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LEITRIM COUNTY COUNCILLORS yesterday voted to ban fracking in the county, despite a warning from the county manager that they could be held financially responsible for future costs incurred as a result.
This means a section will now be inserted into the county’s development plan with a commitment to refuse permission to plans which involve the use of the controversial drilling method. The motion passed with 17 votes in favour while Fine Gael councillor Gerry Reynolds voted against it and four of his party colleagues abstained.
Speaking to TheJournal.ie today Fine Gael councillor John McTernan, who voted in favour of the motion, said it was “basically a waste of time”.
“What we were putting in meant basically nothing – it was more of a protest than anything,” he said.
Any applications for planning will still have to go through the same processes so this does not mean that there is actually a ban on fracking in Leitrim, it merely means that councillors’ opposition to it has been registered in the development plan.
“There are definitely questions that have to be answered about it,” McTernan commented.
There’s a horror in Leitrim of this, and a fear – people are very afraid of it.
Financially responsible
There was controversy surrounding comments made by the council manager Martin Dolan about councillors who voted in favour of the motion being liablefor costs incurred by the council as a result of this. However a spokesperson for the council told TheJournal.ie that he was merely reading out a section of the Local Government Act, advising them that the vote would be contrary to legal advice- something he is obliged to do as county manager.
Despite the lack of power of the motion, anti-fracking activists hailed last night’s vote as “a major victory”.
Roughly 100 people assembled outside the council chamber in Carrick-on-Shannon to express their opposition to fracking yesterday as coucillors met to discuss it.
“We’re delighted that the council have sided with the people and sent such an emphatic message to the government and to the oil and gas industry,” said Mairead Higgins, a member of Love Leitrim, who attended the gathering.
“Their action today means there is no democratic mandate for fracking – and gives the government a perfect opportunity take the people’s will into account and ban fracking not just in Leitrim but in Ireland as well.”
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So they are protesting that a guy committed suicide after being caught illegally selling swordfish. Did I read the article correctly?
Just read the (far more professional) article in The Guardian. Seems the poor guy slipped as he was trying to retrieve his fish from the truck. Horrible way to go.
The last relatively stable country in North Africa… I smell another “Arab Spring” here…
@mac.kerel:
Yeah and wait for it…”and it was all instigated & orchestrated by the USA, the UK, the French and of course the USA’s Zionist allies the Israelies”! In fact they must have been one of them that threw him and his fish into the garbage truck in the first place!
It has got so bad now that they will soon be blaming one or all of the above for the 1st and 2nd World Wars and all things in between and before!!!
Hello Journal.ie
So the death of one guy in Morocco is a headline for Irish people? Nothing happening perhaps on the emerald isle? Without being disrespectful to this individual, surely there are thousand more injustices on a larger scale you COULD be reporting on? Some of them might even concern Ireland?
Think it’s to do with the implications of another potential Arab Spring movement
Believe it or not some people are interested in international news too
yes while your at it write strongly worded letters to rte and tv3 insisting they stop broadcasting world news during the news slots. if only we could turn off the Internet in Ireland too so none of us have to be poisoned with information from around the globe.
@deisecelt: You miss the point completely. You must have turned off from the outside world in order to be that obtuse.
@David O’Brien: The death of one man in bin lorry, is seldom regarded as INTERNATIONAL news. This is local Moroccan news. There are many things happening in the Arab world in the north African states that are international news. I am merely pointing out, the oddity of this single story being highlighted by the journal.ie. However we could always just read what is posted without ever asking questions. Perhaps that is preferable to you?
So we have idiots that think a nationwide protest in Morocco shouldn’t make the papers ?
@Bernard O’Brien: Well conclusions like yours make me give up in despair. Read what was written not what you want to see……..
@Colm Maguire: When you are in a hole it is considered a good idea to stop digging. One of the implications for Ireland and the rest of Europe is that if Morocco follows the rest of North Africa into anarchy it will mean more people in boats, lots more people in boats, trying to reach Europe and given that you can see Europe – Gibraltar and Spain – from the Moroccan coast what is already a flood has the potential to turn into a tsunami.
they love an old protest these arabs, a man gets killed in an accident and theres an investigation. happens here a lot on building sites, farms etc, we don’t see this. very aggressive. let the investigation do its job.
Not making a link to the tragic story above but if you are just looking for a good read, check out the Clintons dealings with Morocco – made my head spin… https://theintercept.com/2015/04/22/inside-morocco-clinton-influence-campaign/
have your say