I'd recommend the South West for holidays. We were blessed with the weather, and had a great week west of Dingle, and another on the Beara Peninsula in West Cork with a 'staycation' week at home in the middle. The pic shows a well-used old caravan near the beach in Allihies - a magical part of the world.

This Autumn is going to be tough. Difficult choices need to be made in Government to get us through these challenging times.

The call on Anglo-Irish Bank is a difficult one. Senator Dan Boyle has said that the wind-down of the Bank needs to be quicker than ten years, but regardless of the time-frame it will put huge costs onto the tax-payer. Most commentators (including Dan O'Brien in today's Irish Times) feel that letting the Bank go the way of Lehmans would cause even greater difficulties. The heart and the head are going in different directions on this one, and we are all gritting our teeth as we consider what's the best option. At least we have the luxury of a bit more time this time round to consider these momentous decisions than we did two years ago with the Bank Guarantee scheme. It seems that everyone in Government is keen to see a solution at least cost to the tax-payer, and that's our priority over the Autumn. I'll be interested in seeing what the European Central Bank and the European Commission have to say on these issues over the month ahead. I'll also listen to the Central Bank's comments, and read the robust commentary and analysis on the Irish Economy blog.

A huge challenge over the coming months is how we close the gap between the State's income and expenditure. Either way it looks as though we have to narrow the budget gap by another three billion euro next year. An additional increase in income tax on working families would be hugely challenging, and perhaps we should instead be considering some kind of domestic charge, as we had prior to the 'give-away' budget of 1977. There's no easy way to fill the gap, but an alternative to a hike in income tax rates on middle income earners would be to take the radical step of abolishing (or dramatically reducing) stamp duty on homes and introduce an annual levy based on the size of the house. Maybe large homes could pay €600 a year, medium sized home €400 and smaller home €200. How would you define this? A home over 200 sq.m might be at the larger end of things, and under 100 sq. m could be in the smaller category. It all could be done by self-assessment. If home-owners couldn't pay, then the levy could remain as a charge on the home when it eventually changed hands.

I'd say such a charge could raise the guts of several hundred million, and would be more equitable than a rise in income tax. The beauty of such a scheme is that it could be implemented quickly without a cumbersome State led assessment of each property. Another advantage would be that it would allow people to move home when they wish without an excessive tax burden.

Charging for water is another hot button issue at the moment. Currently most householders pay for their water through the general taxation pool, apart from those on Group Water Schemes, or with their own well. Clearly more has to be spent on leak reduction and upgrading schemes, but there's no great incentive to conserve water. Currently in the greater Dublin area we're about to take water from the Barrow River and there are plans afoot to tap the Shannon during the Winter months and pump water to the East coast via a new Midlands reservoir on Bord na Mona lands. Would charging for excessive water use obviate the need for this? I'm not sure, but we need to concentrate people's minds on the need to use water resources wisely. If water meters can be fitted at a low enough cost, it might be a way of reducing demand and tackling those who waste water.

The important issue is to make people aware that water production has a cost; to use that precious resource wisely; and to ensure that the small minority who waste water pay a real price for their squandering of the resource. There's other issues that are being worked on within the Department of tha Environment at the moment, such as improving the Building Regulations to provide for water harvesting and gray water re-use, and encouraging low-flow taps that can be very effective at reducing demand. More effort is also required from local authorities to ensure that all commercial water users pay the full price for their water, and many councils need to improve their poor performance in this area.

Charging for pollution is an effective way of improving the environment. The introduction of a carbon tax at €15 a tonne has made people more aware of the need to tackle global warming. It has also taken pressure off tax hikes in other areas. Certainly the new system for car taxation has motivated people to choose lower emission vehicles when making new car purchases. Work is progressing on the Climate Change Bill that will ensure that Ireland honor its international commitments, and ensure that we're better placed for reducing emissions under the Kyoto Protocol, and its successors. Ireland can change its reputation from being an excessive emitter of carbon to capturing the early adopter gains of low-emission employment, but a more concerted effort is required across all government departments.The measures we take towards 'de-carbonising' Ireland will pay dividends in the years ahead. My hunch is that we'll get a decent-enough global agreement on tacking Climate Change at the COP 17 in South Africa at the end of 2011, rather than at the December talks in Mexico, and that countries will pay a much higher price for carbon subsequently. Those counties that face up to the climate challenge sooner will be better placed to create employment in low-carbon industries subsequently.

