Environment

On 17th June 2021, Wexford County Council announced that Option C has been confirmed as the scheme option that can best deliver the objectives of the N11/N25 Oilgate to Rosslare Harbour scheme. This critically important infrastructural project aims to significantly improve road safety, expand capacity, and shorten journeys for both private and commercial traffic in the Wexford region, particularly in light of the increased importance of Rosslare Europort postBrexit. The public can view the route and related documentation via a specially designed virtual display room at www.oilgate2rosslareharbour.ie Six options for new road corridors were examined with some of these utilising parts of the existing N11/N25 road corridor. 97 different possible combinations were identified by combining different parts of the seven corridor options where they overlap (existing road corridor plus six new option corridors). All 97 option combinations were assessed under the pre-determined selection criteria to identify the preferred road-based scheme option. Scheme Option C is approximately 31km in length and utilises a mix of both the existing road corridor, which will be upgraded, and new corridor that will bypass significant constraints and deficiencies on sections of the existing corridor. Scheme Option C is unchanged since the public consultation in July and August 2020. Over 28,000 residents in the municipal districts of Enniscorthy, Gorey/Kilmuckridge, Wexford and Rosslare are being issued with information on the route and anticipated next steps. Then Cathaoirleach of Wexford County Council, Councillor Ger Carthy, said, “County Wexford and Rosslare Europort in particular are strategically located gateways between the island of Ireland and mainland Europe. This brings both opportunities and challenges, and high-quality connectivity is essential to the county’s economic competitiveness, its ability to attract inward investment and its attractiveness as a tourism destination. I welcome the announcement of this major milestone in the project’s progress, and trust that the project will continue to actively engage with local communities, local land and property owners and other project stakeholders as the scheme further develops towards the planning processes.” Wexford County Council’s Chief Executive Tom Enright welcomed the announcement stating, “The development of the N11/N25 Oilgate to Rosslare Harbour project is a key strategic objective of the County Development Plan and a key enabler for the further economic development of the county. The project will significantly enhance regional and international connectivity, thereby helping to both solve the some of the challenges caused by Brexit and to capitalise on opportunities to attract further investment to the region.” Wexford County Council’s Director of Service Eamonn Hore said, “The impacts of Brexit have significantly intensified Rosslare Europort’s strategic importance as a gateway for Irish trade and tourism. Even in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, weekly continental ferry services at the Port have increased to 34 per week. Freight volumes with continental Europe increased by approximately 460% in the first half of 2021, and overall freight volumes, including Britain, have increased by 60%. The N11/N25 Oilgate to Rosslare Harbour project aims to secure the future resilience of this critical international land-sea corridor by delivering a safe, sustainable, high-quality and cost effective transport connection with Rosslare Europort.” Currently, the preferred scheme option is presented as a 300m-wide corridor. This does not represent the actual width of the road scheme once the design has been developed, or the extent of lands that are needed. The next phase of the project will involve a more detailed analysis of this 300m corridor to develop a specific road alignment to minimise or mitigate impacts on properties and the environment. Information in relation to ongoing progress, current news items, and project reports will continue to be published on the project website as the scheme develops. Public information events will also continue to be arranged at key milestones in the project’s development. Should there be any comments or observations on the selected scheme option that may inform the further development of the scheme, they can be submitted via the contact points provided below by Friday 16th July. The project team will endeavour to respond to any queries as soon as possible.

Freepost: Licence WX 7400, N11/N25 Oilgate to Rosslare

Harbour Scheme, Wexford County Council, Carricklawn, Business Reply, Wexford, Y35 WY93. Email: nrlo@wexfordcoco.ie Phone: 053 92 32358

Website: www.oilgate2rosslareharbour.ie/contact-us

Pic: David Butler

The Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Bridge has been named as the 2021 winner of the IABSE Outstanding Structure Award (OStrA). The award was established in 1998 and is the highest distinction awarded for ‘remarkable, innovative, creative, or otherwise stimulating structures’. The Awards are restricted each year to a maximum of one building and one bridge. The Building category was won by Beijing Daxing International Airport Terminal, China, and the Bridge award by the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Bridge, New Ross.

A surge in lockdown spring cleaning saw 1,879 tonnes of electrical waste collected in Wexford by the country’s largest recycling scheme in 2020, despite Covid and travel restrictions. 12.5kg of e-waste was recycled per person in the county last year – exceeding both the 2019 collection rate of 11.2kg, and the 2020 national average of 10.9kg. However, WEEE Ireland has warned that the rise in reusing and repairing of electrical goods must be counted towards Ireland’s recycling targets if we are serious about developing a circular economy. WEEE Ireland was one of the best performing recycling schemes in Europe in 2020, with 38,724 tonnes of waste electrical items collected in total – including 120,000 fridges and 200,000 TVs and monitors recovered.

