Latest news with #SPAs
Irish Independent
3 days ago
- General
- Irish Independent
‘The level of red tape is unbelievable' – anger as EU rules on birds derail 50-metre path in Malahide
The path, for which funding was provided by Fingal County Council in 2023, was to connect the Seabury housing estate to the sports club and a nearby pre-school. It would have provided a short active travel alternative to the current route, which involves driving nearly 2 kilometres to access the sporting facility. But at yesterday's Fingal County Council meeting of the Howth/Malahide Area Committee, Therese Casey, Executive Parks and Landscape Officer at Fingal County Council, said the path was being held up by EU rules on protecting bird habitat. Reading from a council statement, she said: 'The proposed site for the walkway development is an important feeding site for several bird species associated with the Malahide Estuary Special Protection Area (SPA)'. The Malahide Estuary SPA contains internationally important populations of Light-bellied Brent Geese and Black-tailed Godwits, among other species. An appropriate assessment screening taken over the winter months found that significant impacts to the site 'cannot be excluded beyond a reasonable scientific doubt', according to the council. 'Therefore, a Stage 2 Natura impact assessment and appropriate mitigation is required should this project proceed.' Any council project requiring this check needs to be submitted to An Bord Pleanála (ABP), the council statement added. "The council is legally obliged to safeguard these feeding sites for migratory birds associated with SPAs under the EU Birds Directive. 'Developing a pathway in a key feeding site that is likely to cause ongoing disturbance conflicts with that legal requirement and poses a significant hurdle for obtaining planning permission for this project from ABP.' ADVERTISEMENT Learn more Fianna Fáil councillor Eoghan O'Brien said he was 'really disappointed' by the statement. Locals already access the rugby club via this route, but the existing surface is unsuitable for those with mobility issues and after wet weather, he said. 'I don't have the measurements, but we're talking about roughly 30 to 50 metres of some sort of safe surface. I'm not even talking about going in with a concrete path,' he said. Cathal Haughey, another local councillor, said he was 'shocked' by the response. 'If we went back to the rugby club with that, I don't know how you'd keep a straight face … the level of red tape is unbelievable,' he said. 'It sounds like it's not going to happen now, which just seems outrageous … it goes against everything that the council is trying to do regarding active travel.' He said it would be helpful for the topic to be brought back up in a future session, so councillors could 'get our heads around it more'. Ms Coffey said she understood the frustration of the elected members and rugby club, but that her 'hands were tied' in relation to this, as the legislation on protecting birds is clear. She proposed a meeting between councillors and the council's biodiversity team in the coming weeks to work out a compromise.
The Print
23-04-2025
- Business
- The Print
Jute industry urges textiles ministry to rescind packaging dilution approval for FCI, state agencies
'The Centre has approved the dilution of 1.23 lakh bales in favour of two states and the FCI. We urge the textile ministry and state governments to intervene and withdraw this decision to protect the jute industry and farmers,' IJMA chairman Raghavendra Gupta told PTI. The Indian Jute Mills Association (IJMA) also sought West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's intervention against the dilution. Kolkata, Apr 23 (PTI) An association of jute mill owners has appealed to Union Textiles Minister Giriraj Singh to withdraw approvals for packaging dilution, granted to Food Corporation of India (FCI), Haryana and Madhya Pradesh procurement agencies, for the rabi marketing season (RMS) 2025-26. In a letter dated April 22 to the textile minister, IJMA highlighted that the dilution approvals violate mandatory jute packaging notifications and severely impact the livelihoods of 40 lakh jute farmers and 3.5 lakh industrial workers. The millers' association argued that the FCI and the state procurement agencies (SPAs) had failed to adhere to supply plans, with '100 per cent default in indents' for November 2024, leading to last-minute order bunching—over 4 lakh bales in February and 5 lakh in March 2025. IJMA also emphasised that jute mills have already supplied 96 per cent of orders for FCI and SPAs, with remaining deliveries set for completion by April 30, 2025. Despite this, the FCI and Haryana have floated tenders for 1.02 lakh synthetic (HDPE/PP) bags, undermining jute demand, the IJMA chairman claimed. As of now, only 50,000 jute bales are scheduled for May 2025, leaving the industry with surplus capacity, the IJMA letter pointed out. Demands of the FCI and the state procurement agencies (SPAs) can easily be met within this supply plan, ensuring full utilisation of jute mills and protecting workers' livelihoods, it said. Approving synthetic bags is unnecessary and harms the jute sector, the letter noted. 'We would, hence, request that approval for dilution being awarded to FCI and SPAs in the present instance be rescinded forthwith,' Gupta said in the letter. Dilutions, in future, also need to be awarded only if they are strictly in consonance with the provisions of the Act and notifications so as to not jeopardise the interests of the industry, raw jute farmers and workmen, he added. PTI BSM BDC This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