It is shaping up to be another busy Autumn, and I'm sure we'll have a passionate debate about these and other issues at our Parliamentary Party think-in down in Carlow in a fortnight's time.

In the meantime, there's a stretch of railway to be re-opened between Clonsilla and Dunboyne tomorrow. This will realise real benefits for the traveling public, a good news story in these difficult times.

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Polish washing machines, that's what it all boils down to.

I was in Ghent in Belgium, at an informal meeting of the European Union's Environment Council. We were there to discuss waste policies and climate change. Specifically we were discussing Sustainable Materials Management (SMM), one of the themes of the revolving six month presidency of the European Union currently held by Belgium. Interestingly the regional government of Flanders is leading the Belgian Presidency, and the discussion was capably led by Minister Joke Schauvliege, Minister of Environment, Nature and Culture.

Increased use of virgin materials can clearly have a negative effects on the environment, so the EU is teasing out how to ensure that we make best use of raw materials and concentrate efforts on stimulating markets and product design from what we now consider waste materials. In Ireland the www.Rx3.ie initiative is funding research in this area. A key question is how can we maintain the natural capital and reduce environmental impact through the entire life cycle from extraction through consumption and production to waste processing. It was refreshing to see issues such as eco-design receive substantial discussion.

The discussions were assisted by a working paper derived from a study by Sustenuto, KULeuven and Wuppertal entitled "Sustainable Materials Management for Europe: from efficiency to effectiveness". There's been three shifts over recent decades, beginning with the 'reaction' phase of applying end-of-pipe solutions to pollution difficulties. That's been replaced in recent years by 'redesigning', informed by life cycle assessment that closes the loop. Looking ahead a focus is beginning to emerge on 'reframing' which involves a systemic change to an integrated closed cycle to address materials use, and ambitious task.

I was delighted that the book "Cradle to Cradle -Remaking the way we make things" by McDonough and Braungart figured high in the discussions. The book itself illustrates that "C2C" step change. It is printed on polypropylene - the same material as yoghurt containers and is eminently recyclable - so much for the "dead tree" media!

Jacqueline McGlade, the head of the European Environment Agency presented a paper on "The necessity of managing resources sustainably", pointing out amongst other things that we're becoming increasingly hooked on the "anthropogenic" metals. Essentially if it flies or you talk into it, it probably contains rare-earth metals such as Cerium, Terbium and Lanthanum that are hard to find and extract. She also spoke about the use of social media in strengthening feedback that reinforces scientific observation. As an example after setting up a SMS service to warn subscribers of high levels of ground level ozone, the agency found that subscribers texted back health concerns before the instruments picked them.

Dr. Stefan Bringezu from teh Wuppertal Institute spoke about "Strategies for Economy-Wide Sustainable Resource Management" and spoke about the need to monitor and control the "Big Three" - Greenhouse Gas emissions, Mineral extraction and Global land use.

In the final session on Tuesday we discussed progress on climate change. There was cautious hope that the talks next December could be a milestone on the way to a strong agreement in South Africa in 2011. However in the meantime lots of work has to be completed on Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF), Assigned Amount Units (AAUs) notably the 'hot air' credits or emission surpluses from Eastern Europe and former Russian States, and fast-track financing promised under the Copenhagen Accord last December. Progress is also required on Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV). I was glad to hear the new UK Government highlighting the need for rapid transition to a low-carbon future. All agreed that movement over the next few months is crucial so that some of the lifting can be done in advance of the December talks this year. Certainly the position will be clearer by the next formal Environment Council on 14 October 2010.

Looking back I believe it is important that the EU looks outwards and ensures that bilateral discussions with other Global players ensure that we're not squeezed out of the discussions at future talks, as we were last December. Perhaps we need to forge an alliance with the African States, or move ahead with India in advance of the talks later this year.

