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LAST MONTH, AN Bord Pleanála refused planning permission for a large-scale housing project in Dublin due to concerns for the Light-Bellied Brent Goose.
The Light-bellied Brent Goose is a small dark goose that migrates from high-Arctic Canada to winter in Ireland.
The Irish population is seen as being internationally significant and the Brent Goose is amber-listed in Ireland since the majority of the birds winter at fewer than ten sites here.
Birds on the amber-list are deemed to have an “unfavourable conservation status in Europe”.
Plans had been drafted for 330 apartments, 60 assisted living units and retail units at the site of the former Cadbury’s pitch and putt course at Oscar Traynor Road, Coolock in Dublin 5.
However, An Bord Pleanála was not satisfied that the proposed development would not adversely affect the integrity of European conservation sites, namely the North Bull Island Special Protection Area (SPA), South Dublin Bay and River Tolka SPA and the Baldoyle Bay SPA.
It was stated that there is evidence that the appeal site is part of a network of amenity grasslands that are an ex-situ foraging habitat for the Light Bellied Brent Goose.
However, consultants for OTR Development Company, Tom Phillips+Associates, wholly rejected the Light Bellied Brent Goose reason for refusal.
The consultancy had stated that the homes “are desperately needed amidst the current housing crisis”.
A Director at Tom Phillips stated that a report lodged with the application concluded that the development of the site would not have a negative effect on the LBBG population for Dublin Bay.
It was further stated that four years of site specific survey data confirmed that the Cadbury site is no longer used by the LBBG and there is no evidence that the LBBG would have been adversely affected.
Gavin Lawlor is the president of the Irish Planning Institute, which represents around 1,000 planners in Ireland.
These members work across the private sector, within regional authorities and for semi-state bodies, such as the Land Development Agency.
“So it’s a very broad church of membership,” said Lawlor, “and therefore a very broad base in terms of view.”
“Everybody goes to the old argument of animals versus humans, the reverse of George Orwell’s 1984 stuff,” said Lawlor, “but it’s a little bit more fundamental and basic than that.”
He told The Journal that “we can all agree that we need a lot more houses and it’d be better to build them in areas that are already serviced, than trying to expand out into the countryside”.
In the case of the former Cadbury’s site, Lawlor noted that it’s a brownfield site, meaning it is land that was previously developed but has since been abandoned or underutilised.
“That’s what the national planning framework says, it wants us to favour brownfield development like this site in question over greenfield development.”
The National Planning Framework, published in 2018, aims to guide strategic planning and development for Ireland until 2040.
It includes a target for at least 40% of all new housing to be delivered within the existing built up areas on brownfield sites.
However, Lawlor noted that Ireland has been “very poor at dealing with biodiversity issues and environmental protection” and that this is partly a resourcing issue.
The National Parks & Wildlife Service is responsible for the designation of conservation sites in Ireland.
Lawlor told The Journal that “until very recently, it had no resources being invested in it”.
“They had a very small human resource team to deal with a very big problem in terms of designation and protection of species,” said Lawlor.
While Brent Geese were spotted on the former Cadbury’s site previously, the developers said this last happened around four years ago.
An Appropriate Assessment was carried out on the site in question on behalf of the developers.
This assessment looks at the potential adverse effects of a project on Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas.
It said that since the 2020/2021 winter season, there has only been one indication that Brent Geese have been using the habitats within the development and that the overgrown grasslands are “suboptimal for foraging Brent Geese”.
Meanwhile, Lawlor said the “frustration” in relation to this site is that “it ticks all the boxes from a planning perspective”.
“You couldn’t find a better one that would meet all of the current policy criteria.
“It has fantastic public transport, it’s serviced by water and it’s a brownfield redevelopment of a site, it’s a high-density scheme.
“And it’s refused on the basis of an issue that should have been dealt with at the development plan stage, before the planning application.”
However, Lawlor added that it would be “overly simplistic” to say too many developments are being refused because of such ecological concerns.
He also remarked that Ireland is grappling with three crises; in biodiversity, housing, and the climate crisis.
