Infrastructure

national | anti-capitalism | opinion/analysis Sunday August 12, 2007 13:18 by Strategic

Aarhus and Heritage

A short synopsis of ten Years of FF. Reaction Welcome.

http://www.savetara.com

Planning and unsustainabiltiy:-

The Glen Of the Downs campaign which happened ten years ago began for many a domino
effect of how a corrupt and craven administration deals with the issues of 'progress' and
'prosperity' and what an uneducated and expedient government , or series of administrations
were introduced to the people of Ireland by the party which has roots in every single
chamber of commerce in this country has shown itself.

The Glen Planning issue was presided over by the then Minister of 'Arts, heritage, Gaelteacht and the
Islands', Ms Sile De Valera. The incumbent hit some road blocks and started to use legislations
such as trespass orders, injunctions and contempt orders to push through the urban sprawl
from the south of Dublin into the Wicklow area. The lands were transferred from the
ownership of Coillte into the hands of the CC and from thence into the hands of Ascon,
the developers. The injunctions which imprisoned 16 people for a period of seven weeks,
and four of them for a long term were sponsored by Wicklow County Council and Ascon.

The resultant fines for breach of Habitat directive were buried in the post 9/11 media
scrum and the legislators realising that money/hard cash was available through building
*big highways began to introduce a series of changes to the books to ensure swifter
access to hard cash, whils ignoring the car dependence problems of urban sprawl
and the unsustainability of radical development on the island.

The first thing that FF accomplished on re-election was a shift in portfolios:

*Heritage was dropped from 'Arts, Culture, Gaelteacht and the Islands'
The portfolio vanished for twelve months!

*Duchas was abolished by Martin Cullen on Feburary 23rd 2003. The role of Duchas
was divided between the Commissioners for Public Works in ireland (52 St Stpehen's
Green) and the D.O.E. Duchas was the only agency which had statutory power to implement the
National Monuments Act (2004-as amended).

*The National Monuments Act 2004 was amended to allow for 'preservation by
record' - giving the incumbent Minister the right to demolish a heritage site within
28 sitting days of the Oireachtas.

*The Housing Miscellaneous Provisions 2002 Bill allowed for the 'Trepass Law'
which criminalised both traveller and temporary camps (used in relation to clearing camps).

*The Governments have been inconsistent breach of Habitats Directive and fined since
September 2002.

In 2006 The Strategic Infrastructure Bill was launched which transposes elements of Aaarhus
into Irish Law, this means that only incepted Environmental groups with the
'Protection of the Environment' in their books can access judicial process in relation to
querying the NDP and also it envisages a separate section in the Irish Courts where
fast-track planning can be shoved through. 54 projects are already applied for and the
PPP is not tri-partite but weighted against the citizen.

Thus we have a raft of legislations which will facilitate everything from the 'Suas'
to GM and Heritage destruction to Nuclear power stations with no concommitent
raft of legislations to protect heritage and community.

What the Minister @environ can do:-

1.Repeal S.I.B.
2.Re-institute a Statutory agency with powers of implementation.
3.Investigate the NRA's 'Planning and Construction 'Guidelines.
4.Transpose Aarhus in toto into Irish Legislation.
5.Prioritise the protection of natural and built heritage within his term of office.

or allow the insidious use of Ireland by the corporate lobby to continue in its unadulterated
fashion and wreak more havoc on both the community and objector. This dilution of citizen
power and acceptance of a linear progression of corrupt planning laws indicated the FF
way of creating a mess for the next generation which shews the Green Party for what it is:-
more interested in accessing power than in dealing with the effect of power on our
natural and built heritage. unfortunately the new minister has chosen to holiday
during a time when responsible action is necessitated and indicates a lackadaisical
approach to addressing the corruption with which the election campain of that party
was sucessfully fought and won.