Chairman’s statement to 60th Anniversary Gathering
Tailors’ Hall, Sunday October 5th 2008
As we stand here to day to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of An Taisce, we can say as did Newton ‘We are standing on the shoulders of Giants’. The work undertaken by numerous members of An Taisce over the last 60 years is truly the work of Giants.
We know that our work continues to be as relevant and important now as it has been over the last 60 years and I know that you will all continue the work that so many have undertaken over those years and trust that you will all get fulfilment and enjoyment out of making a real contribution to the future of An Taisce and hence to the continuing protection of Ireland’s Cultural and Natural Heritage.
We, in turn, must be Giants so that the next Generations can stand on our shoulders in their continuing fight to protect Ireland’s Heritage because the threats remain and countering them will require the same selfless determination as given in the past 60 years.
There are many here today, Past Presidents, Past Chairmen & Chairwomen and others that must be thanked for all their work and we have indeed decided to honour some with Honorary Life Membership and those of you that we have not yet honoured – don’t worry your time will come but meanwhile we expect to get a few more years of active involvement from you yet! I would like to be able to detail all the selfless hard work and successes that each you have brought to An Taisce but I’d still be here speaking tomorrow. So a blanket and well earned thank you to you all.
I would like to thank the Dean of Christchurch for this afternoon’s service; Fr. Sean MacDonagh for his as usual with Sean, very thought provoking Sermon. I need to thank the others that provided the readings, prayers and singing; Norman Campion, John Ducie and others who organised the afternoon’s ceremonies.
I would like to thank Éanna Ní Lamhna for being the ‘Presentable’ face of An Taisce and togging out for us in unenviable circumstances where programme presenters set polar opposites against each other and think that the resulting ‘entertainment’ is more important than the information that either side may impart.
Some achievements over 10 years since our 50th Anniversary.
The Education Unit
The Education Unit continues as a real standard bearer for An Taisce and delivers so many important messages through their action based programmes. The Green Schools Programme is heading for involvement of 3,000 schools and we have introduced a new and very topical stream of ‘Climate Change’ to pull together the previous themes. Exiting developments are underway in the Green Schools Transport where our pilot schools showed a significant shift of almost 10% away from the car for school journeys. The Education Unit has secured €2m in funding for this programme this year. The Green Home programme has moved forward from the pilot stage with further substantial funding from the EPA. I must thank Pat Oliver and her team for the continued success of these and the other programmes of Blue Flags, National Spring Clean, Clean Coasts and Irish Business Against Litter.
These are all hugely important parts of the overall work that An Taisce carries out and we will always remind people that we continue undertake positive measures in the area of education and also in the areas of the protection of Natural and Cultural Heritage
Natural & Cultural Heritage
- We protected the character of medieval and other historic towns – Carrick on Suir, Drogheda, Cahir Castle & Cashel
- We protected Dunleer – the possibility of reopening the railway station is back on the agenda.
- We drew attention to the issue of inappropriate high-rise buildings in historic parts of Dublin city centre, including the Smithfield and Thomas Street areas.
- We objected to Bill Boards in Dublin, many were refused by ABP but why are there to be proportionally less bicycles than Paris and where are they?
- We produced guidelines for protection of traditional shop fronts in Galway
- An Taisce has successfully protected Lough Allen from suffering pollution levels similar to Lough Ree and Lough Derg by consistently referring planning approvals to An Bord Pleanála who repeatedly rejected them as against the national interest.
- We protected Mullaghmore from an inappropriate interpretive centre, a personally very courageous stand by some.
- · I must congratulate Sandrine Cadic on the production of a seminal report entitled “Spatial Planning and Natura 2000 Sites”, which found that on average 9% of the planning applications in such sites were accompanied by an environmental assessment, in contravention of Article 6 of the Habitats Directive.
- We have created www.heritageknowhow.ie – helping communities to protect their local heritage.
- The Plastic Bag Levywas first proposed to the Oireachtas Committee on Sustainable Development by An Taisce. Following a long campaign by An Taisce and others, the levy was bought into law in 2004.
