Interested in maladministration. Estd. 2005
RTEs Sarah McInerney ? Fianna Fail?supporter? Anthony
Joe Duffy is dishonest and untrustworthy Anthony
Robert Watt complaint: Time for decision by SIPO Anthony
RTE in breach of its own editorial principles Anthony
Waiting for SIPO Anthony Public Inquiry >>
Promoting Human Rights in IrelandHuman Rights in Ireland >>
The West is Losing Its Head Over Israel Fri Aug 08, 2025 15:00 | Clive Pinder Even the Arab League has refused to recognise a State of Palestine while Hamas is still in power ? a clarity lost on the compromised leaders of the West. Israel urgently needs to improve its PR, says Clive Pinder.
The post The West is Losing Its Head Over Israel appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Misinformation ?Expert? Exposed as Left-Wing Activist Fri Aug 08, 2025 13:00 | Will Jones Professor Joan Donovan is frequently wheeled out by the New York Times as an 'expert' on misinformation. Paul Thacker at the Disinformation Chronicle exposes her as a shoddy Left-wing activist with a fancy title.
The post Misinformation ‘Expert’ Exposed as Left-Wing Activist appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Minerals Needed for ?Green Energy? Could Run Out Within 10 Years Fri Aug 08, 2025 11:09 | Will Jones Critical minerals needed to build 'green energy' technology such as solar panels, nuclear power stations, electric cars and wind turbines could run out within 10 years, researchers have warned.
The post Minerals Needed for ‘Green Energy’ Could Run Out Within 10 Years appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
The Promises of ?Cheap? Wind Power Have Utterly Failed Fri Aug 08, 2025 09:00 | Ben Pile Wind power companies in Germany were asked to supply electricity without subsidies, but not a single one was prepared to do so. The promises of 'cheap' wind power have utterly failed, says Ben Pile.
The post The Promises of ‘Cheap’ Wind Power Have Utterly Failed appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
The Lunacy of Green Finance | James Graham Fri Aug 08, 2025 07:00 | Richard Eldred Special Episode of the Sceptic: James Graham on the scourge of 'Environmental and Social Governance' and his confrontation with green fanatic fund managers.
The post The Lunacy of Green Finance | James Graham appeared first on The Daily Sceptic. Lockdown Skeptics >>
Voltaire, international edition
Will intergovernmental institutions withstand the end of the "American Empire"?,... Sat Apr 05, 2025 07:15 | en
Voltaire, International Newsletter N?127 Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:38 | en
Disintegration of Western democracy begins in France Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:00 | en
Voltaire, International Newsletter N?126 Fri Mar 28, 2025 11:39 | en
The International Conference on Combating Anti-Semitism by Amichai Chikli and Na... Fri Mar 28, 2025 11:31 | en Voltaire Network >>
|
Death Of Brids Decried After Tree Felling . Dept of Agriculture accused of Double Standards
national |
environment |
press release
Saturday May 14, 2016 13:31 by Tony Lowes - Friends of the Irish Environment 353 (0)87 2176316

Friends of the Irish Environment - Press Release 12th May 2016
The environmental group friends of the Irish Environment [FIE] have published on their website photographs of young birds killed in their nests by tree felling during this bird’s breeding season at a County Longford estate.
An investigation into felling at Castleforbes Estate County Longford by the Forest Service after a complaint from FIE in early April confirmed reports of the great spotted woodpecker drumming in the woods scheduled for felling but officials refused to halt the work because no nests were found. Other bird recorded in the Castleforbes Estate include the owl and the kestrel, harrier, and the cuckoo[TL1] . The badger, fox, pine martin, hedgehog, stoat and red squirrel are also present, the latter returning and flourishing only in the last 10 years. PRESS RELEASE
The environmental group friends of the Irish Environment [FIE] have published on their website photographs of young birds killed in their nests by tree felling during this bird’s breeding season at a County Longford estate.
An investigation into felling at Castleforbes Estate County Longford by the Forest Service after a complaint from FIE in early April confirmed reports of the great spotted woodpecker drumming in the woods scheduled for felling but officials refused to halt the work because no nests were found. Other bird recorded in the Castleforbes Estate include the owl and the kestrel, harrier, and the cuckoo[TL1] . The badger, fox, pine martin, hedgehog, stoat and red squirrel are also present, the latter returning and flourishing only in the last 10 years.
The group has written to the Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed, TD, and the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Rural Affairs, and the Gaelteacta, Heather Humphries, TD to point out that the Estate is part of the Lough Forbes Special Area of Conservation.
‘This site consists of a number of different habitats, and is centred around Lough Forbes, a lake formed by a broadening of the River Shannon. As well as the lake itself, there is also a series of raised bogs, callow grasslands and an alluvial woodland which forms part of the Estate. A mature forest was recorded at this location in the 17th century. It is protected not only under EU law, but also in the County Longford Development Plan.’
The trees selected for felling, according to the Forest Service, include between 60-80 years old oak, ‘with the occasional older tree’. While the Forest Service restricted felling during the summer season in last year’s thinning licence, no such restrictions were placed on the two 2016 far more destructive felling licences.
DEPARTMENT ACCUSED OF DOUBLE STANDARDS
FIE accused the Department of using ‘double standards’, highlighting the recent judgement by Judge Seamus Hughes of the Longford District Court who fined two men €250 for destroying vegetation during the closed period imposed to protect birds and other wildlife between March 1 and August 31.
'Farmers are rightly required to go to considerable lengths to ensure they do not cut hedgerows during the closed period, even to incurring additional cost for machinery equipped to deal with wet land, while the Department's own Forest Service issued two felling licenses at the historic Castleforbes Estate in County Longford without any restrictions for nature conservation.’
‘These double standards are bound to cause resentment among farmers who are being fined in the Courts for felling hedgerows while they see heritage woodlands being cut at the peak of the nesting season. The excuse for allowing the felling at this time of year is that the wet woodlands are too difficult to fell during the winter season – but farmers facing fines for loss of land available for foraging are being actively prosecuted in the Courts for cutting hedgerow during the closed period.’
BIODIVERSITY TARGETS
In letters to Ministers, the group has urged them to examine the Ireland’s commitment to the 2020 headline target of the EU biodiversity strategy – ‘Halting the loss of biodiversity’.
FIE points out that EU rural development policy specifically requires Ireland ‘to bring about a measurable improvement in the conservation status of species and habitats that depend on or are affected by forestry.’ ‘The decision by the Forest service to allow this felling during the restricted season undermines Ireland’s commitment to this policy’, the group wrote.
‘It is particularly ironic that the death of these nesting birds took place just as the nation celebrated the ‘dawn chorus’, an event that showcases the great diversity of Ireland’s birdlife’, the FIE statement concluded sadly.
Contact: Tony Lowes 353 (0)87 2176316 / 353 (0)27 74771
Downloadable High Res Photos
https://goo.gl/photos/X9UrVH5QEDgg5xSr9
Letters
------
Agriculture
friendsoftheirishenvironment.org/images/pdf/ministercastleforbes_07.05.16_MC.pdf
Heritage
http://friendsoftheirishenvironment.org/images/pdf/mini...6.pdf
|