Special meeting arranged as councillors revolt over draft Westmeath Climate Action Plan

Westmeath County Council is to host a special meeting on its Draft Climate Action Plan on Wednesday after an unprecedented revolt of members when the plan was tabled for their consideration last week.

The plan failed to gain the approval of the members at a meeting last Monday, February 26. The councillors feared that the plan would impact negatively on farmers who, they claimed, are already struggling to survive and are being wrongly blamed for a lot of our carbon footprint.

Before the meeting, about 30 farmers protested outside the council buildings where four large tractors were parked. Some of the councillors met with a delegation from the IFA who had staged the protest. The delegation outlined the problems facing farmers and asked the councillors to do their utmost to seek a fundamental reset of how farm policy is devised and implemented in the EU and in Ireland.

Barry Kehoe, acting chief executive, said there was no mention of agriculture in the proposed climate action plan. He warned that the council had to adopt a strategy. The members could make whatever amendments they wished to the plan, but they had to adopt a strategy and be seen to be doing their part in the challenge of climate change and biodiversity loss. He warned that if they failed to do so, it could damage the council in terms of government support they get day to day.

Having discussed the plan, the members agreed that each grouping would consider it and make amendments which will then be considered by the Environment Strategic Policy Committee and subsequently brought back to the full council.

Deirdre Reilly, senior executive, said the council needed to adopt a climate action plan by mid-March.

“If it takes a special meeting, so be it. I am not going to fast track it just to meet a deadline”, the chairman Cllr Liam McDaniel declared.

Members condemned the ending of Bord na Mona peat operations and the subsequent import of briquettes and wood chipping from “half way across the world”, restrictions on farmers in terms of opening shores and burning bushes, the “almost unworkable” retrofitting scheme, the lack of public transport and electric vehicle infrastructure.

Stop the virtue signalling nonsense! The green policy is absolute nonsense! Start bringing people with us, declared Cllr Andrew Duncan. He slated “some of the stuff we as a country do with our climate change hat on”. He said it was ridiculous to close down briquette production and then haul wood chippings across the ocean from Brazil.

Cllr Duncan said the retrofitting scheme is too complicated, almost unworkable. People want to drive electric cars, but the infrastructure is not there. He said as a country we have put up all these obstacles to genuine people wanting to do genuine things, creating employment and keeping money in the local economy.

As a farmer, Cllr John Dolan feared that if the plan was adopted it would be used to stop farmers building milking parlours and slatted sheds and developing their farms. Most dairy farms are in derogation, he said, and he was worried that they would not get planning permission for developments that were necessary for their viability.

Cllr Frank McDermott said there was not a shadow of doubt that this plan would prevent agricultural development. He said a neighbour of his sent him a video of a silage pit 55 metres from a major river in New Zealand. If a farmer here went out to herd with his dog he would nearly want a nappy on the dog, he stated.

Cllr Paddy Hill protested with the IFA on the bridge of Athlone in 1961. He commended them for fighting for the farmers saying someone has to fight. Farmers are angry because they feel they are getting the thin edge of the wedge all of the time, he said.

Ireland is a small country and we are being asked to reduce our national herd while Brazil can increase theirs by over 23 billion. They can cut down the rain forest and put it back into agricultural land. People like himself who drained a bit of bog over the years are now asked to rewet it.

He said it was “totally ridiculous” what people are being asked to do in rural Ireland and there is no way he would support something like that. It is outrageous. It will prevent farm development, he said.

Cllr Hill complained that every bit of land that comes up for sale now is bought by interests other than farm interests, and something has to be done about that. There is anger out there among the rural communities.

Cllr Denis Leonard said that there was increased emphasis on farm emissions although hundreds of planes are flying over, sending emissions through the roof, while some farmers are living barely above the poverty line and old people are living in fuel poverty.

Cllr Paul Hogan said that in the 59-page climate action plan “aeroplane” was not mentioned once while air quality was mentioned 14 times. Westmeath has one of the best air qualities in Ireland and in Europe; this is a red herring, he stated.

Cllr Hogan spoke of the need to protect the right to cut turf.

Cllr Hogan asked where the council was at in regard to putting solar panels on all its buildings, electrifying all its vehicles and retrofitting all its housing stock. He said the council is telling people what they cannot do, but he wondered what the council was doing. He said he couldn't support this document,.

Cllr Louise Heavin proposed the adoption of the plan without amendment. She said farmers’ concerns about how agricultural emissions are calculated was a discussion for farmers, the industry and the government.

The plan outlines measures that can reduce emissions and improve water and air quality. These are the things that need to be focused on, she said. She urged her colleagues to adopt it so the council could get to work on meeting the targets.

Cllr Michael Dollard referred to “what is happening in the Ukraine, in Gaza, in Southern Yemen and then you look at what’s happening in the industrial countries”. It would make you think, what impact is Ireland having on a global scale, he commented.

Cllr Ken Glynn said some of the lunacy coming down lately from government was beyond belief. He claimed that some new housing developments had no parking and residents were expected to use public transport when trains are packed and there is no town bus service.

He said it was no wonder people were frustrated. He said Ireland is a small country and has a role to play in the climate action plan, but claimed that some of the measures that have been brought in to date are out of touch and unnecessary and, in his belief, were not making a difference.

Cllr Frankie Keena said recent storms saw serious outages in Athlone and people living in modern homes, without any solid fuel, had no heat. He called for a survey of local authority houses that have been retrofitted and the heating cost implications for the occupants. He said he could not support the plan as presented.

Cllr Johnny Penrose said we are doing away with young farmers. There are no young lads coming into farming because of the restrictions.

Cllr Aoife Davitt said farmers see this as another nail in the coffin, another hurdle they have to contend with, and feel they are being squeezed out.

Chairman, Cllr McDaniel, said he worked in four briquette factories and in in two power stations that were built less than 20 years ago, and were closed. He said Ireland is importing briquettes, bringing wood chipping from Brazil and transporting them in lorries to a power station in Edenderry. It didn’t make sense, he said.

Cllr Tom Farrell said it was clear there was “not a hope in hell” of this plan getting through at this stage. He proposed that the members adjourn for 15 minutes to “talk among ourselves”.

Mr Kehoe reminded members that Ireland has agreed to play its part in solving climate change issues. Each local authority must adopt a climate action plan which is designed, not to damage anyone’s business or living standard, but to allow the council to take a leadership role in responding to this challenge, he said.

“It isn’t going to be easy; there are going to be difficult challenges ahead, but this plan is our response to the challenges that we face. It is a reasonable response. There are aspirational things in there that we hope to achieve in adapting to a changing world and a changing country,” Mr Kehoe commented.

He stressed that there was no mention of agriculture in the climate plan.

“My strong advice would be that the members adopt a climate action plan. If there are objectives here that you have a difficulty with, tell us. My strong advice, in order not to damage the county and the council, is to adopt a strategy. Take whatever view you wish, but adopt a strategy,” he urged.

He said not to do so would be damaging for the council in terms of government support it gets on a day to day basis.

Mr Kehoe suggested that the members put forward their suggestions and the council will compile them and forward to them to the Environment SPC for consideration before they come back to the full council.

Ms Reilly revealed that the climate action plan needed to be adopted by mid-March.

“If it takes a special meeting, so be it. We will make our submissions. They will be relayed back to the SPC and then come back here. That is the process we have agreed. I’m not going to fast track it, just to meet a deadline. Let’s do it right and get it passed,” the chairman decreed.