Ringaskiddy | Dominick Donnelly

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Cllr. Donnelly urges council authorities to be strict on illegal posters

30^th April 2009

Candidates that erect early should be fined, say Greens

The Green Party’s candidate for the Carrigaline electoral area of Cork County Council and for Passage West Town Council, Cllr. Dominick Donnelly, today urged the council authorities to be vigilant about candidates that illegally put up their election posters early.

The Environment Minister John Gormley recently issued a reminder to all candidates participating in the upcoming local and European elections that posters may not be erected any earlier than 6th May, which is 30 days before the polling date of June 5th. His department has also written to local authorities and political parties reminding them of their responsibilities.

“It is within the council’s authority to issues on-the-spot litter fines to any candidate in breach of the time limits, either before or after the election, and I would urge them to do so if they find any posters up before the 6^th May,” Cllr. Donnelly said.

“Litter is a problem in the community and so is visual pollution. Election candidates are permitted to put up posters for a 30 day period before polling day in order to inform the public about the candidates standing for office. Those who abuse this right should be dealt with firmly. Candidates and their election teams should also be mindful not to erect posters in locations that might impact on the line of sight of road users,” Cllr. Donnelly added.

“While posters advertising public meetings are permitted, any members of the public that see election posters up early should contact Cork County Council on (021) 4276891.”

Cork County Council must check out the ownership of Gobby Beach car park in Ringaskiddy, says Cllr. Donnelly

Published April 29, 2009 Amenity , Cork Harbour , Incineration , Ringaskiddy Leave a Comment

29^th April 2009

The car park at Gobby Beach in Ringaskiddy has been put on the market by the liquidator for Irish Ispat, through auctioneers Lisney at their Cork office. Cllr. Dominick Donnelly, the Green Party member of Passage West Town Council and candidate for Cork County Council for the Douglas area, has asked Cork County Council to check out the ownership of this car park, as local residents always thought it belonged to the county council, and the county council have maintained the car park, and have put bottle banks on it.

Cllr. Donnelly said: “I have asked Declan Daly, the Divisional Manager for the South Cork area, to check into the ownership of this car park. The local understanding is that this car park is already owned by Cork County Council, but it has recently been put up for sale by the liquidator of Irish Ispat through Lisney’s auctioneers. If it transpires that Cork County Council do not own the car park, then I urge them to acquire it as an essential piece of local infrastructure.”

“It is essential that this car park stays in public ownership, as it is well used by the general public, and is the only access to Gobby Beach, one of very few beaches in Cork Harbour. The auctioneer has informed me that a sale of this car park was negotiated with the Office of Public Works a few years ago, but it did not proceed. Really the only logical owner for this car park is the local authority, and they must investigate this as a matter of urgency,” continued Cllr. Donnelly.

Additional Information: The Gobby Beach car park is at the end of the Ringaskiddy peninsula, near the bridge to Haulbowline and adjacent to Indaver’s site, where they are currently applying to build two incinerators.

New format for incinerator oral hearing is fairer for the community, says Cllr. Donnelly

Published April 28, 2009 Cork Harbour , Environment , Incineration , Ringaskiddy Leave a Comment

27^th April 2009

At the oral hearing for the Ringaskiddy incinerators which started today, Cllr. Dominick Donnelly, Green Party member of Passage West Town Council and candidate for Cork County Council for the Carrigaline electoral area, was pleased that the Bord Plenála inspector changed her mind, and went for a fairer format for the community.

Cllr. Donnelly said: “The format originally proposed by the inspector was completely unfair to the community, as the applicant Indaver would have been able to present new material on a particular module, and the community would have had to respond immediately, without being able to consult the experts in that area. At least now the applicant has to present all their material first, over the next number of days, and the community will have time to consider the material and respond accordingly, seeking specialist expertise where necessary.”

Cllr. Donnelly continued: “It is still unfair that the applicant is being allowed present substantial new material at the hearing. This puts the community at a disadvantage, as there will be little time to analyse the new material and formulate the response. This hearing is going to take a herculean effort from the harbour communities over the next number of weeks.”