“All are interrelated, all are very pressing and they have to be managed in balance,” said Lawlor.
“When the priority is placed on any one of those over the other, the other fingers tend to react.
“It’s complex but in this instance, the frustration is that the issue of the Brent geese should have been considered when they were adopting the development plan.”
Meanwhile, environmental journalist John Gibbons took issue with the developers arguing that there is a “desperate need” for the apartments.
“The desperate need the developers specify is the desperate need of the developers to make money,” said Gibbons.
He added that we shouldn’t be “taking our cue on housing needs from developers as they have a strong vested financial interest”.
Gibbons told The Journal that the migratory path of the Brent Geese is one that “will have been travelled by these geese for hundreds, if not thousands of years”.
“We have to just be more respectful of nature, we can’t just say, ‘we need that space now, and that’s too bad’.”
He said that any development which interferes with areas of conservation, like migratory paths for migratory species, would “doom those species to either extinction or to huge loss in habitats, which is the precursor for extinction”.
“This is often framed as a loss for us, and we never look at it from the point of view of whose rights are greater, who got there first?
“I think the idea that a developer can come along and say, ‘I want this area, and anyway, we’re meeting a need and we can just obliterate habitats and migratory pathways that have existed for hundreds and thousands of years’, it’s a dreadful mindset.”
He added that it’s not as simple as the birds going elsewhere.
“It’s basically in their DNA, these pathways, they fly thousands of kilometres to arrive at very specific locations, and they depend on those locations being available.
“If those locations have been disturbed or destroyed, basically those birds will arrive exhausted and hungry and they’ll die.
“Of course we need housing, but we also need wildlife and we need to be far more respectful of the creatures that we share this earth with.”
The developers said there has only been one indication of Brent Geese having used the former Cadbury’s site in the past four years, but Gibbons said if there is any doubt, “we have to err on the side of caution”.
“They may be right, but what if they’re wrong,” said Gibbons.
“That’s the problem, because then they’ve doomed the species.
“They have a strong vested financial interest in one outcome and that doesn’t mean they’re wrong, but it means that strong interest that should be recognised.
“We have to be listening to the experts, and if they haven’t satisfied An Bord Pleanála and the concerns of environmentalists and ecologists around this, then they really have no business,” said Gibbons.
“What if we get this wrong,” added Gibbons.
“Then you’re destroying migratory pathways that are literally ingrained into these birds, and they don’t have the ability to quickly change, and anyway, where would they go?
“On the other hand, developers can go elsewhere, there’s always another site.
“If we have to choose between the profits of developers and the protection of wildlife, I know where I stand.”
-With additional reporting from Gordon Deegan
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Quick reminder that the government could legalise cannabis tomorrow, if they wanted to. But they don’t, for some reason.
@FlipBip: what is the Maroccan government doing ? Follow the money
@FlipBip: the smell of it is reason enough to ban it
@Basildon Joe: Lmao, boomers like you must be terrified from an article like this :)
@Basildon Joe: Erm would one of the main reasons to legalise it not be to ensure the public have safe and legal choices?! Your comment makes literally no sense! I’m assuming you read and comment on the Daily Mail a lot?! Proper Peter Hitchens goo brain conservatism as usual!
It’s legal in some G7 countries and governments collect huge amounts of tax from it and there seems to be no more affect from using it than having a few pints so why not legalize it in Ireland?
@Ned: yes but how ?
@Ned: because as with all commodities that are taxed black markets follow – cigs, car fuels, prescription drugs, alcohol. These are far more dangerous.
@Ned: We’re an impossible people Ned. Never happen
@Thesaltyurchin: you are right impossible people is an Irish problem
@Nerb: The black market already exists!
Legalise and tax
@qffaffaf affrafrfraf: easier said than done.
@offside again: 177 people caught drug driving last week alone putting the lives of other drivers in danger.Think about that for minute.
@Willie Marty: Was anyone caught drunk driving? Weak argument.
@Diarmuid Hunt: the article is about drugs.Read it.
