. So it is time to admit and accept the policy has failed dismally.
@Mick.: I would to know where you get your horse shit from?
@Aaron Jones: love to know
@Aaron Jones: First hand experience.
@Paul O’Sullivan: the reality is that this won’t work either. USA has some of the harshest sentencing for the crimes you have described. Hasnt made a dent in criminal activity. For some the rewards are worth the risk. Simple as that. While the demand for narcotics is there then criminal activity will be too.
@Mick.: we live in Europe we are European so tell me how you view Scandinavia as a remote exotic part of the world when you can fly there very quickly. Holland was also mentioned. I’m giving you evidence to show your views are wrong. It’s not a personal attack.
@Mjhint: Never said it was remote or exotic just different. Just as for example Bulgararian Society or Italian society is different to ours. We have different sociatal norms and expectations. Take Switzerland, they expect their public transport to run to the exact second. In Spain it’s normal to break for several hours during the middle of the day. In Greece tax evasion is the national sport. All different societies to ours, all with different expectations and needs.
@Mick.: poor examples again. Spain does not have a siesta period because of a different human behaviour it stems from farm workers working in the summertime during the warm months of the year. It’s a worker protection practice. Tax evasion in Greece? You think that’s just a Greek trait. What’s your view of the blatant non tax paying corps in Ireland who are protected by the law to tax evade. No Switzerland doesn’t have that type of train network. That’s Japan. You seem to be promoting stereotypes here. Get on a train in Switzerland. It’s better than Ireland but far from perfect.
Hate to use the word ‘internment’ but I think the state has to go down this road or something similar. I know the Brits used it against the Provo’s and all that went on around that but something drastic needs to be employed now. Gather them all up. The Garda know who they are.
@Vin: they have nowhere to put them
The guards are well aware of who done this atrocious crime, it was much more than a sinister crime but meant to send out a message ” mess with us and this is what will happen ” .. the body parts were systematically placed in areas where the gang has rivals. As the quote from training day goes ” it’s not what you know it’s what you can prove ” .. rest in peace to this young man
@Sean Kelly: half of whats app are aware too
Horrendous crime. Carried out by drugs gang made up of overlords ,who use individuals of the same age and mind set of the victim( that have chosen drug dealing as a lifestyle choice) to carry out intimidation and open street drug dealing .Zero tolerance required regardless of what age they are and the hug a thug brigade approach doesn’t work.
@Mark Mccormack: Well said Mark. As we know our current Prison System is simply not a deterrent. Many of these young guys look at the current Prison regime as soft and a place to hang with their mates. There is no mandatory hard physical labour, there is virtually no punishment for criminal activities within the system.
Our system should match if not exceed the Japanese Prison System.
The softly softly approach has failed and been failing for decades. And we know that doing the same thing again and again and expecting a different outcome is a sign of insanity.
@Mick.: I d live to b there when they’re “made” carry out this hard labour
@eileen boles: Simple you refuse you get punished harshly. And I am not talking about taking away their X Box.
Don’t go saying the ‘poor lad’ and how terrible this was.. do you even know what he done to an old lady? Her son owed money, she paid it after getting a loan and this little toe rag stalked her, broke her windows, and threw petrol bombs into her living room while she lived on her own after paying off the debt. He was in 2 gangs and also giving info to both sides. He chose this life and chose the life of a gouger now he’s dead and people want to feel sorry for him? Anybody feeling sorry for the lives he terrorised and caused harm to? This should be a warning to young people wanting this life or crime and gangs.
@jason traynor: That all may be so , I’m absolutely not excusing anything he may have done. However you have to understand the grooming process to see the bigger picture. They are targeted and brought in given drugs clothes and the big man encouragement. They are looking for some sort of nurturing healthy or not. then end up in drug debts and have to do these terrible acts with very little choice. It is often a tactic of the dealers to have them working for both sides. I know someone who was caught up in drug debt for 10 years by two dealers, he would sell for one to pay off the other and so the cycle continued. The dealers were more then happy for this to continue. So yes this kid did some awful stuff, that ladys son was also caught up in drugs do you not hold him responsible ?
@LittleBee: A professional criminal would have left the old lady alone after the debt was paid. A sociopath would continue to harass à defenceless vulnerable innocent because he could and because it made him feel good. The world is a better place without
@LittleBee: A professional criminal would have left the old lady alone after the debt was paid. A sociopath would continue to harass à defenceless vulnerable innocent because he could and because it made him feel good. The world is a better place without him
A homeless crisis; a trolley crisis; a charge what you want 5G crisis and build a hospital for the price of four. Now swathes of the place handed over to feuding drug cartels. Welcome to FFG land.
@JustJack: FG voters dont care they just look after themselves… Same again…
Regardless of this lads history, it’s important to remember he was a child. The savage monsters who have committed such an atrocity against this kid and his family need to be rooted out and put where they can never see or take part in civil society again. This is beyond evil.
Rest in Peace kid.
