The loss by fire of 34 Camden Street in Dublin has massively damaged a site that was the birthplace of both the Abbey Theatre and the Fianna - a terraced early Georgian house with all the criteria befitting a National Monument.

An Taisce is now seeking to persuade the State to buy the site under a compulsory purchase order, declare it a National Monument, reinstate the building, and list adjacent Georgian buildings on the Record of Protected Structures.

We call on interested members of the public and groups to come forward and join the campaign at CamdenStreetAlliance@gmail.com so that a successful campaign can be achieved.

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An Taisce notes the An Bord Pleanala decision to grant permission to the Athlone Trading Hub.

This is the first stage of a proposal of staggering size and scale that the promoters claim will be the greatest commercial and trade centre in Europe.

An Taisce believes that the vague nature of the planning conditions attached to development and the lack of global consideration of sustainability by An Bord Pleanála is a serious concern.

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An Taisce has produced a series of illustrated booklets called Nature’s Way. These booklets have been part funded by the Irish Environmental Network (IEN) biodiversity fund and the Natural Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS).

The booklets aim to be fun and informative through brilliant illustrations and engaging, accessible text. The cartoons and illustrations are amusing in places and help readers to remember some of the issues and concepts, as well as inviting them to read the booklet. The messages are crafted to be appealing, and memorable. read more ...

Recent Submissions made by An Taisce are available at the 'Sumissions' Tab above or here read more ...

The launch was followed by a presentation of the report by authors Lauren Williams and Dr Simon Harrison of University College Cork.

Among the main findings of the report were that wetlands alleviate frequent, low to medium rainfall events referred to as ‘hydrological floods’ best. However, floodplain and coastal wetlands do have the greatest potential mitigate against large scale flood events.

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Press Release here...

Report available here...

 

The publication of the Mahon report has seen renewed calls for investigations into the planning matters of local authorities by An Taisce and others.  In 2009 An Taisce called for the investigation of Dublin City Council’s planning record and subsequently it became one of seven local authorities under investigation by former minister for the environment John Gormley, this initiative being later reduced to an in-house investigated by his successor, Phil Hogan, which is a matter of some current political concern.

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Westmeath An Taisce 

“The decision on the Children’s Hospital by An Bord Pleanála will protect Dublin’s Future   - An Taisce”

An Bord Pleanála has made one of the most significant planning decisions in its history in refusing the application by the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board for the 16 storey National Children's Hospital adjoining the Mater Hospital in Eccles St.

An Bord Pleanála refused the application on the grounds of height, scale as well as mass, and that it would contravene the provisions of the Dublin City Development Plan.

See here for article by Frank McDonald and image of bulk of proposal

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An Taisce The National Trust for Ireland has today stated that “The refusal of the Slane N2 bypass by An Bord Pleanála is an eminently logical decision and has protected a very important piece of Irish National Heritage” read more ...

An Independent Planning Regulator is required to guard against the endemic corruption that Mahon found at the heart of Ireland’s Planning System.

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An Taisce's submission to Consultation on the Strategy Issues Paper for the National Landscape Strategy for Ireland November 2011
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An Taisce has made a submission to the UN on Rio + 20 Download pdf version here 

At the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Environment, Transport, Culture and the Gaeltacht on September 20^_th. Charles Stanley-Smith, Chair of An Taisce The National Trust for Ireland stated “An Taisce is calling for a Ban on ‘Fracking’ until such time as the People of Ireland can be convinced that it is possible to regulate Fracking, so that it can be undertaken sustainably and as a result there will be no environmental, social or economic harm.”

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Statement by An Taisce The National Trust for Ireland on settling three Judicial Reviews of permissions associated with the Corrib Gas Pipeline

An Taisce maintains its position that the manner in which the Corrib Gas Development Project has been consented to and constructed is a travesty of European Environmental Law.  That is why we initiated these proceedings.

Rather than pursue these cases in open court, the State  proposed a settlement to An Taisce.  For those of you who have fought for so long and so hard for vindication in relation to the manner in which this development has proceeded; this is your victory. 

At the heart of this settlement is a commitment from the Government to complete outstanding legislative transposition and to engage directly with An Taisce to address compliance with European Environmental Law.  The critical objective for An Taisce – is to ensure what happened in the Corrib project – can never happen again.  This is an opportunity to engage to do just that.  An Taisce will continue to do everything it can to make sure the vulnerabilities in the Irish legislation are addressed.  We will continue our fight to ensure that decision-making and enforcement processes effectively implement the protections afforded the environment under European Environmental Law.

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