Fracking-linked University studies environmental impact of fracking

Fracking is either a path to secure, cheap energy for the future or a nightmarish abomination that poisons water supplies with methane as well as toxic and possibly radioactive waste. It can also cause earthquakes.

A number of videos at the end of the article set out the two sides of the argument.

Clare County Council has already banned fracking while Leitrim and Fermanagh have been identified as other areas in Ireland where the controversial practice could be done. Locals and environmentalists have expressed concern about the possibility.

In response, the Environmental Protection Agency has commissioned the University of Aberdeen to study fracking. Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Pat Rabbitte told the Dáil on 7 March that the EPA “is funding preliminary background research into the environmental aspects of shale gas extraction and the regulatory approaches of other countries, with a view to helping to establish best environmental practice.”

I'm waiting for an answer from the EPA as to why the University of Aberdeen was chosen, but here are some interesting facts about the institution.

The University describes Aberdeen as “the heart of the European oil and gas industry”.

Among the areas the University's Geology section assists in is “the development of unconventional hydrocarbon resources.”

Its 'research partners' include such names as Shell, Exxon Mobil, BP, Chevron, Statoil, Total, BHP Billiton and Halliburton.

Halliburton is one of the pioneers of fracking in the US, and gave its name to the so-called 'Halliburton loophole' – a 2005 exemption from the Safe Drinking Water Act given by the US Congress to fracking developments at the behest of then Vice President, Dick Cheney, former CEO of...Halliburton.

The University of Aberdeen is also a member of the Scottish Oil Club - “The national forum for the presentation and discussion of views on the economic, industrial, technological and political aspects of petroleum and other energy resources.”

The Club organised a seminar last November entitled "Shale Gas Projects and Investments" given by John Logel from Talisman Energy.

Among Talisman's claims to fame is a children's colouring book featuring a character called Talisman Terry “your friendly Fracosaurus”.

“I am here to teach you about a clean energy source called Natural Gas,” Talisman Terry says. You can see some of the pages in this image and watch a report on it below.



This delightful book was eventually withdrawn following a lampooning on the Colbert Report, which also claimed that Talisman was found to have violated Pennsylvania environmental regulations 145 times in 2010.

In light of the facts outlined here it will be interesting to see the results of the University's study.

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Talisman Terry


Pro-fracking




Anti-fracking




Fracking Debate

Bánú na Gaeilge ó stair na hÉireann

Tá an-suim agam i stair na hÉireann, ach rud amháin a thug mé faoi dheara go minic ná an laghad tagairtí don Ghaeilge a bhíonn i leabhair staire. De gnáth is fo-nóta atá sa teanga, déantar tagairtí anseo is ansiúd dó ach sin é.

An sampla is measa den nós seo a tháinig mé ar riamh ná an leabhar meánscoile – Focus on the Past 2. Foilsíodh an leabhar seo in 1990 - níl a fhios agam an bhfuil sé fós in úsáid, ach tá súil agam nach bhfuil. Clúdaíonn an leabhar Teastas Sóisearaigh stair na hÉireann agus na hEorpa ó 1450-1850. Leagtar béim ar stair shóisialta agus eacnamaíochta mar aon le stair pholaitiúil.

Déanann an leabhar a mhúineann stair do pháistí na Poblachta éagóir uafásach ar an nGaeilge. Tá níos mó ráite ann faoin Réabhlóid Tionsclaíoch ná an Ghaeilge. Tá dhá thagairt don teanga - mír an-bheag ag an deireadh faoi thionchar an Ghorta ar an teanga agus píosa faoin difríocht idir an cultúr Gaelach agus an cultúr Sasanach ag deireadh na meánaoiseanna.

Seo an píosa faoin nGorta:

“The Irish speaking areas of the south and west suffered most from death and emigration, both during and after the Famine. The numbers of Irish speakers fell drastically as a result. These areas continued to experience high levels of emigration in the following decades.”