@James Gannon: whatever the answer is this isn’t it. Due process is there for a reason.
@JDel: you have evidence of crimes that have been committed? Then you should pass that on to the Gardaí and not make unsubstantiated claims on a public forum. Show some sense of decorum.
@James Gannon: Ye thick
@James Gannon: It’s important to remember Boys A & B were children. As was Ana Kriegel. Remember that, and the names of Robert Thompson and Jon Venables – especially Venables, who reoffended first chance he got – next time you spout nonsense about the universal innocence of children. Evil doesn’t GAF about how old you are.
Karma!
@Gigi: You must have zero empathy. Heartless.
@Marie McG: why should we have sympathy for someone who firebombs people’s houses? his family are involved in criminality. the “kid”‘s christening godfather was Owen Maguire, google him. none of these people deserve sympathy. sooner they’re all wiped out, the better.
@JDel: I take my words back. Upon further reading I have realised this Keane fella was a horrible thug. He threatened a mother for money owed by her sons. She eventually gave Keane the money yet he abducted her cat and murdered it.
RIP.
A massive change in drug policy is needed
How much of this is releated to Austerity? As wages have been lowered and lowered kids see the only people in their communities with money as the gangs instead of teachers and nurses who they see struggle.
@Niall Dunne: “How much of this is releated to Austerity?” Very little, probably. A large part of the demand for drugs is driven by the Centic Tiger 2.0.
Anybody who has ever bought, sold or used cocaine is culpable in this death and many more. If there is no demand, there will be no market and no suppliers. Those who think that a little usage is harmless are deluding themselves.
So-called ‘casual users’ should face the risk of prison.
@Jim Higgins: Ah yes. Lock up anyone who has used drugs. The war on drugs will then be won. You’re deluded.
@Jim Higgins: @Sean Kelly Then they will just start doing some other illigal activity that gangs can fight over.
Slim chance but i hope they catch them
At least his family had a body to bury unlike the families of Willie Maughan 35 and his girlfriend Anastasija Varslavane 21 missing from Meath since April 2015 believed by his family to have been murdered. dont see any of the media overkill and weeping and gnashing of teeth over this young missing couple…most readers will go who you talking about we’ll google the names read the story and tell me that this crime of a double murder is any less evil than a wannabe hard man who lived by sword and died by it.at least the guards warned him this couple got no warning and families have no closure no bodies to mourn no graves to visit so spare me the i am going to organise a protest by Drogheda Lord Mayor and snowflake wringing of hands for a thug.
Capital punishment needs to be seriously considered…in cases like this..
Absolutely no sympathy for him. He was a violent criminal, the kind of person who would kill you in the blink of an eye
100 years ago these kids would have been sent off to fight in the “ Great War” by governments. Little has changed still being used as Canon fodder.
Look at the clothes list he was wearing, look at the bling, look at the pose with the dog.
Just look!
Notwithstanding the utter barbarism of what was done to this lad, he received a suspended sentence recently for terrorising a family. Had he been given 2 years inside , he just might have been turned . You have to ask what sort of an upbringing turns an Irish lad of 17 that bad?
As for the vermin that carries this out, while of life tariffs should be applied . By their barbarity they have removed themselves from civilised society . No nonsense about rehabilitation etc
No matter what you call the people that dismembered the body; no matter what crimes any of these people, including the victim, committed; one thing is for sure the people that cut another person’s head off will pay later in life with those images etched into their mind… Imagine a life of that scene in your head. I feel sorry for them in a way…
@Davy Sanders: they won’t have a later life, they will be dead one way or another within the next few years.
@Davy Sanders: If they are capable of committing this, they’d probably enjoy that image etched in they’re memory.
lets pray 4 the next 1 soon…..
This is mad this lads head was decapitated from his body, ducking hell.
@WESTY: Mad, Ted.
Poor “child”…Most likely, would not end up anything great in our society
@Luke13: Imagine him being around for another 60 years. No thank you.
Greater Garda visibility is not enough on its own.
What appears to be absent is solid and timely intelligence.
Dail Eireann without question allocate approriate resources of the highest order.
This is not an issue for FF FG SF GP LP it is a scream that the Dail speak loudly and clearly that this debased barbaric behaviour will not be tolerated .
I grieve for the boys family and for what this young lad could have been.
why are comments allowed on this murder story?
Absolutely horrendous barbaric act. To think some people on here are actually saying this young lad “deserved” what happened to him !?!? What’s wrong with you people???
@Tracey Montgomery:
Instead of hitting the books, and living a teenage lifestyle, he choose himself the adult gangsta life…What did he expect? A Noble Peace prize?
@Tracey Montgomery: He deserved to be permanently removed from human society. As for his age, Boys A & B were younger than him & from a totally different economic & social background. Youth doesn’t preclude being evil. That said, those that not only killed but then chopped him up probably need to take a good long hard look at themselves…
Absolutely barbaric evil act. He was a child. To think that some people on here think he “deserved” this!!! What’s wrong with you people?!?!
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