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Agriland
2 days ago
- Business
- Agriland
DAA issued with enforcement notice over passenger cap breach
Fingal County Council has issued an enforcement notice to Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) requiring the authority to comply with planning conditions relating to a 'passenger cap' at Dublin Airport. The local authority has written to DAA over what it said was a breach of planning conditions imposed by An Bord Pleanála. The Dublin Airport passenger cap has proved controversial, with aviation sector stakeholders wanting to see the cap increased or removed altogether, and DAA applying to have the cap increased by 8 million people, or 25% higher than its current figure of 32 million. However, many environmental stakeholders, as well as farm organisations, have suggested that this would not be in line with environmental targets, with the farm organisation believing the move would be unfair given the climate-related restrictions on farming. A spokesperson for Fingal County Council said today (Friday, June 20): 'The two-year period provides an opportunity for DAA to progress its planning applications to increase passenger capacity at Dublin Airport, or take such other steps as they consider appropriate to achieve compliance.' The conditions were attached to planning permissions granted in 2008 for the construction of Terminal 2 and the extension of Terminal 1, and 'clearly stated' that the combined capacity of both terminals must not exceed 32 million passengers per annum. In response to complaints received alleging that the conditions were breached in 2023 and 2024, Fingal County Council, as the relevant planning authority, initiated a formal investigation to assess compliance with the conditions. A warning letter was issued to DAA, providing them with an opportunity to respond, which they did. Fingal County Council said it acknowledges the 'operational complexities', but that information provided by DAA does not constitute sufficient grounds to prevent further action. The investigation has determined that a breach of relevant planning conditions has occurred and remains ongoing. The county council said that, in accordance with its legal obligations as the planning authority, it issued an enforcement notice under section 154 of the Planning and Development Act 2000. DAA has been given two years to bring its operations into compliance. Passenger cap controversy The efforts to increase the Dublin Airport passenger cap has proven controversial with the farming community and farmer representatives. In early 2024, the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA), as part of a wider nationwide campaign of protests known as 'Enough is Enough', protested against the proposed increase. Speaking at a protest in February 2024 at Cork Airport (which is also run by DAA), Cork Central IFA chairperson Mathew Hurley said the aim of the protest was to highlight 'the unfairness' of Dublin Airport seeking to grow passenger numbers by 25%, while farmers must cut their emissions by the same amount. Also in early 2024, the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers' Association (ICMSA) said that any suggestion of lifting the cap on passenger numbers at Dublin Airport without referencing increased emissions would be 'surreal'. ICMSA president Denis Drennan said at the time that farmers, and the country's multi-billion euro dairy processing sector, will be closely watching the government's reaction to the 'campaign' to increase passenger numbers at Dublin Airport.
Time of India
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Ivory Coast opposition weighs next move ahead of presidential vote
AI- Representative Image Ivory Coast's opposition is weighing its options after four of its top figures were excluded from the October 25 presidential race. Tidjane Thiam, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Ivory Coast (PDCI), was removed from the electoral roll in April after a court questioned his Ivorian nationality. Former president Laurent Gbagbo, his former ally Charles Ble Goude and exiled ex-prime minister Guillaume Soro were also ruled out over past convictions. None of the four can run or vote. Can the disqualified candidates be reinstated? Reinstatement hinges on revising the electoral roll before an August 26 deadline which has been ruled out by electoral commission head Ibrahime Kuibiert Coulibaly, who cited time constraints. Gbagbo, Ble Goude and Soro would also need an amnesty law or presidential pardon to wipe their records. "In the current context, nothing indicates we are heading towards such a decision," William Assanvo, a researcher at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), told AFP. Do Thiam and Gbagbo have a plan B? The option of a surrogate candidate -- as seen in Senegal when opposition firebrand Ousmane Sonko endorsed Bassirou Diomaye Faye in the presidential ballot after he was barred from running himself -- is off the table for both the PDCI and Gbagbo's PPA-CI. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với sàn môi giới tin cậy IC Markets Tìm hiểu thêm Undo "Gbagbo never imagined such a scenario. He is part of the generation that blocks the political horizon of the youth in his party," said Francis Akindes, a political analyst at Bouake university. "If we put forward someone else with a chance of winning, they too will be eliminated," a close associate of Thiam said. The government insists it is not meddling in the electoral process and is merely implementing rulings from an independent judiciary. The idea of rallying behind Jean-Louis Billon, a former trade minister and PDCI dissident who says he wants to represent the party, is not under consideration. Is a boycott on the table? With no alternative plan, talk of a boycott by the side-lined opposition parties is resurfacing. "We will never again miss elections," Gbagbo said in August 2023. Gbagbo on Thursday unveiled a civic movement called "Enough is Enough" aimed at rallying social demands and resisting a potential fourth term bid by President Alassane Ouattara. On Saturday, he told supporters to be "ready for a fight". "At some point, we will have to flood all the streets of Abidjan." Assanvo, from the ISS, said Gbagbo's PPA-CI has mobilisation capacity, but for Thiam's PDCI party, taking to the streets is not part of its "political culture". "What's happening is playing out among a political elite that young people don't feel connected to," said Akindes. A source close to Thiam said the results of an election without the PDCI or the PPA-CI will have "no legitimacy". Can the opposition unite behind one candidate? The PDCI and Ble Goude's Cojep party have joined a broader opposition group known as the Coalition for Peaceful Change (CAP-CI). The coalition has two declared and eligible candidates -- former first lady Simone Gbagbo and ex-prime minister Pascal Affi N'Guessan. For now, CAP-CI members are calling for political dialogue and electoral reforms and are avoiding committing to a single candidate. Gbagbo's party, at odds with both his ex-wife and Ble Goude, remains outside the alliance. "This coalition is not an electoral alliance, it's a coalition to demand a fair vote," Assanvo said. "Will it change its nature? That seems unlikely."
