To: Environment Protection Agency
Re: Objection to Greenstar (Celtic Waste) / National Toll Roads
rubbish-dump at Kilconnell, County Galway.
EPA reference: 178-1
Dear Environment Protection Agency,
I wish to object to Greenstar (Celtic
Waste) / National Toll Roads being given an EPA licence for a rubbish
dump at Kilconnell, County Galway.
For the reasons stated in my e-mail below
(sent on Tuesday, December 09, 2003 2:11 PM) to the four East Galway
politicians, I believe that the "Waste Management (Amendment)
Act 2001" is in breach of Article 28A of the
written Constitution of the Republic of Ireland.
Consequently, I further believe that the decision by unelected Galway
County Council managers to grant permission to Greenstar for this dump
- which COMPLETELY excluded the opposing views and wishes of all the
locally elected county councillors in Galway - is not legally valid:
by virtue of the fact that this decision depends entirely (for its
authority) on Waste Management Amendment Act 2001 being legally valid.
I am also aware of two separate
allegations of bribery connected with National Toll Roads (which very
largely owns Greenstar, I believe). One involves Mr P. Lohan, the
Chairman of the Kilconnell Anti-Dump Committee (who I believe was
offered €50,000 to resign from his job as Chairman); and, the other
involves the Flood Tribunal - which I understand found that National
Toll Roads bribed a Mr. George Redmond some years ago.
I have already brought the matter of
the €50,000 bribe to the attention of Prime Minister Ahern, and
requested an investigation into the matter. Please see:
Finally, I wish to state that I believe it
was COMPLETELY in breach of the EU Aarhus Convention principles
to totally exclude local people, and local politicians, from the
decision-making process which resulted in Galway County Council
managers recently granting permission to Greenstar to locate their
rubbish dump in Kilconnell.
Sincerely,
Mr William Finnerty.
(Address information can be found below.)
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----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, December 11, 2003 8:44 PM
Subject: [Tara/Skreen] Article 28A (Republic of Ireland
Constitution), & the Aarhus Convention.
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----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, December 11, 2003 12:01 PM
Subject: Fw: Article 28A of Irish Constitution, & the Aarhus
Convention.
Dear Galway County Councillors,
Following last Monday's sudden
announcement that New Inn (where my home is located) has yet
AGAIN become the prime target for a HUGE rubbish dump (possibly a
SUPERDUMP for the whole of Connacht), it would be much appreciated if
you could all please give some consideration to the requests I made
below to Deputy Joe Callanan T.D., Deputy Paul Connaughton T.D.,
Deputy Paddy McHugh T.D. and Galway County Councillor Michael Mullins
at the Kilconnell Anti-Dump Meeting last Monday evening (i.e. December
8th 2003).
Sincerely,
Mr William Finnerty.
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----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, December 09, 2003 2:36 PM
Subject: Fw: Article 28A of Irish Constitution, & the Aarhus
Convention.
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----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, December 09, 2003 2:11 PM
Subject: Article 28A of Irish Constitution, & the Aarhus
Convention.
Dear Deputy Callanan T.D., Deputy
Connaughton T.D., Deputy McHugh T.D., and Councillor Mullins,
As I mentioned to all four of you at the
end of last night's Anti-Dump Meeting in Kilconnell, I have long
believed that Waste Management (Amendment) Act 2001
is in breach of Article 28A of the written
Constitution of the Republic of Ireland. This is because of the fact
that it completely removes all power from the democratically elected
local government politicians regarding important local community
matters connected with the location of huge rubbish dumps (e.g. those
now planned for Kilconnell and New Inn), and instead places it
entirely in the hands of UNELECTED County Council managers.
The content of Article 28A (Item 1) of our
written Constitution reads as follows: "The State recognises
the role of local government in providing a forum for the democratic
representation of local communities, in exercising and performing at
local level powers and functions conferred by law and in promoting by
its initiatives the interests of such communities."
In view of the sudden shock
announcement yesterday that New Inn is now the number 1 target for a
superdump for Connacht, and as you all stated in public at
last night's meeting that you would be willing to help in any way you
could, I would be very grateful if you (and ALL of your political
colleagues in local and central government) would now ask to have the
constitutionality of Waste Management (Amendment) Act 2001 reviewed
please.
With regard to the above request, I am
very conscious of the fact that where there is doubt regarding the
introduction of a new law, President Mary McAleese
(the present guardian of our written Constitution) has at her disposal
the very easy option of referring to the Supreme Court for guidance;
and, that although former Justice Minister Nora Owen (who was a T.D.
at the time) asked in Parliament to have the constitutionality of
Waste Management (Amendment) Act 2001 checked by the Supreme Court,
President McAleese did not do so: for reasons which continue to be a
VERY disturbing and growing source of mystery and suspicion for me.
I would also like to know where Irish
politicians stand in regard to the very closely related matter of the
Aarhus Convention? To date, it seems to me that ALL
Irish politicians, and ALL of the Irish "mass-media" organisations,
are acting as though they never even heard of the Aarhus Convention:
even though people like EU Environment Commissioner Margot
Wallstrom have been making public statements about this
EXTREMELY important set of social and environmental principles for
some considerable time now?
In the most recent public statement I have seen attributed to Ms
Wallstrom on the Aarhus Convention, I find it very interesting that
she has used the word "now" in the following sentence: "
Citizens
will NOW be able to act as environmental watchdogs!" The
full context of Ms Wallstrom's sentence can be seen at:
http://www.celticparty.com
How, I wonder, can we function effectively as environmental
watchdogs if the democratically elected politicians we vote for have
all their relevant power and authority removed by laws such as Waste
Management (Amendment) Act 2001?
I look forward to hearing from you
regarding the above two matters (i.e. Article 28A and the Aarhus
Convention): both of which I see as being COMPLETELY above party
politics.
Yours sincerely,
Mr William Finnerty.
Postal address:
"St Albans"
New Inn
Ballinasloe
County Galway.
PS: For future reference, I intend to
place a copy of this e-mail at the following Internet location later
today:
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