brian@socialistparty.net

From 26 September 2008 onwards all battery retailers will be required to take back, free of charge, waste batteries including rechargeable batteries including those incorporated into electrical and electronic equipment and/or battery packs. Any person depositing waste batteries at the premises of any battery retailer will not be obligated to purchase any product or products from the retailer concerned. more.

a years supply

Brian Greene asks
why no wind up remote controls? no wind up! a shake of the trolls and there is enough power to beam a tiny IR signal 12feet!
will shops take back mobile phone batteries? no. but phone shops should.
what batteries are safe to dispose of for land fill? none
why not operate a money back scheme? like the soft drinks glass in the 1970’s
will new ipods have removable batteries according to this directive?

One of our nearest Nuclear Plants Sellafield which lies 128 miles from Malahide - Howth will take 112 years to clean up at a cost of €92 billion euros according to a Westminster report released this week. As the site is still accepting orders of waste nuclear fuel from around the world the true cost and date may never be known.

Anti Nuclear campaigner Brian Greene who runs the ShutSellafield.com website says “The myth that Sellafield is a power plant is the biggest deception of all. The plant was first used in the race for the A-Bomb and now it is the world’s nuclear dumping ground taking shipments from all over the world via the Irish Sea.”

Brian Greene who is the Socialist Party candidate in next years local election for the Malahide - Howth area says “Having the worlds most used nuclear dump on our doorstep has always been worrying but the safety record at the plant has been getting worse. Last year was the 50th anniversary of the nuclear fire at Windscale, and now the plant & its decommissioning are being sold to for profit businesses in a privatisation programme. Safety is threatened by a squeeze on wages and a race to the bottom that sees the plants bosses attacking the workforce’s pay & conditions on an ongoing basis.”

“Nuclear power is being cited as a solution to peak oil & the speculated over priced oil situation. Nuclear power will not power a car. Until a satisfactory waste solution for radioactive material is found Nuclear Power is not the answer.” said Mr. Greene

I strongly support the actions taken by the FIF. Irish Fishermen must not be priced out of the sea by fuel taxes & costs nor cheap fish imports. Minister Brendan Smith TD and Minister of State Tony Killeen TD must act fast from Ireland’s perspective & secondly via the EU Maritime Affairs Commissioner & the wider European perspective, too many factors have grouped together on the livelihoods of fishermen & their families, and with out further delay action is demanded on this issue. Brian Greene 04/06/2008 (Howth Harbour).

Federation of Irish Fishermen to Hold Demonstration at Dail Eireann
On Thursday 5th of June 2008, members of the the Federation of Irish Fishermen (FIF) will hold a demonstration outside Leinster House in Kildare Street between 12 noon and 3 pm to highlight the effects that the current high fuel prices and cheap fish imports are having on the fishing industry.
The CEOs of the four main fish producing organisations will be available at this demonstration to give interviews.
Mr Michael Walsh, chairman FIF and CEO Irish South and East Fish Producers Organisation, 087 2582842
Mr Lorcán Ó Cinnéide, CEO Irish Fish Producers Organisation, 087 6299522
Mr Gerard O’Flynn, CEO Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation 086 2360001
Mr Sean O’Donoghue, CEO Killybegs Fishermens Organisation. 087 4196535

During this demonstration fishing vessels will be tied up in all major fishing ports around the coast.

last night in Swords I chaired the no nonsense ‘no’ debate on Lisbon mp3 64kbits 90 minutes. Speakers Clare Daly Socialist Party & Patricia McKenna Green Party.

 sayno.ie [90:08m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

the PDF contains the April 17th proposal to councillors of the local area committee from Niall D Brennan & Associates.

today at about 4pm in Baldoyle the Coast Guard helicopter was circling the racecourse lands and building site. all 5 of us were in the garden looking up at it, we were not as close to it since the day we saw an aborted display in Killkee Harbour Co. Clare. But not as close as me old mate richie wilson who snapped a super series of photos recently when there was a fallen walker up on the hill of Howth.

if he never posts another blog post he’ll have better photos than I’ll ever have! nice one Richie. [image size html squashed - view image in new tab to see full size.]  See the martello above the men below the helicopter and the harbour beyond that.

PUBLIC MEETING MAY 27th 8pm mid sutton community centre

Back in 2003/4 the Socialist Party along with the residents of Sutton Park / Parkvale & Meadowbrook successfully reversed the Council’s attempts to rezone the lands known as Brickfields at the southern end of Seagrange Park for residential development.

However as we warned in our Newsletter earlier this year the developer is continuing to try and get development on this site currently designated as open space. This time under the guise of the government’s Affordable Housing Initiative.

Twice last year local councillors were briefed on proposals that included a development of over 165 apartments in 3 to 6 storey blocks, accessing through Parkvale and Meadowbrook. Yet at no stage did they bring this information to residents in the area!

In January they raised a few concerns about the development and asked that it would be revised. However as we warned, the revised plans were hardly different at all, with precious little changes made other than proposals that would supposedly deal with the flooding problem. The height and access and number of units remained unchanged. AND YET the councillors have asked the Affordable Housing Initiative to pursue the issue further.

This has gone on long enough. It is time that residents let the local councillors know that we will not stand for development on this open space. The Socialist Party locally & our councillors on Fingal County Council believe that the open space should be enhanced to allow full recreational use of the amenity.

To this end we have set up a public meeting for Tuesday May 27th 8pm in the community center in Bayside. Community Action can protect our open spaces. Please come along on the night and find out what’s going on before it’s too late.

Brian Greene - Socialist Party Representative Dublin North East.

BREAKING NEWS: Plans to redevelop Bayside Shopping Centre which was given planning permission by Fingal County Council has been overturned on appeal with An Bord Pleanala. Perhaps now would be a good time to insist that the presentation of the existing shopping area and the surface of the car park be properly maintained and not be left if a run down state. The old trick of letting developments run down to ware down the community will not work. Enforcement of such is a matter for Fingal County Council.

thanks bertie ahern & Fianna Fail.

“those buckets will come in handy for a whip around”