Ní hamháin nach bhfuil mórán ann faoin nGaeilge (nó faoi mheath na Gaeilge – ceann de na hathraithe sóisialta is mó is stair na hÉireann) tugann sé eolas míchruinn faoi bheocht na teanga freisin.

Breathnaigh ar na léarscáileanna thíos, na cinn a dhéanann 'cur síos' ar staid na Gaeilge in 1851 agus 1891.


Ar thaobh na léarscáileanna deirtear “Between 1851 and 1891, the areas where nearly everyone spoke Irish had been much reduced in size” agus sa mhír é fhéin deirtear “Areas where most people spoke Irish.”

Dóibh siúd le cur amach acu ar bheocht na teanga sa lá atá inniu ann, is léir cé chomh míchruinn is atá an cur síos seo.

Cén áit as ar tháinig na maíomhanna in Focus on the Past? Is ó Dhaonáireamh 1851 agus 1891 a thagann siad. Seo léarscáil a léiríonn na háiteanna sa tír ina raibh Gaeilge ag ar a laghad 25% den phobal de réir Daonáirimh 1851.



An bhféachann sibh cén áit a bhfuair Focus on the Past an fhaisnéis - ceantracha ina bhfuil Gaeilge ag 80% den phobal amháin atá curtha sa leabhar – sin an ciall le “Areas where most people spoke Irish” de réir dealraimh. Déantar neamhaird ar na ceantracha eile ina raibh Gaeilge ag formhór an phobail. Baintear úsáid as an gcleas céanna le daonáireamh 1891.

N'fheadar cén fáth gur cuireadh an t-eolas míchruinn seo os comhar páistí méanscoile, ach is náireach an scéal é gur tharla a leithéad.

Tá sé deacair teacht ar shonraí faoin leabhar, ach de réir na bileoga seo ón bhfoilsitheoir, Gill & Macmillan, bhí an chéad eagrán de Focus on the Past á mhúineadh go 50% de pháistí na Poblachta.

"Study the map showing the decline in the number of Irish speakers in the years after the Famine," a deir an leabhar.

Cén teachtaireacht a thugann na léaráidí míchruinn seo do pháistí a dhéanann staidéar orthu? An teachtaireacht a fhaighim uathu ná gur beag baint a bhí ag an nGaeilge le formhór na tíre le fada fada an lá. Má chreideann páistí nach raibh Gaeilge á labhairt ina gceantar leis na cianta, tá baol ann go gceapfaidh siad nach bhfuil ceangal acu féin leis an teanga, agus níos lú seans go mbeidh fonn orthu í a fhoghlaim (rud a tharlaíonn i mBaile Átha Cliath).

Mar a dúirt an fear – an té a bhfuil smacht aige ar an am atá caite, beidh smacht aige ar an am atá le teacht.

Anois cuir an éagóir i gcomhthéacs measúnaithe eile ar bheocht na Gaeilge, mar shampla an ceann seo ó 1800.



Níl a fhios agam cén faisnéis a úsáideadh don léarscáil seo, ach is dócha go gcuireann an easpa eolais atá againn faoi bheocht na Gaeilge roimh an nGorta leis an bpointe faoi bhánú na teanga ó stair na hÉireann.

198 corporate convictions – and one person goes to jail

A recent look at the annual reports of the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforecement shows that it secured 198 convictions since it was set up in 2001.

Most of the convictions led to disqualifications and fines (mainly between €500-€1,500), while only eight included prison sentences. Of those, seven were suspended or overturned on appeal.

The one person who did go to prison, Kenneth Shanny from Dunshaughlin in Co Meath, was convicted of auditing offences under the 1990 Companies Act. He was sentenced to three years in prison, with the last year suspended, and is currently appealing the sentence.

So in ten years one person has been jailed by the body set up to tackle corporate crime in Ireland.

The Office is also investigating the goings-on in Anglo Irish Bank, an investigation that is in its third year. Due to the workload involved in the Anglo case the number of convictions the ODCE has secured dropped dramatically from 38 and 46 duine in 2005 and 2006 to just two in both 2009 and 2010.