- We hold 16 important heritage properties in trust for the people. All the properties have been saved from dereliction, dilapidation and vandalism from individuals and corporate bodies both public and private. The outstanding achievement is that through voluntary, community based effort all the properties held by An Taisce are today conserved intact with public access and all this at minimal cost to the taxpayer.
- An Taisce has successfully protected important naturalhabitats from threats such as excessive forestry plantations and intensive aquaculture operations. We consistently object to grant approvals for inappropriate afforestation which result in bog drainage, loss of hen – harrier habitat, damage to populations of rare and threatened species, water pollution.
- We have made many successful submission to protect winter feeding geese and other wildfowl in upland, coastal, and river and lake shore areas, for example in the Upper Shannon.
- We lobbied for the formation of the Environmental Protection Agency.
- We produced a submission to DOEHLG in 2003 on Building in Floodplains - anticipated the events of this summer
- We are a Founder member of SWAN (Sustainable Water Network)
- We are a founder member of Environmental Ecological NGO Core Funding (EENGOCF) latterly Irish Environmental Network (IEN) a grouping of 28 Environmental NGO’s.
The Present
The Green Party Ministers, John Gormley as Minister of Environment, Heritage and Local Government and Eamon Ryan as Minister of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources are leading a genuine push with their colleagues for more interaction between Government and Environmental NGOs.
We have strengthened our structures to take part in this new paradigm of working with Government. We are developing a continuing range of policy papers for Government. These are provided by our broad coverage of expertise, through our officers and or our volunteers in the areas of the Built Environment, the Natural Environment and Properties. We have lately recruited a privately funded Energy Officer, who will add to our expertise and policies in that very important area of all our futures.
We are currently recruiting for a Membership and Local Associations officer to aid and strengthen those very important aspects of An Taisce – the members that give us the spread of our strength and our depth. Our Fundraising Officer has brought a level of dynamism with her from the States and has already developed a very exiting program. Our Administration Officer has ably taken on the task of keeping order in the daily influx of queries from the public and supporting members in their efforts.
I am ably supported by the Board of Management and a Council that has a proven itself to have a well informed membership – at a recent council meeting in Cork, we invited a member of Feasta to introduce us to ‘Cap & Share’ in the resultant debate, as well as endorsing ‘Cap & Share’, Feasta were given several new ideas for improvements, that they readily took on board.
The Future
John Ducie, our Properties Officer, has succeeded in securing the prestigious hosting the 13th International Conference of the International National Trusts organisation in Dublin in September 2009.
As ever, Ian Lumley has shown his dedication to An Taisce and been hard at work producing submissions that mitigate the effects of bad planning and concentrate on fighting ‘Urban Sprawl’ and the Climate Change implications from transport and energy generation.
Climate Change
Climate Change has moved into the mainstream of everyone’s life and you should be aware that our stance on planning is Climate Change mitigation. This includes our push for ‘walkable neighbourhoods’ which are well connected by public transport. Our Properties Committee is working with SEI towards making Tailors’ Hall a working example of different strategies to make a heritage building more energy efficient and incorporate renewable energy sources. The threat posed to Biodiversity by Climate Change is being pursued by our Natural Environment Committee and the Education Unit is developing a Climate Change Theme that brings together the work the Schools have already undertaken in gaining their earlier Green Flags. As stated above, An Taisce has endorsed ‘Cap and Share’ as an equitable means of achieving the Country’s required cuts in greenhouse gas emissions and will be supporting significant EU emission reductions
Social Partnership
An Taisce, along with other Irish Environmental Groups, is actively looking to enter as the Environmental Pillar of Social Partnership as laid out in the Programme for Government. The key problem that we will help the other Social Partners to solve is ‘How to balance the protection of the Environment with the need to provide Sustainable Development in the current Financial Climate’.
A submission to the current Social Partners states “We believe an Environment Pillar is essential in realising a vision of Ireland that has been identified by NESC; one that is a dynamic, internationalised and participatory society and economy, with a strong commitment to social justice, where economic development is environmentally sustainable and internationally competitive”.
We must use every avenue to ensure that the protection of the country’s cultural and natural environment as well as the provision of food security, water security, climate security and energy security is not sidelined in the current economic climate