James Corbett on The Corbett Report, Aug 02, 2016 stressed
"We have to understand what is happening now with all the craziness, with all these terror attacks, we have to understand that this is part of an engineered conflict. This conflict has been engineered for at least a century of history and you can look at the creation of radicalised Islamic groups, the fostering, the funding, the protection, the arming, the training of these groups."
Clare Daly, Ind TD, was informed by Minister Simon Coveney in Dáil Questions on July 20, 2016 that his Department did not conduct research on the environmental costs of the domestic metering programme.
Clare Daly, Ind TD
"The truth is out... No research into the environmental cost of installing water meters before they took the decision to start installing them; no research into whether any environmental benefits from metering would offset the environmental costs... Looks like that 'environmental benefits' argument for Irish Water has been shot to pieces." Clare Daly
Clare Daly, Ind TD, was informed by Minister Simon Coveney in Dáil Questions on July 20, 2016 that his Department did not conduct research on the environmental costs of the domestic metering programme.
190. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government further to Parliamentary Question No. 128 of 13 July 2016, if he will provide a detailed breakdown of all the research conducted into the environmental cost of the domestic water metering programme; the persons or body within or without his Department it was conducted by; and if he will provide the copies of or links to any papers documenting the results of that research, prior to that Programme commencing. [22947/16]
191. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government further to Parliamentary Question No. 129 of 13 July 2016, if he will provide a detailed breakdown of all the research conducted into the environmental cost of the domestic water metering programme; the persons or body within or without his Department it was conducted by; if he will provide copies of or links to any papers documenting the results of that research, since that programme began. [22948/16]
192. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government further to Parliamentary Question No. 130 of 13 July 2016, if he will provide a detailed breakdown of all the research conducted to measure the environmental cost of the domestic water metering programme, including the measurement of the carbon footprint of same against any environmental benefits arising from the programme; the persons or body within or without his Department it was conducted by, and if he will provide copies of or links to any papers documenting the results of that research. [22949/16]
Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government (Deputy Simon Coveney): I propose to take Questions Nos. 190 to 192, inclusive, together.
My Department did not conduct research on the environmental cost of the domestic metering programme.
Since 1 January 2014, Irish Water has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels. This includes the domestic water metering programme.
Irish Water has established a dedicated team to deal with representations and queries from public representatives. The team can be contacted via email to oireachtasmembers@water.ie or by telephone on a dedicated number, 1890 578 578.
Mr Brian Leeson, Éirigí, Baile Átha Cliath, stated on July 23
"The political establishment told us that water metering would be good for the environment. Ialways thought that argument was a bit suspect. So I wrote a series of questions to establish what hard research the 'water metering is good for the environment' argument was based upon and then I asked Clare Daly (Independent TD) to submit them for me to the Department of Environment.
And guess what the answer said? The Department of Environment did NO RESEARCH into the environmental cost of water metering! Nothing. Zip. Nada. Zilch.
Take a minute and think about the implications of this admission. The state embarked on one of the largest infrastructural project in the history of the state, involving about one million separate water meter installations, including the installation of 800,000 new water meter boundary boxes, without doing a full environmental impact study!
No research to establish the carbon footprint of a massive energy-intensive installation programme.
No research to establish the environmental cost / benefit of water meter installation.
I don't know what the precise outcome of that research would have been, but it should have done BEFORE any decision to commence with water metering was taken.
This admission has exposed the 'environmental benefits' argument for the lie that is always was. Water Meters and the Water Tax turn a natural resource into a commodity - a necessary step on the road to full privatisation.
My questions have now gone to Irish Water to see what research they conducted into the carbon footprint created by the water meter installation programme. Don't hold your breath."
Gardaí acted proportionately in the majority of water protests last year, the Garda Ombudsman has found.
GSOC's Annual Report reveals that it only sent one incident of Garda behaviour at water protests to the DPP - who then decided not to prosecute.
The report says GSOC received 40 complaints about Garda behaviour at water protests or meter installations - but over half were dropped because the complaint was either dropped, or was not made by a direct witness.
Most of the complaints concerned allegations of assault or excessive force. Others concerned allegations of a disciplinary nature, such as neglect of duty or abuse of authority.
GSOC said that it examined footage taken from Garda body cameras, and from videos shared on social media.
"No clear evidence of garda misconduct was shown in the majority of the videos and in some cases they showed that the actions of the gardaí concerned were proportionate," the report states.
"GSOC sent one investigation file, related to a complaint of assault on a female, to the Director of Public Prosecutions. No prosecution was directed.
"A disciplinary investigation concerning the conduct of three gardaí in relation to this case remained open at end 2015.
"Over a third of complainants did not co-operate with the GSOC investigations or withdrew their complaints, making investigation difficult.
"There was insufficient evidence in any of the other investigations to warrant criminal or disciplinary action."
The complaints were among 2,000 in total received last year, with the most common complaints around abuse of authority and neglect of duty.
“We believe that some complaints, in particular those that relate to quality of service from gardaí, are best addressed through a managerial rather than a disciplinary response,” said GSOC Chairperson Justice Mary Ellen Ring
“We have put suggested reforms before the Minister and Department of Justice and Equality.”
“We would also like to see more engagement by gardaí with the informal resolution process, when minor complaints are made.
“These types of complaints, as they are currently handled, are resource intensive for both GSOC and the Garda Síochána - and often they do not provide a satisfactory experience for complainants either. Moving towards a resolution model must be a focus for GSOC.”
Source: breakingnew.ie, July 18, 2016
