Planning:Clarity in the countryside
Friday, July 9th, 2010A summary of the final PPS21 policy which slightly eases restrictions on rural dwellings. “No-one has got their head around the question of how to meet the demand for [a stand-alone single house in the countryside] without creating a free-for-all”, Edwin Poots told his Assembly colleagues on 1 June. As the Environment Minister issued PPS21, he revealed that while it clarifies most of the planning policy for deciding planning applications in rural areas, an important area will undergo further analysis: non-farming rural dwellers and their demand for ‘stand- alone’ houses. During...[full story]
Transport:The road to reform
Friday, July 9th, 2010agendaNi unpacks the plans for a new public transport agency to oversee the province’s sector. Chief among the new recommendations for reform is that a new public transport agency should be set up, reporting to the DRD. Consultation took place between November 2009 and February this year and a Bill was introduced into the Assembly on 21 June to legally provide for the new proposals. The new agency will be charged with forming the overall strategy and will also act as a watchdog by regulating the system through public transport contracts. According to the DRD, the agency is essential...[full story]
Europe:Climate pressure
Friday, July 9th, 2010Time is running out in the fight against global warming, Bairbre de Brún tells Peter Cheney. The Sinn Féin woman is, though, pleased to see the Assembly taking Europe more seriously. Action on climate change is well overdue and voters must press governments for urgent progress before the Mexico City talks. That was MEP Bairbre de Brún’s main message as the clock counts down to the round, scheduled to start on 29 November. “People throughout the EU need to push their governments to ensure that the EU takes the steps that it needs to take,” de Brún remarks, “and that it takes...[full story]
Europe:An independent approach
Friday, July 9th, 2010One of the few independent MEPs, Diane Dodds finds this an advantage rather than a hindrance. Local farming and fisheries has made up much of her workload in her first year in office but she also casts a critical eye over the wider European project. “I deliberately went into the Parliament to be independent and to stay independent.” Diane Dodds’ approach to being an MEP differs from Northern Ireland’s other two representatives but she claims that this gives her more freedom and sometimes more influence in Europe. Dodds is one of 28 ‘non-inscrits’ or MEPs who have not joined...[full story]
Europe:Reviewing CAP
Friday, July 9th, 2010Richard Halleron explains the forthcoming changes in funding and farmers’ reasons for concern. The Common Agricultural Policy, or CAP, underpins the finances of farming in Northern Ireland and the rest of the European Union. Agriculture has been the one common policy area that has consistently been at the very heart of the European project, going right back to the foundation of the initial Common Market in 1957. But the vehicle by which money is made available to the farming industry from Europe’s coffers has changed significantly over the years. Yes, in the early days the CAP was...[full story]
Europe:Responsible role
Friday, July 9th, 2010A relatively new MEP, Nessa Childers speaks to Meadhbh Monahan about her wide remit in Brussels and how decisions made now will affect future generations. In a committee that deals with a broad range of topics, Nessa Childers acknowledges that “if you focus on everything there would be no time.” The Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee is one of the largest committees in the European Parliament with 64 full members and 63 substitute members. A daughter of former Irish President Erskine Hamilton Childers and grand- daughter of Robert Erskine Childers, who was executed...[full story]
Business:Thompson’s farm priorities
Thursday, June 3rd, 2010North Antrim dairy farmer John Thompson is the new President of the Ulster Farmers’ Union. He was elected unopposed at the organisation’s recent AGM. Speaking to agendaNi directly after the meeting, he outlined his list of priorities for the period ahead. “The attainment of sustainable farm gate prices will always be at the top of every President’s wish list,” he explained. “However, in my case I want to make sure that the new Supermarket Ombudsman has real teeth.” Thompson continued: “The forthcoming review of the Common Agricultural Policy is a key challenge for agriculture...[full story]
2010 manifestos:Going green
Friday, May 14th, 2010Party priorities for climate change, farming and conservation. Most environmental matters are devolved but some national policies will impact on Northern Ireland, especially on climate change. DUP An increase in allotments in urban areas would please the party. They state that the province must make a contribution to upholding international agreements to cut carbon emissions. The DUP also supports efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of the government estate, which currently stands at 25 per cent of the province’s total energy use. It backs further research to develop farming techniques...[full story]
North/South:Research crucial for farming’s future
Friday, May 14th, 2010All agri-research projects in Ireland should complement each other given their importance for the sector, according to ministers. Richard Halleron reports. Farm ministers Michelle Gildernew and Brendan Smith have confirmed to agendaNi the crucial role which ongoing strategic research will play in allowing the various farming sectors throughout Ireland to meet the challenges that lie ahead. Speaking at the recent North/South Ministerial Council sectoral meeting on agriculture and rural development, which was held at AFBI in Hillsborough, both ministers went on to highlight the high degree...[full story]
Transport:Towards sustainable transport
Friday, May 14th, 2010Reversing spending on roads and making a determined focus on the alternatives is the way to green the province’s transport, John Barry suggests. With the impact of the Icelandic volcanic ash grounding most flights in Europe likely to live long in our collective memories, it is perhaps appropriate to focus our attention on transportation and mobility within Northern Ireland. The Executive estimated that the disruption cost Northern Ireland around 120,000 passengers and cost the local tourist industry around £1 million a day. To state the obvious, transportation and mobility are therefore...[full story]