Oh, the Polish washing machine? Well, the Polish Environment Minister Andrzej Kraszewski mentioned that his washing machine has lasted for thirty-five years, unlike modern machines that seem to have a planned obsolescence of six or seven years. He also produced a graph to show that energy and water use in more recent models had declined dramatically. Therein lies the challenge, striking the right balance between all these factors was at the heart of our discussions. We didn't resolve the issue, but it did lead to a lively debate. It was an easier topic is some respects to deal with compared to the amount of yellow cards given out to the Dutch team during the World Cup last Sunday. That's a topic that could easily occupy an entire EU Summit

What kind of town do you want Dún Laoghaire to be like in ten years time?

Dún Laoghaire has a magic location beside the sea, great heritage attractions, some beautiful buildings and parks. However there's significant vacancies in the shop units around the town, and the lure of Dundrum Town Centre has lowered footfall in the County Town.


I'm holding a Vision for Dún Laoghaire Meeting on 6th July in the Kingston Hotel at 8 pm to encourage debate about DúnLaoghaire's future.

We'll have speakers from the Business Association, An Taisce UCD and residents of the town. I hope you can make it along and give your thoughts on the town's future.


So far the line-up looks like this:

-Gene Feighery representing Dún Laoghaire An Taisce,

-Tom Dunphy representing the Dún Laoghaire Business Association,

-Alan Mee course director of the Urban Design Masters Programme at University College Dublin,

-Adam Hall, a Dún Laoghaire based architect.

The intention is to have brief presentations or addresses from the speakers followed by a discussion that will be open to the floor. We'll keep the presentation ideally to 5 minutes, or maximum 10 minutes. I really want to hear YOUR views!

I am hoping that the meeting will produce a clear consensus on the measures that are needed to rejuvenate the town and that will inform action that can be taken locally and nationally.

There is more information on the website


Looking forward to seeing you on the 6th in the Kingston.

That’s Mejah Mbuya and myself at the Velo-City cycle conference in Denmark.

Mejah is from Tanzania, and runs an environmental NGO ‘Baiskeli ni Suluhisho la Mazingira Endelevu’ or Bikes for a Sustainable Environment in Dar es Salaam. He was one of 1,100 delegates at the three day long conference that took place in a venue in central Copenhangen. I was pleased to hear that the Irish Embassy in Dar es Salaam had helped him out with his work. I spoke at a plenary session on Friday morning, and described how cycling is undergoing a renaissance in Ireland.

Many of those attending were from campaigning groups who find it hard get political support for their work. I described the dark days of the early nineties when it was hard to get political support for investment in cycling initiatives. Theses days things have improved, and although we’d all like more funding for improving cycling infrastructure, we’ve moved light years ahead of where we were twenty years ago.

I talked about how the Danish Ambasssador to Ireland had kicked off the ‘Dublin Cycle Chic’ fashion show under the dome of Dublin’s city hall last week. Watching models cycling bikes between the pillars of the Ryal Exchage would have been unthinkable when I was first elected as a city councillor back in 1991.

There was a good crew over from Ireland to learn and share experience with the Danes and delegates from around the world. Mike McKillen was representing the Dublin Cycling Campaign, Damian O’Tuama was there, the National Transport Authority was represented, and there were a group of engineers from the firm Roughan O’Donovan. Cllr. Andrew Montague who championed the 30 kph speed limit in Dublin City was also in attendance. Interestingly he tells me that the 30 kph limit in Dublin’s city centre is up for review at the end of the Summer, and there may be challenges to keeping it in place permanently. The enforcement in Dublin is laughable though and I was in a taxi recently that sped into the zone at 3 times the legal speed limit. Pinch points or road narrowing measures are crucial to making it work, as well as a stronger commitment from the Gardai. The narrowing of roads at the entrance to many towns around Ireland where the speed limit is reduced works well, and its time something similar was put in place on the Liffey Quays. In Dun Laoghaire the 30kph areas haven't been criticized, although allowing cars back into the town's Georges Street seems to me to be a retrogade step.

While in Copenhagen I met up with Jahn Gehl . He’s one of my urban design heroes. He magically described heading out on his bike for a meal to celebrate his 45th wedding anniversary, and how he and his wife with a combined age of 136 years were able to cycle across the city centre of Copenhagen and back in safety after an evening out. He also described how his mother-in-law cycled until she was in her eighties long after she lost her driving license, and when she finally stopped cycling, used to wheel the bike rather than use a Zimmer frame. Sweet!