Figures released by the Minister for Justice Alan Shatter in November also showed that ten prison sentences have been handed down for breaches of the Competition Act since 2001, but that all of them were suspended.

Meanwhile almost 7,000 people were jailed in in the first eleven months of 2011 for not paying fines (134 a week) up from 2,000 in 2008.

An torc i logainmneacha na hÉireann

Tá díospóireacht ar siúl faoi láthair maidir le stádas an toirc in Éirinn.

Le blianta beaga anuas thángthas ar an ainmhí sa tír, idir chinn a d'éalaigh ó fheirmeacha agus cinn a scaoil sealgairí d'aon ghnó.

Tá Speicis Ionracha Éireann ag iarraidh stop a chur le scaipeadh an toirc, ach ní aontaíonn an Irish Wildlife Trust leis an bpolasaí seo.

Dar le Speicis Ionracha Éireann ní ainmhí dúchasach iad toisc nár tháinig siad go hÉireann as a stuaim féin i ndiaidh an Oighir Aois deireanach - thart ar 8,000 RC.

Dar leo thóg daoine iad go dtí an tír níos déanaí. De réir cláir sa tsraith 'Ag Dul in Éag' ar TG4 maraíodh an torc deireanach in Éirinn san 12ú hAois.

Ceist chasta atá ann ach níl aon dabht ach go ndeachaidh an torc (nó an collach mar a ghlaodh air chomh maith) i bhfeidhm ar dhaoine in Éirinn - mar a léiríonn an Fhiannaíocht agus na logainmeacha seo.

Inisturk - Inis Toirc - Boar Island
Kanturk - Ceann Toirc - Boar Head
Maamturk - Mám Toirc - Boar Pass
Bailieborough - Coill an Chollaigh - Boar Wood
Ballincollig - Baile an Chollaigh - Boar Townland

Má bhreathnaíonn tú ar 'Ainmneacha Cosúla' ag an nasc seo feicfidh tú go bhfuil go leor logainmneacha eile a bhaineann leis an torc, cúig 'Cluain Torc' ina measc.

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€860 million worth of fish was taken from Ireland's seas in 2011

The Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney told the Dáil before Christmas that 937,924 tonnes of fish would be taken from Ireland's waters in 2011, worth a total of €1.04 billion.

However, Irish fishers were only allowed to take 17% of this, meaning that €863 million was be fished by foreign trawlers. Only a quarter of the fish taken from Ireland's seas are landed in the country, meaning that the potential to create processing jobs is also being lost.

How did it all come to this?

Lorcán Ó Cinnéide from the Irish Fish Producers Organization (IFPO) explained thus; The EU doesn't view Ireland's territorial waters as 'Irish', they are seen more as a commonage to be divided up between all the nations of the EU. Indeed when Ireland joined the EEC its waters only extended 12 miles from shore. This was increased to 200 miles in the late seventies so foreign trawlers were already fishing in what become Ireland's waters.

The quotas for each EU nation's fishing fleets were set according to the historic size of the fleets. People in Ireland didn't recognise the potential of the fishing industry (and to be honest aren't all that mad about eating fish) and hadn't developed it by the time we joined the EEC.

Ireland had a small fleet when it joined whereas France, the UK and Spain had much larger ones – so we got a tiny quota and they get large ones. In fact, according to Lorcán, France gets about 32% of the fish from Ireland's waters, almost twice what Irish fishers get. To increase Ireland's quota France, Spain, the UK etc would have to reduce theirs and the IFPO don't believe there is much chance of that happening, so short of us leaving the EU there doesn't seem to be much we can do.

Ireland may not have recognised the potential of fishing in the past, but times have changed and it seems a bit unfair that the current quotas should be set in stone forever more. Certainly the next time France raises the issue of Ireland's “unfair” corporate tax rate we should mention the fishing quotas.

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An-tóir ar dhrámaí Gaeilge i mBaile Átha Cliath

Bhí páirt an-bheag agam i léiriú de chuid Aisteoirí Bulfin le déanaí - Gur Eile. Seo an chéad uair ó rang na naoínán móra a rinne mé aisteoireacht agus bhain mé an-sult as.

