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LAWLESS PLEASED AT WINDFARM REFUSAL

James Lawless TD has expressed his satisfaction that Kildare County Council has refused planning permission for a proposed wind farm in North West Kildare.
Permission had been sought for a 12-turbine wind farm and amenity trail in the Dunfierth area.
James commented, “The Council were of the opinion that the local road network does not have the capacity to accommodate the heavy construction traffic and that the volume of traffic and type of vehicles would therefore endanger public safety.”

“I welcome this decision. While we need to transition to renewable energy, it must be done in consultation with local communities and in tandem with the necessary improvements of infrastructure. This application has already been refused multiple times and it was unfair to revisit it on the people of north west Kildare.”

 

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LAWLESS CALLS FOR GREATER REGULATION OF QUARRIES

James Lawless TD spoke in the Dáil this week on a motion about quarries and their environmental impact.

James said, “While the economic activity associated with quarries can be important to counties such as Kildare and West Wicklow, rural areas suffer disproportionately from the environmental impact and deal with HGV traffic on poor rural roads. Broadford, Kerdiffstown, and Eadestown have all had to endure this. The EPA needs to be more proactive in its regulation of quarries if we are to protect our landscape and amenities such as our water supply.”

You can view the video here

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LAWLESS JOINS CLIMATE PROTESTORS IN NAAS

James Lawless joined climate strike and extinction rebellion protesters at Naas town hall yesterday.

 James said, “Many of them were children on Schoolstrike. I discussed with them the importance of using and investing in public transport, moving to renewable fuels and properly managing our scarce resources. Also “Green Friday” should see us shop local and source produce as close to home as possible. Groups like these make a difference and continue to send a message to politicians that we must continually do more ourselves and bring others with us on this critical journey.”

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LAWLESS RAISES LEIXLIP WATER TREATMENT PROBLEMS WITH MINISTER

James Lawless TD has contacted Minister Eoghan Murphy about the ongoing issues at Leixlip Water Treatment Plant and the current boil water notice

I asked the Minister to confirm what measures are being taken to reassure the public that water is being properly treated and is fit for consumption.

                              James Lawless TD

James said, “The Minister outlined that he is extremely concerned that this plant has been the subject of two boil water notices in quick succession. He stated that Irish Water and Fingal County Council have implemented automatic plant shutdown on high turbidity if there is a failure to respond to an alarm within 15 minutes. In the case of the current Boil Water Notice, the issues now arising are linked to the need to upgrade the older part of this treatment plant to improve the performance of the plant. In particular, the EPA has identified in its audits that the filters at the plant need to be upgraded. The Minister stated that it is a matter for the EPA and the HSE as regulators – and for Irish Water working with the local authority, to ensure that national standards are complied with.”

 

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LAWLESS URGES GOVERNMENT TO ACT ON CLIMATE CHANGE

James Lawless spoke in the Dáil today about climate change and criticised the Government’s inaction.

James said, “The Government recently published a climate action plan but their failure to properly finance public transport and the SEAI retrofitting fiasco highlights their hypocrisy on this most important issue, as does the Taoiseach’s delayed criticism of the Mercosur deal and the fires in the Amazon.”

“Tomorrow’s climate strike by students across the country is a timely reminder for the Government that minds need to be focussed on urgently improving Ireland’s climate record.”

You can watch James’ speech below :