Niels Torslov from the Traffic Department of the City of Copenhagen answered my queries about traffic management in the city and spoke about bicycle traffic congestion when 37% of journeys are made by bike. Interestingly they have a 40 kph speed limit in much of the city, something that we should consider in Ireland for built-up areas. I also promotes the Danish approach to cycling and met with the Traffic Mayor for the city of Denmark Bo Asmus Kjeldgaard , one of 11 assistant Mayors who share responsibility for the running of the city. He’s elected for a four year term, and I spoke about Green Party’s proposals for a directly mayor in Dublin, rather then the existing system of a revolving door every twelve months.

Lise Bjorg Pedersen from the Dansk Cyklist Forbund explained many of the Danish cycling initiatives that the DCF has contributed towards, including the publication of an online cycling guide that answered many of my queries about cycling. Finally the Cycling Embassy of Denmark is a brilliant title for a great network of organisations that spread know-how and enthusiasm for cycling around the world.

What did I learn from the conference, and from cycling the streets of Denmark?

1. Large volumes of cyclists contribute to calming the traffic.

2. The Danes favour running the cycle lane beside the footpath, rather than outside parked cars. This helps less confident cyclists.

3. New infrastructure that prioritise cyclists such as an over-bridge over a motorway can attract a lot of commuters out of their cars and on to bikes.

4. The attention to detail in laying paving slabs and cobbles helps clearly in showing cars that pedestrians and cyclists have priority at junctions.

5. Small 'curve radii' at junctions put manners on faster drivers and slow them down.

6. An increase in car use has put pressure on Danish engineers to revisit existing schemes and improve them, generations after they were first installed.

7. Mindset is half the battle. If engineers don't ride a bike and understand cyclists they can't design decent cycling facilities. After a whistle-stop stay in Denmark I understand better the need to 'Copenhagenise' our towns and cities.

Here's a sixty second video-clip I took on the streets of Copenhagen.

I almost choked on my coffee.

National cycle to school day and what is the AA traffic news telling us?

Nicola Hudson from AA Roadwatch at 7.30 this morning saying "Play your part as a safe road user, don’t cycle on footpaths and don't weave in and out of slow moving traffic."

I'm all in favour of encouraging road users to comply with the law, but it's not exactly great encouragement to head out the door with your kids and their bikes on the day that's in it. Anyway, I rang up RTE's Morning Ireland who told me that that what AA Roadwatch says is a matter for AA Roadwatch. Interesting, I'd have thought that RTE would have some editorial control over travel news, and maybe they do, but I was swiftly sent off to talk to the AA.

Soon afterwards I was talking with Nicola Hudson from AA Roadwatch who told me that they were rotating their messages and had other messages that were aimed more at drivers telling them to be 'vigilant'. Sure enough, I moused across to their website and there they were telling drivers to "check for cyclists before opening your vehicle door". Fair enough. However they were also telling cyclists that they "are quite vulnerable at traffic lights, so wait until the green light and be aware of left turning vehicles especially trucks and buses."

That's all very well, but on the one day a year when we're supposed to be actively encouraging children to cycle to school couldn't they:

a) encourage it, and

b) ask motorists to slow down.

I've known Conor Faughnan from the AA for over fifteen years, and he carried out decent work in contributing to sustainable transport policy discussions. However I just get a niggling feeling that when it comes down to it, the AA Roadwatch's travel news is more about motorists' convenience than it is about other road users. When it comes to public transport, they're often in favour in theory, but not in practice. His organisation has been a bit like St. Augustine, erring on the side of 'not just yet' when it came to Quality Bus Corridors and the Bus Gate in Dublin City Centre.

When you look up policy on AA Ireland's website you find that "the AA’s policies on the environment are based on the need for balance in the transport system and a belief that, where it is available, everyone should try to use the most appropriate form of transport for every journey". You can't disagree with that, can you? However on the 30kph limit in Dublin City Centre Conor described the limit as "absurdly slow", and "social engineering". He also said that "In road safety terms Dublin City is one of the safest places in the country". Twenty people, almost all pedestrians have died on the roads in the 30 kph zone in the last 10 years for which figures are available. Ironically the title of the AA's press release was 'Dead Slow'. One man's balance is another man's bias I suppose.

