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The Saker
A bird's eye view of the vineyard

offsite link The Saker blog is now frozen Tue Feb 28, 2023 23:55 | The Saker
Dear friends As I have previously announced, we are now “freezing” the blog.  We are also making archives of the blog available for free download in various formats (see below). 

offsite link What do you make of the Russia and China Partnership? Tue Feb 28, 2023 16:26 | The Saker
by Mr. Allen for the Saker blog Over the last few years, we hear leaders from both Russia and China pronouncing that they have formed a relationship where there are

offsite link Moveable Feast Cafe 2023/02/27 ? Open Thread Mon Feb 27, 2023 19:00 | cafe-uploader
2023/02/27 19:00:02Welcome to the ‘Moveable Feast Cafe’. The ‘Moveable Feast’ is an open thread where readers can post wide ranging observations, articles, rants, off topic and have animate discussions of

offsite link The stage is set for Hybrid World War III Mon Feb 27, 2023 15:50 | The Saker
Pepe Escobar for the Saker blog A powerful feeling rhythms your skin and drums up your soul as you?re immersed in a long walk under persistent snow flurries, pinpointed by

offsite link A few minor things Sun Feb 26, 2023 16:50 | The Saker
Dear friends Quick reminder: we are about to freeze the blog and announce how/where to download the archive from.  I expect the details posted here on Tuesday. I want J.B.

The Saker >>

Public Inquiry
Interested in maladministration. Estd. 2005

offsite link RTE in breach of its own editorial principles Anthony

offsite link Waiting for SIPO Anthony

offsite link Formal complaint against Robert Watt Anthony

offsite link RTE bias complaint Anthony

offsite link Fergus Finlay and the maternity hospital ‘gotcha’ trap Anthony

Public Inquiry >>

Human Rights in Ireland
A Blog About Human Rights

offsite link UN human rights chief calls for priority action ahead of climate summit Sat Oct 30, 2021 17:18 | Human Rights

offsite link 5 Year Anniversary Of Kem Ley?s Death Sun Jul 11, 2021 12:34 | Human Rights

offsite link Poor Living Conditions for Migrants in Southern Italy Mon Jan 18, 2021 10:14 | Human Rights

offsite link Right to Water Mon Aug 03, 2020 19:13 | Human Rights

offsite link Human Rights Fri Mar 20, 2020 16:33 | Human Rights

Human Rights in Ireland >>

Lockdown Skeptics

The Daily Sceptic

offsite link News Round-Up Thu Mar 23, 2023 01:01 | Will Jones
A summary of the most interesting stories in the past 24 hours that challenge the prevailing orthodoxy about the virus and the vaccines, the ?climate emergency? and the supposed moral defects of Western civilisation.
The post News Round-Up appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link ?Next Time a Prime Minister Intends to Abridge the Liberty of Millions, They May Remember the Scenes... Wed Mar 22, 2023 16:43 | Will Jones
Commenting on the Boris Johnson trial, Spectator editor Fraser Nelson comments that "it?s not just right but important that politicians end up ensnared in the traps they set for others".
The post “Next Time a Prime Minister Intends to Abridge the Liberty of Millions, They May Remember the Scenes of the Boris Trial and Pause” appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link FSU Podcast: The Problems with Police Training, eBooks Being Censored After You?ve Bought Them and O... Wed Mar 22, 2023 15:11 | Will Jones
In this week?s episode of the Free Speech Union podcast 'That's Debatable!', Ben Jones and Tom Harris explore hot topics including the problems with police training and eBooks being censored after you've bought them.
The post FSU Podcast: The Problems with Police Training, eBooks Being Censored After You’ve Bought Them and Oxfam’s 92-page ‘Inclusive Language’ Guide appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link When Will They Ever Learn? Wed Mar 22, 2023 13:00 | Thorsteinn Siglaugsson
As a survey shows 93% of Icelanders still believe all the restrictions of the last three years were justified, Thorsteinn Siglaugsson wonders what it will take for us to avoid repeating the same mistakes over again.
The post When Will They Ever Learn? appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link The Gary Lineker ?Crisis? is a Distraction From the Real Problem with the BBC Wed Mar 22, 2023 11:00 | Dr David McGrogan
What Gary Lineker should or should not be allowed to say matters not a jot when set against the real scandal: that our national broadcaster could not care less about fairly representing both sides to contentious debates.
The post The Gary Lineker ‘Crisis’ is a Distraction From the Real Problem with the BBC appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Lockdown Skeptics >>

Dursey Island Case shows draconian targeting of environmental defenders a serious mistake

category national | worker & community struggles and protests | press release author Tuesday December 06, 2022 22:54author by foie - Friends of the Irish Environment Report this post to the editors

PRESS RELEASE FRIENDS OF THE IRISH ENVIRONMENT MONDAY 5 DECEMBER 2022

Judicial Review demonstrates need for access to Courts
Dursey Island Case shows draconian targeting of environmental defenders a serious mistake

The High Court today approved a final Court Order quashing permission for the €10m Dursey Island mass tourism project. The Judicial Review, taken by Friends of the Irish Environment, was conceded by the Council on 23 September, 2022, stating that ‘it does not intend to pursue the proposed development at issue in the proceedings’. 

The development at the end of the Beara peninsula in west Cork included a two-car desynchronised reversible cable car system capable of carrying 650 people an hour, an extensive glass-fronted visitor centre with a gift shop and 84-person cafe with parking for 100 cars and buses. 10 compulsory purchases orders of land for passing bays along the 6km access road have also now been abandoned by the local authority.

A letter from the Board’s legal representatives, Fieldfisher, told FIE’s legal representatives that ‘The Board will not oppose the Applicant's claim for certiorari quashing the Board's decision on the basis that the Board failed to provide adequate reasons for its decision’. 

According to FIE’s submissions, the Board’s Inspector twice demonstrated that the calculations used to show the impact of tourism on the islands’ protected choughs ‘cannot be accurate’. ‘The visitor number arrived at as being acceptable is not based on a reliable methodology’ and ‘was not scientifically or mathematically sound’ he wrote in his Reports. The recommendation was overruled in a Board Direction signed by Dave Walsh.

Friends of the Irish Environment, An Taisce and Birdwatch Ireland all appealed against the grant of permission by Cork County Council in 2019. The groups called the proposal “Undesirable on multiple grounds", citing the “ecological sensitivity of Dursey”, “the absence of any Management Plans for the protected site, as well as the narrow stretch of road linking it to national network” making it “unsuitable for a proposal of this scale.”

The 6-person cable car, opened in 1969, has been closed for the summer for the €1.2m replacement of the existing system which was required for safety reasons. It’s reopening has recently been delayed until January 2023. 

FIE Director Tony Lowes, whose organisation’s offices are nearby on the Beara peninsula, said that ‘the case illustrates why it is critical to allow Judicial Reviews to correct errors that are inevitably going to happen. What is required are 16 more judges and a better resourced An Bord Pleanála, not the draconian silencing of environmental defenders proposed by the Government.’

FIE was represented by O’Connell Clarke, Solicitors.




Contact: Tony Lowes, 353(0) 87 2176316 / 353 (0)27 74771
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Press Release

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