Bhí beagáinín d'imní orm nuair a chuala mé go mbeadh dráma Gaeilge eile, Sétanta, ar siúl ag an am céanna in Amharclann na Mainistreach. Cheap mé go mbeadh an lucht féachana do Gur Eile, a bhí ar siúl sa New Theatre, go mbeadh sé thíos leis dá bharr.

Ní amhlaidh a bhí, ná baol air. Bhí Gur Eile lán ón gCéadaoin go dtí an Satharn. Seo an chéad uair d'Aisteoirí Bulfin léiriú a dhíoladh amach go hiomlán ó bunaíodh an compántas ag deireadh na 1960í.

Bhí an-ráth ar Sétanta chomh maith. Díoladh é amach ceithre oíche agus bhí sé trí cheathrú lán an cúigiú oíche. Tá díomá orm nach raibh mé in ann é a fheiceáil ach tá súil agam go mbeidh sé ar siúl arís.

Sílim gur éacht den scoth a bhí ann dhá dhráma Gaeilge a chur ar siúl sa chathair ag an am céanna agus oiread sin tóir a bheith orthu.

Ardú croí atá ann gan amhras.

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Dublin City Council didn't want stronger fire regulations

Dublin City Council is currently embroiled in a dispute with builder Tom McFeely over the enforcement of fire safety regulations in the Priory Hall apartments. The apartments are virtual death traps due to the fact that they were not built according to fire safety regulations.

The council moved its tenants out of Priory Hall in 2009 and got a High Court order in October to remove private residents. The High Court ordered the council to pay for the residents' emergency accommodation but DCC is trying to overturn the ruling.

The lack of building regulation is causing major problems for the council, but it turns out that they and other local authorities didn't want stronger rules during the Celtic Tiger years.

Local authorities give buildings fire certificates based on architectural plans, not on inspections carried out following completion. The Competition Authority proposed a full inspection regime for construction projects as part of a consultation document on the architectural sector in 2003, but this was rejected by Dublin City Council and other local authorities.

The City and County Managers' Association wrote to the Authority saying that they did not have the resources to implement such a regime. They acknowledged that the cost could be covered by charging construction companies a fee, but rejected this option as it would increase the cost of building projects.

“We feel that monitored self-certification by suitably qualified persons should continue,” the Association said.

The Department of Environment recommends that 12-15% of completed buildings are inspected by fire brigade officers, but there is no way at present to verify that the remaining buildings were built according to plans.

Construction industry insiders say that plans are not always implemented as outlined to fire brigade officers due to pressure to cut costs.

The Chartered Institute of Building also wrote to the Competition Authority in 2004 saying there was an urgent need to introduce an inspection regime. The group condemned the self-certification system claiming that developers were discouraging building professionals from monitoring construction projects.

“It has become normal practice on large and medium-sized housing developments (and in some cases small developments) to refuse to allow work-in-progress inspections by client's professional representatives.”

“Self-certification by architects, building surveyors and appropriately qualified engineers etc should only be considered in conjunction with a combination of an increase in Local Authority inspections and resources, where necessary, in addition to the introduction of an approval system...in the interests of public health and safety.”

The recommendation to introduce a full inspection regime was not included in the final report on architects published by the Competition Authority in 2006, the year Priory Hall was built.

John Kidd from the Irish Fire and Emergency Services Association told me that Priory Hall is the “tip of the iceberg.” The trade union estimates that fire regulations were not complied with in 10% of Celtic Tiger-era buildings.

“It's only a matter of time before we have a major fire tragedy. Fixing the problems now could end up costing the council more than it would have to enforce a proper inspection regime during the boom, and lives would not have been put at risk either.”

Amen to that.

By the way Dublin City Council has not said why they didn't move private tenants out of Priory Hall when they moved their own tenants in 2009 due to fire safety concerns. It's unclear who would have been liable if a fire had occured there in the meantime.

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