The equivalent of over 46 million used AA portable batteries were also prevented from ending up in landfill, its annual report revealed. WEEE Ireland accounts for over twothirds of all national waste electrical and electronics collection activity on behalf of 1,189 producer members. The scheme achieved the biggest monthly takeback volume in its 16-year history in July when the first lockdown was lifted with a record 3,763 tonnes of electrical waste collected for recycling countrywide. “In Wexford, and across Ireland, we are consuming more electrical goods than ever – with the annual tonnage on the market rising from 15kg a head in 2016 to 21kg a head last year,” said WEEE Ireland CEO Leo Donovan.

In 2020, the equivalent of 225,182 tonnes of CO2 emissions were avoided by recycling e-waste through the WEEE Ireland Scheme as opposed to landfilling. That is the equivalent of the annual carbon consumption of 4,504 hectares of trees. https://www.weeeireland.ie/weee-annual-environmental-report-2020/

WEEE Ireland CEO Leo Donovan.

Check out Jimi Cullen’s new song for our planet Earth. Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O Oe99SpVBPk Lyrics: Have you noticed lately Tell me, have you seen This beautiful planet that we live on Being brought down to her knees There's oil washing up on her shores All the bees are dying While the governments and big business They just keep on lying As they cut down all our trees Pollute the lands to prosper Sitting up there in their Ivory towers While Mother nature suffers

But soon will come a day When this world fades away See I've been noticing a lot of things That are really making me worry Like smoke spewing out of factories Big machines and lorries Changing weather, animal extinctions Oceans full of plastic Nuclear waste and toxic air Now is the time to panic Because there's droughts, fires and flooding all across the earth Signs of the danger Signs of the consequence Of playing God with nature And soon will come a day When this world fades away So what will happen on that day When the planet does run dry It could be our children’s children We are sentencing to die Unless we change our ways now Unless we say no more And start to love this planet For she's the mother of us all

Or soon will come that day When this world fades away For more on Jimi see page 72.

Under Action 165 of the Climate Action Plan 2019, each Local Authority is required to identify a Decarbonisation Zone (DZ).

A Decarbonising Zone is an area in which a range of climate mitigation measures can co-exist to address local low carbon energy, greenhouse gas emissions and climate needs.The DZ will at a minimum reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 7% per annum from 2021 to 2030 (a 51% reduction over the decade) and will become a demonstrator area, either urban or rural, for other areas in the county. Wexford County Council identified Enniscorthy as a candidate Decarbonising Zone and notified the Department by the closing date of 30th April, 2021. n

Wexford County Council is continuing with its dog fouling awareness campaign which was launched by Cllr. Ger Carthy, Cathaoirleach, on 31st March.

The campaign promotes a simple message: “Bag it & Bin it” and will run for the remainder of 2021. It firmly emphasises that dog fouling is your responsibility as

a dog owner. The campaign addresses a range of issues surrounding dog fouling, from its effect on the public who use our streets, parks and beaches, to attitudes to cleaning up as dog owners, from health issues to civic pride. The campaign is reaching across social media, local newspapers, radio, community groups and schools. n Urrin Bridge improvements

Work was carried out by Enniscorthy Municipal District on the Urrin Bridge in the town during June to make it safer including the application of non-slip material (see accompanying photo). In the long run it’s quite likely that the whole bridge will be replaced by a more user-friendly version as part of the proposed Enniscorthy Trails project to include a looped walk taking in Borodale. n

Wexford Local Community Development Committee (LCDC ) is tasked with developing, co-ordinating and implementing a coherent and integrated approach to local and community development. Wexford Local Community Development Committee (LCDC) is delighted to offer a free course in biodiversity awareness for community groups. The course will be facilitated by ecologists Fionnuala O’Neill of BEC Consultants and Deborah D’Arcy. Participants will learn how to identify, protect and enhance local biodiversity. Field trips to some of County Wexford’s key sites for Biodiversity are included. Each group will receive expert guidance on preparing a Biodiversity Protection Plan for their local area. Community groups can nominate up to three members to participate in the training. The training course will run in September and October 2021.

Information on course content and delivery dates can be found in the course info booklet at https://www.wld.ie/wpcontent/uploads/2021/06/BiodiversityTraining-Info-booklet-2021.pdf

To register your community group’s interest please complete the registration form here.

This community training course is being funded by the LEADER Programme 2014-2020. n