Environment

CLARE County Council has granted planning permission to the controversial €450-million Ennis data centre near the Tulla Road. Art Data Centre Campus in Ennis has become the first to be approved following publication of the Government’s new data centre policy. The data centre has been four years moving through various stages including strategic site assessment, zoning and planning. Developers claim it will create between 400-450 permanent jobs when the data centre campus is fully operational. Up to 1,200 will be employed in construction and 600 jobs in support services. The new Government Policy Statement on the role of Data Centres in Ireland’s Enterprise Strategy was published on Wednesday July 27 and the Ennis Campus is considered to align well with the policies set out therein. Mr Tom McNamara, CEO of Art Data Centres, the developer of the project, welcomed the announcement. “This is great news for this data centre campus and for Clare as the project will be a key …

AN alliance of local activists and environmental groups is to hold a public meeting in Ennis this Wednesday evening to highlight opposition to the proposed data centre near the town. The meeting will take place at 7pm at The Copper Jug Bar and Café (Courtview, Lifford, Ennis) to convey the group’s “deep concern” about plans by Art Data Centres Ltd. to construct a data centre on the Tulla Road, Ennis, which, they claim, will consume as much electricity as 200,000 homes – more than in Clare and Limerick combined. A spokesperson for the group said, “The plans to build one of the largest data centres in the country here in Ennis brings with it an additional threat to the health of people here as the plans include a gas burning plant that will only make the air quality here worse than it already is, leading to asthma and other respiratory problems.” Ruairí Ó Fathaigh, industry expert and Futureproof Clare member …

BIODIVERSITY measures introduced as part of Ennis Municipal District’s grass cutting operations have resulted in “excellent outcomes” the local authority have insisted following criticism of the service. Councillor Mary Howard told a recent meeting of the council she has received “numerous complaints ranging from grass not being cut to cutting done badly and grass not collected”. The council acknowledged receipt of two complaints relating to grass not being cut within contracted areas, saying these have been addressed. Contractors working on behalf of the Ennis Municipal District cut 75 acres of grass a year with a budget of €80,000 allocated for the task, with council officials describing the contractors as “highly professional”. Eamon O’Dea, senior executive engineer told the meeting that the contractors are “cutting continuously, they start at their first location and travel through”. He pointed out that the areas being cut are “public open spaces, they are not lawns or golf courses and if we want those standards then …

Joseph Woulfe believes the energy crisis means we must continue to burn turf   EVERYONE in our family visits the bog almost every year. It’s our pilgrimage in some ways. it has been done for generations – to use what nature offers in our locality to heat us through the winter period. I remember my late father, Charles, building a special timber wheelbarrow to bring the sle’an turf from the bank and carefully laying the sods out to dry in the summer sunshine at Jack at Rita Moroney’s Bog near Mullagh. On the way home from a hard day’s work, we would be given a treat (or perhaps you could call it a bribe) of ice cream at Sexton’s Shop in Mullagh or the Crosses of Annagh. Over time, we moved to a more mechanised bog system in Kilmihil where the Coughlan family use a hopper. In primary school, we learned all about fossil fuels, how they grew and, over …

LAHINCH Leisure Centre was spending up to €120,000 just to heat its swimming pool a few years ago. Now, as part of a major €6 million retrofit the complex has been transformed into a Near Zero Energy Building (NZEB). In an interview with the Clare Champion, John Hayes, Senior Building Services Engineer with contractors Tipperary Energy Agency recalled the centre was spending €120,000 on oil just to heat the pool and half the building. Mr Hayes estimated the centre will now spend €85,000 annually to heat the entire building. “Now the heating system is heating all the building at a fraction of the cost. Lahinch Leisure Centre is a great example of what can be achieved in public buildings. “A lot of swimming pools are still putting in gas boilers. We had an option to keep the old oil boiler as a back-up but we decided to go fully green. “Lahinch Leisure Centre is a flagship project to show this …

YOUNGSTERS at one Ennis GAA club are proving themselves to have a lot of ‘bottle’. A joint initiative between Ennis Tidy Towns and Éire Óg GAA has resulted in the creation of very special recycled and reusable water bottles. The bottles, which have been specifically designed to reflect the club’s colours of red and white, have been given to the club’s younger members in a bid to cut back on plastic waste. As well as looking good and helping make sure the kids stay hydrated, they also aim to discourage the proliferation of single-use plastic bottles. According to Cormac McCarthy, chair of Ennis Tidy Towns the young players have been “delighted” with the new bottles which have become a popular accessory at training sessions. He explained, “One of the main focuses of the national Tidy Towns movement, as well as tidying towns is to develop sustainability initiatives. “We are always looking to partner with local groups and organisations in the …

OFFSHORE energy opportunities could turn West Clare into the “Aberdeen of the wind industry”, local authority members have heard. A debate on the potential of the renewable energy sector to transform the local economy was triggered at the July meeting of Clare County Council by a motion from Councillor Joe Killeen. The Fianna Fáil member sought an outline of current and future efforts to harness offshore wind and wave energy and “efforts to position Clare as the location that companies throughout Europe will choose when considering investment in renewable energy”. Councillor Killeen also called for a seminar, in the autumn, on renewable energy. “If you’re not pushing forward, then you’re in reverse,” he said. “We will be overtaken when it comes to renewable energy. This is a Europe-wide issue. The most appropriate place for this industry is along the West Clare coast.” Referring to the deadline for submissions on the work of the Shannon Estuary Economic Taskforce, which is Friday, …

VOLUNTEERS from all around Clare helped clean up 240kg of litter while taking part in Clean Coasts and Fáilte Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way Community Clean-ups of Lahinch Beach on Saturday.  According to Clean Coasts it is important that as we enjoy the coast, that we remember to help protect and care for Ireland’s waterways, coastline, seas, ocean and marine life by ensuring they are free of litter and to educate ourselves on how best to do that.  These clean-up events were created by Clean Coasts as part of their summertime Enjoy and Protect campaign with support from Fáilte Ireland. The national tourism body supports the long-term sustainable growth in the economic, social, cultural and environmental contribution to tourism in Ireland and the events’ overall aim is to raise awareness to keeping marine and wildlife spaces clean for locals and tourists alike to enjoy and admire.  This event on Lahinch beach in Clare included tea and coffee for all participants. 40 …