Dominick’s written submission to An Bord Pleanala on Ringaskiddy incinerators

Published April 27, 2009 Cork Harbour , Energy , Environment , Heritage , Incineration , Ringaskiddy Leave a Comment

https://dominickdonnelly.com/links/written-submission-to-an-bord-pleanala-on-ringaskiddy-incinerators/

Cllr. Donnelly is confident incinerators will not get planning permission

Published April 27, 2009 Cork Harbour , Energy , Environment , Incineration , Ringaskiddy Leave a Comment

26^th April 2009

The oral hearing for the Ringaskiddy incinerators starts on Monday 27^th April, and will proceed for about three weeks. Cllr. Dominick Donnelly, Green Party member of Passage West Town Council and candidate for Cork County Council for the Carrigaline electoral area, who has been part of the steering committee of CHASE (Cork Harbour Area for a Safe Environment) for the past eight years, is confident that finally the threat of the incinerators in Cork Harbour will be refused at this oral hearing.

Cllr. Donnelly said: “At the last An Bord Pleanála oral hearing into the Ringaskiddy incinerators over five years ago, the only reason planning permission was granted was on the grounds that incineration was part of Government policy at the time. That is clearly not the case any more. The Minister for the Environment John Gormley has made a number of statements to that effect, in advance of the complete review of waste management policy due later this year.”

Cllr. Donnelly continued: “A number of other things are different this time, which should make it impossible for Indaver to get planning permission. An Bord Pleanála refused planning permission for an incinerator in Rathcoole in Co. Dublin, on grounds which can largely be replicated in Ringaskiddy. Also the board refused the Port of Cork planning permission in Ringaskiddy last year for their container terminal on transport grounds, which would also apply to the incinerators, albeit to a lesser extent. Also the Department of the Environment have put in a very strongly worded submission on this application, in which they show that Indaver have basically ignored the fact that their proposed incinerators are in very close proximity to Special Areas of Conservation in Cork Harbour, such as Monkstown Creek and Loughbeg. All of this adds up to it hopefully being inevitable this will be the end of the road for the threat of incineration in Cork Harbour.”

Minister Ryan visits DePuy in Ringaskiddy to see their energy initiatives

Published April 21, 2009 Cork Harbour , Economy , Energy , Ringaskiddy 1 Comment

Cllr. Dominick Donnelly, Minister Eamon Ryan and Senator Dan Boyle with senior managment at DePuy, Ringaskiddy

During his visit to Cork on Friday 17th April, Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Eamon Ryan, visited the DePuy plant in Loughbeg, Ringaskiddy, to see their energy inititiatives first hand. The picture above shows, from left to right, John Lynch (Plant Manager DePuy), James Winters (Engineering Manager DePuy), Dan Donovan (Technical Services Team Leader DePuy), Cllr. Dominick Donnelly, Minister Eamon Ryan, Senator Dan Boyle and the Cork hurler Donal Og Cusack, who is leading DePuy’s energy initiative. In the background is the test mast which DePuy are currently using to get test readings in advance of submitting a planning application for a wind turbine.

As part of the visit, Minister Ryan was given an excellent presentation by Donal Og Cusack, as the leader of DePuy’s energy initiative, and Plant Manager John Lynch, in which they outlined the very serious way in which DePuy are taking energy issues. For many years DePuy have been reducing their energy needs while increasing their output, and this has led them to very substantial financial savings. Donal Og Cusack described how DePuy has trained its employees to take energy issues as seriously as they take safety issues. He also described how over half of the electricity they buy is from renewable sources, and how they are looking at different ways of generating their own electricity on site. As a start on this, DePuy have come together with four other large plants in Ringaskiddy, and the five companies will be submitting planning applications later in the year to install wind turbines on the Ringaskiddy peninsula. DePuy are also installing a woodchip boiler, which will be up and running later this year. They are also exploring the potential of such technologies as geothermal and wave power.

Cllr. Dominick Donnelly, Green Party member of Passage West Town Council and candidate for Cork County Council, who accompanied Minister Ryan on his visit, said: “It is wonderful to see a company such as DePuy is taking energy issues so seriously. DePuy continue to grow their business, and are currently employing about 700 people, with an extension currently under construction. DePuy are a model to other businesses as to how taking energy issues seriously leads to substantial savings on the company’s bottom line.”

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