Speaking as a motorist, I'd appreciate if the AA concentrated more on doing something about criminal price-fixing within the car sales sector. Nicola Hudson did actually tell me though on the phone this morning that it IS all about advice for motorists, so I guess that settles it. Sadly however, their advice does send out subtle messages - cycling is dangerous, motorists should be 'vigilant' but not necessarily slow down.

Maybe I'm being ambitious in suggesting that AA Roadwatch should give greater encouragement to people to walk, cycle or use public transport. I treasure one of their tweets from during the snow in early January when they suggested that "Anyone travelling is advised to use the train, DART or Luas". It doesn't happen that often, and maybe its expecting too much from an organisation that describes itself on its twitter account as "Ireland's leading Traffic and Travel provider".

However, if that is beyond the remit of AA Roadwatch, then perhaps Morning Ireland should think about how to best encourage more sustainable transport and travel on a consistent basis to balance the voice that they give to the main pro-motoring organisation several times in each programme.

Looking ahead, one of the key objectives in the National Cycle Policy Framework is to provide National Cycling Training Programmes for School Pupils. Dublin City Council is doing good work with their 'Bike Start' Cycling Training Programme, but as Minister of State for Sustainable Transport and Travel I want to ensure that we roll this out nationwide as soon as possible.

UPDATE 10.30pm
I had a good chat with Conor Faughnan earlier. He did concede that they had perhaps got the tone wrong and Conor tweeted mid-morning that "Bikeweek continues, and it's cycle to school day for national school kids. Great weather for it, but motorists must take extra care!". He also points out that they have promoted Bikeweek in their magazine and on their website. Just now the AA has also taken off their traffic summary the advice not to weave or cycle on footpaths. I think that better reflects the tone that's required this week. I'm happy to acknowledge those changes, and I'm sure we will continue to find common cause in many areas. I'm sorry I didn't ask Conor and his team along to the "Dublin Cycle Chic" fashion show in Dublin's City Hall earlier this evening that was opened by the Danish Ambassador. I'm sure they would have enjoyed it!

Had a decent discussion on Morning Ireland on Tuesday about the good news that councillors in Kerry decided to downzone land in Killorglin, and thus inject a touch more realism into their Development Plan.

In doing so they are anticipating the passage of the 2009 Planning Bill which is making its way through the Oireachtas.

I'll be discussing this as well as taking any general questions on the theme of 'proper planning' in a video-conference that I'll be hosting on Friday 26th May 2010 at 1pm. You can login at the link here and fire in any questions that come to mind. I'll be based in my office in Dun Laoghaire, but you can join me as long as you're connected to the interweb, somewhere.

Last night I spoke at the "Planning Our Retreat from Fossil Fuels: Exploring the Ramifications of Peak Oil" talk at Cultivate.Richard O'Rourke and David Korowicz painted fairly pessimistic pictures of Ireland's failure to tackle this challenge in a discussion moderated by John Gibbons. Without being a Pollyanna on the topic I pointed out that we coped with a massive reduction in energy during the Emergency seventy years ago, and that low-energy technology is evolving very rapidly. We still need to move much more rapidly to reduce our dependence on oil, and need to to move this debate centre-stage.

I'm writing this from the 720 train to Kilkenny from Heuston. I'm on my way to open the "Local Economies, Strong Communities" Conference in Kilkenny. Thanks to Mayor Malcolm Noonan for inviting me.

On Friday Cultivate is hosting the Convergence Festival Conference
Rethinking the City in the Greenhouse, Andrews Street, Dublin 2. There I'll be trying to answer the question "How do we transform our cities to be green, smart and resilient?"

On Friday evening there's a lecture by David Engwicht on the theme of "How to bring the Streets to Life" down in Dublin City Council's Wood Quay Venue. Apparently David likes plonking a chair down in the middle of the road and hold interviews while providing some automatic traffic calming at the same time. It all sounds intriguing!