@Willie Marty: I did. However your comment was about drug driving. People use a legal inhibiting substance and drive and risk other people’s lives. Is people acting irresponsibly a valid reason to ban alcohol?
@Diarmuid Hunt: were you ever advised “if you drink dont drive”
@Willie Marty: Yes I was numerous times by many adverts from the RSA as were all the people who chose to drink and drive… it obviously doesn’t stop it happening. Are you saying people that drug drive don’t understand the implications of driving under the influence and that a simple PSA would sort it?
@Willie Marty: Cant lump Cannabis in with all drugs. Still waiting for that first challenge on the courts tho, go to Amsterdam for a weekend the following week your arrested for drug driving in Ireland… gonna be an interesting case.
@Diarmuid Hunt: no drugs no alcohol-less misery less crime and more productive lives for all.
@Willie Marty: False narrative, money creates crime.
@Thesaltyurchin: it sure does and theres money in drugs.
@Willie Marty: More productive or more profitable?
@Diarmuid Hunt: a bit of both.
@Willie Marty: yeah and all the people who might’ve had a blunt a week ago and still fail it. Wake up there’s people with cancer who can’t access is because of these stupid laws.
@Willie Marty: Prohibition worked great in the USA! It caused no crime at all……
There is a huge industry around the so called treatment for cannabis abuse , and do called experts acting like there they are speaking from position of proven facts ,When the truth is there is only limited real facts available as off now ,And you look a bit closer you will see ,the do called experts on cannabis abuse are usually making a fortune from so called treatment programs
@Robert Halvey: yep all a big scam. Really wish the Irish people would do their own research on cannabis. So many smart people using it for various illnesses.
@LegalisationSavesLives: i use it to get stoned. Sometimes i use alchohol to get drunk.
i use paracetamol for pain. Tea to get me going, nicotine for i dont know what.
i go to the doctor if i feel i should.
@offside again: Are you a functioning human now though??
@offside again: Tea to get you going? Fluck me, you’re a special case for sure. Happy New Year, tho ..
@Donna Fallon: yes, I have a job. I am a functionning member of society.
@offside again: sounds like you need a lobotomy
@reg morrisey: Sounds like everyone else on this comment has already had one tbf!. Talk about reactionary, you folks are really finding food on those rocks at the bottom! :)
Torn on this one… the weed that’s being distributed in recent years is seriously strong (and or dipped in other substances) compared to the stuff circulating back in my day. I know too many young people who have experienced severe irreversible drug- induced psychosis from it’s usage. If it was legalised and regulated, it might clean up the market??
@Donna Fallon: don’t know a single person who had a bad reaction to weed ,
Where are all these people who suffer from REEFER MADNESS
@Donna Fallon: sure you do Donna. Funny enough I’ve never know anyone over all the years I was involved in the music/clubbing scene who had a psychosis episode from weed intake,the ones I did know that had issues were with alcohol and cocaine
@sean weir: Go to the psychosis unit in St. John of God Stillorgan Dublin
@HisMastersAlibi: Go to the psychosis unit in St. John of God Stillorgan Dublin. Yup admittedly, my episodes were from uppers like coke, alcohol and ecstasy. Do not try to downplay the affects of weed, hash, resin, oil etc. Honestly any stoner I was in school with is now either in a home or still living with their parents. No motivation.
@sean weir: i do and it was back in the day. Alchohol can also have an immediate and negative effect on some people.
But that’s not the point.
Tread carefully
@offside again: You’re offside again.
@Donna Fallon: Legalisation that allowed people to grow a few plants and organised regulated dispensaries to sell to adult consumers as in other jurisdictions, would greatly reduce the risk of young people buying cannabis laced with other drugs, etc, to either increase potency or just to add weight.
It wouldn’t end the business of drug dealers, but it would give people better options and likely clean up the entire market, especially if testing of cannabis products was easily available to consumers, then any contamination of the pure product would be made evident, making it less appealing and harder to sell, which would therefore force even the non-regulated market to clean up it’s act.
@Dvsespaña: wow man
@Donna Fallon: utter nonsense
@Donna Fallon: I feel you nothing about Cannabis Donna, but it seems you know everything. I’m conflicted.
@Basildon Joe: For the sake of any unsuspecting reader; If a person experiences Psychosis OR an extremely rare case of Schizophrenia it is 100% because they are predisposed to it!… know yourself, don’t wait to find out!
@Thesaltyurchin: Lol I wish I knew everything!! No on a serious note, I have first hand experience of the negative effects of THC. When I was young, I used to travel almost monthly to Amsterdam- wasn’t my drug of choice personally. However, I’ve family members and close friends whose lives have literally been arrested due to abuse of that substance- I’m not talking about those who have the occasional spliff.
@Shimo F: Prove me wrong!!
@Donna Fallon: eh no. You don’t.
@Donna Fallon: Appreciate that’s your version of reality Donna, but that’s a tiny, tiny percentage of people who are mostly fine. My lived experience is one where everyone who enjoys Cannabis is completely normal, with families and very active lives, zero mental health knock on (if anything in the opposite direction!). The only negative is organised crime but with more people growing at home this could be wiped out (never entirely, but to the point where it makes little revenue), leaving facilities and law enforcement free to actually save lives. Genuinely believe society is worse off on the outside of issues like this, in Ireland tho we do like people to be ‘worse off’ tho
@sean weir: You’ve obviously never seen the teenagers with irreversible psychological problems due to early cannabis use. I see these kids every day, crippled with anxiety and depression that they’ll have to live with for the rest of their lives. Every one of them says the same thing, that cannabis is harmless. Multiple independent studies show the harm that this drug does to young brains. Just because you don’t know anyone affected doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen.
@stephen deegan: That’s an excellent reason to legalise and regulate.
@Donna Fallon: That is exactly what it does. Controls the quality of the product and makes it safer for everyone.
@HisMastersAlibi: The new hybrid stuff is shockingly strong. It is not like the mellow pout stuff of the past. Very speedy!
@Basildon Joe: I have never in nearly 50 years of knowing about it. Seen anybody use cannabis and get violent. Other drugs yes they do but a dope head is too laid back to get angry!
Toby and Sam are two beautiful Springer Spaniels, lovely temperament, clever and great with kids!
The article reads like a 12 year old has written it .
A “dab rig” really????
@sean weir: Google “dab rig” .
We are not accustomed to this in Ireland, cos the product is extremely unusual here. I believe it’s probably similar to an electric vaporiser, but which will contain the melted substance, which becomes liquid when heated.
I think there are many such products available to buy online.
@sean weir: It’s hilarious eh? Design to terrify boomers and the good sky fearing Irish, lol. This is all old old, largely inconsequential news. Even the commenter above is mystified by “dab rig”
The country is riddled with Drugs & is the gateway to Europe from Drug Lords. Drug gangs in control of many communities now & communities suffering from Crimes connected to Drugs, all thanks to our ineffective Minister for Justice, Helen Mc Entee, who has overseen the collapse of Law & Order, a failed Justice system, dysfunctional Garda Siochana & overcrowded Prisons, too busy bringing in the harshest Hate Crime legislation in Europe, which became law last night. Govt will now use these Hate Laws to silence all free speech & criticism of their open door Immigration policies. We had a senior Garda figure state inaccuracies on National Television this week around vetting of Immigrants. Eurodac data base does not cover Criminality in Africa or the Middle East !
Them dogs look like they’re on butane honey oil.
@Bills n Stuff: well they’d have to be. That’s how they are trained.
I am sure it’s great for your lungs
Zero tolerance
@James Leahy: ooof we’d love a bit of zero tolerance eh? Walking into peoples living rooms and forcing them to live like us… cannot wait
@Thesaltyurchin: who mentioned walking into people’s living rooms.Zero tolerance on our roads ie drug and drink driving.
@James Leahy: We already prosecute drivers who are completely sober for having trace amounts of non psychoactive THC metabolites in their system. How zero tolerance would you like it to get ?
Jeepers! look at us gather ‘the news’, with no shoes, in the pouring rain. How do we even manage, lol.
have your say