All in all, lot's of discussion around the themes of sustainability this week, and I hope you can join me online this Friday at One to discuss the planning implications on www.irishdebate.com.

These guys have good reason to celebrate.

They're Simon Evans and Fearghal O'Nuallain, and for the last year and a half they've been peddling around the globe, and I joined them for the last lap on Saturday, from Blackrock College down to Greystones. There was around 150 of us on the ride, and it was all for a good cause, raising funds for Aware - a charity tackling depression. After a 30,000 km bike-ride they had good reason to break open the champagne, particularly as Bubble Brothers provided some sponsorship.

Meanwhile there's ructions in Sandycove at the moment. The Council proposes slicing of some green space at Newtownsmith to accomodate parking for nearby residents, but my worry is that this could be the thin end of the wedge, particularly as the Council always seems to be chomping at the bit to provide more parking around the town, even it involves reducing green space. I've suggested that with a bit of tweaking and reducing the width of the road, footpath and wall they could squeeze in car parking if they really feel the need. It begs the question as to how everyone has managed to cope without parking along the sea-front, but that's a question for another day.

Up on Georges Street in Dún Laoghaire, traffic is also causing problems. Despite the Green Party's best efforts, the councillors voted to allow all traffic back onto the main street in Dún Laoghaire. Not suprisingly this is causing lots of wear and tear to the ill-conceived choice of rough granite cobbles that were put down when the environmental improvements were carried out several years ago. Now the plan is to rip up the granite road surface during the month of June and put down asphalt, at a cost to the tax-payer of several hundred thousand euro. I'm annoyed that the Council chose dodgy cobbles in the firsts space, but I'm mad as hell that the councillors performed a U-turn on pedestrianisation. At least there'll be less people tripping up on the rough surface and that can only be a good thing.

The main streets of Dún Laoghaire have had a tough time trading over the last few years. There's a life cycle to every business, and sometimes the second generation that takes over a business don't make as much of a go at it as their predecessors. Dundrum, and the city centre have also attracted some customers away for the County Town. High house prices also deterred young families from moving to Dún Laoghaire during the 'Tiger' years and that has taken its toll on the demographics over the last decade. There is some good news though, the Council has appointed a Brand Manager to develop a marketing plan for the town, and a new evening arts and music programme is about to kick off on Thursday 20th May. I am told that a typical Thursday evening will begin with film screenings and live performances at 5pm in the Pavilion Theatre Gallery followed by 'artist talks' series at 6 pm at the Sunshine Café', on Georges Street. At 7pm in Weirs of Dún Laoghaire, the Damian Evans Mixed Ground Jazz Series will be running, offering attendees the opportunity to hear both local and international jazz artists in a fun and informal setting. Meanwhile, art projects and performances by Naomi Sex and Sinéad Mc Cann will be underway every Thursday evening (and at other days during the week) at the artists' studios on Lr. Georges' St. I'm sure it'll give a much-needed great boost to the town.

In other local news, the Council has announced that it is withdrawing from providing a waste collection service. I'm not suprised, given that under a Fine Gael/Labour ruling alliance it has run up debts of €30 million in unpaid charges over the last ten years. It doesn't help, mind you when some councillors are saying that no-one should pay their waste charges. I'm told that the Council will ensure that there will be a seamless transition period, and I've urged the County Manager Owen Keegan to make sure that no-one is left without a waste collection. I'm glad to see that they've put up the answers to some frequently asked questions here. I suspect the withdrawal of the Council from direct waste collection services may make it more difficult for the four Dublin Local Authorities to press ahead with their plans for the Poolbeg incinerator. You can get the lowdown on our waste management challenges here at the DublinWaste website, but be warned, it does come with a pro-incineration bias.

Finally, it's nice to have some warmer weather on the way, though Met Eireann are warning that there's a chance of potato blight. Hopefully my Orla potatoes will prove resistant, as we head towards the summer and a busy few weeks ahead in the Dáil.

One last thing - the Green Economy Expo is on in Croke Park this Friday and Saturday21-22 June 2010 , lots of good ideas and speakers discussing ways of creating environmental job opportunities, and you can find out more here.