A tourist town without an adequate sewerage system is set to lose blue flag designation on three of its beaches.

Youghal’s Front Strand and Claycastle beaches have failed to meet water quality criteria and will forfeit the designation this year. 

However, under a special dispensation, Redbarn on the western side of the town will retain the beach award for 2012 only. 

The town is expected to lose blue flag status until 2017 at least, having failed to reach an “excellent” rating. However, all three beaches achieved a secondary quality rating of “good” and remain safe and suitable for bathing. 

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SIR- There is no doubt about it but the debate on energy saving light bulbs and Green politics certainly seems to lead to much ranting and raving.

The absurd comments made by ARCHON last week, show not only a lack of comprehension of the current economic crisis but also a total lack of understanding of science resulting in a hysterical and misinformed article not worthy of publication.

As a member of the Institute of Energy and Chartered Environmentalist I feel duty bound to respond to these comments.

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Five EU member states are opposed to European commission proposals for a new energy label for domestic appliances, ENDS has learned. Plans to revise the existing A-G ratings emerged last month as part of discussions on new eco-design requirement for refrigerators.

The UK, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands and Sweden are saying that the commission's proposal to update the existing label by adding categories A1, A2 and A3 for new, more efficient products would confuse consumers. Recent surveys back this argument.

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An EU energy label for household appliances is to be extended to all energy-related products that have a significant impact on energy consumption under draft legislation proposed by the European commission on Thursday. Public authorities would only be allowed to buy products above a certain efficiency class.

The revised energy labelling scheme is part of a major package of measures to further improve energy efficiency and increase the security of European energy supplies (see related articles, this issue). The revision also fits into an EU plan to boost sustainable consumption and production unveiled earlier this year.

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Liz McManus: campaigns "vanity projects" for Ministers

TWO GOVERNMENT publicity campaigns aimed at reducing carbon emissions and costing almost €12 million are "vanity projects" for Ministers, the Labour Party spokeswoman on energy and natural resources has said.

Liz McManus said the change.ie campaign by Minister for the Environment John Gormley, which would cost €6.3 million by the end of the year, and the Power of One campaign by Minister for Energy Eamon Ryan, costing €5.5 million, contained much duplication and had failed to persuade people to modify their behaviour. Her remarks follow publication of a survey yesterday which found that while a majority of people are concerned about the environment, few are willing to change their personal habits.

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GENEROUS ALLOCATIONS of carbon emissions to cement manufacturers at a time when the economy was booming mean that they can now make money by selling carbon credits in a "perversion of the 'polluter pays' principle", it has been claimed.

Donal Ó Riain, managing director of Ecocem - Ireland's only "green" cement manufacturer - said that with cement production expected to fall by a third because of the downturn in construction, the main beneficiaries would be its competitors. He explained that traditional cement producers had been given generous allocations to cover their carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions based on production levels at the height of the boom - so much so that they were now in a position to sell credits.

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EU energy ministers meeting in Luxembourg last week backed a call for banning sales of energy-guzzling light bulbs such as incandescent lamps for domestic use from 2010. In a non-legislative resolution adopted on Friday, the ministers said the worst-performing light bulbs should be phased-out "where alternatives exist".

The French presidency proposed to ban these light bulbs in a draft resolution circulated to governments last month. The resolution itself is intended to give political momentum to the implementation of EU laws on energy labelling and energy-using products (EuPs).

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CARS promoted as eco-friendly were criticised yesterday for pumping out up to 56pc more carbon dioxide than the manufacturers' claims.

Three models, including the Honda Civic hybrid, performed so badly in tests that their environmental claims were dismissed as a gimmick.

A further five vehicles, including Volkswagen's Polo BlueMotion, failed to match the claims made by their makers.

Road tests were carried out by 'Auto Express' magazine, which accused manufacturers of attempting to cash in on concerns about global warming.

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Paul King is a man in a hurry. A year into the job as head of the Green Building Council - an independent body set up to push the drive towards sustainable buildings - King is determined to achieve huge reductions in carbon emissions from the built environment as fast as possible. This week he opened, with Grand Designs' presenter Kevin McCloud, the EcoBuild show at Earls Court in London - a cornucopia of the latest green building technologies covering everything from solar panels to super-efficient insulation for future eco-homes.

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Proposals before the European Parliament to seek a ban on the sale of outdoor patio heaters yesterday provoked a storm of opposition from British MEPs.
The parliament is expected shortly to back a non-binding resolution calling on the European Commission to set a timetable for abolishing goods with low energy-efficiency ratings which specifically names outdoor patio heaters.

But a ban on outdoor heaters as part of the battle against climate change could cost the UK pub and catering trade £250 million (€336m) a year in lost trade, according to the Publican Market Report 2007.

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The European Union will support Ireland's attempts to ban incandescent light bulbs by early next year, Minister for the Environment John Gormley said following a meeting with EU commissioners in Brussels yesterday.

The proposed ban, which would be brought about by setting minimum energy standards for electric lighting, had been put in doubt because of EU competition rules that make it difficult for member states to unilaterally ban goods.

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An Italian lighting company has promised to sue the EU for damages over a decision to extend anti-dumping tariffs on energy-saving light bulbs imported from China. EU ministers rubber-stamped a European commission proposal confirming the one-year extension on Monday.

Targetti Sankey, which manufactures energy-saving bulbs in China, has already filed a case in the UK challenging the original 2001 decision to impose the tariffs. The company says the commission's anti-dumping investigation was flawed and the decision should be annulled. It has asked a UK tribunal to refer the case to the European court of justice.

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The Netherlands will not impose a national ban on incandescent light bulbs, environment minister Jacqueline Cramer announced on Thursday. In May the government said it was considering a ban to drive a switch to more energy-efficient lighting by 2011. Ms Cramer reiterated the 2011 goal but said it could be achieved instead through voluntary agreements with manufacturers and minimum energy efficiency standards being developed under the EU's energy-using products directive. Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad said the minister also acknowledged a national ban would be "virtually irreconcilable" with EU internal market rules.

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The Environment Agency has called for more information to be made available on the health and environmental risks posed by low-energy light bulbs.
It says because the bulbs contain small amounts of mercury, more information about safe recycling is needed.

It also wants health warnings printed on packaging and information on how to clear up smashed bulbs in the home.

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THE crusade against standard light bulbs risks leaving pensioners and less well-off families in the dark, Opposition critics warned last night.

Earlier this week, Environment Minister John Gormley outlined plans to outlaw incandescent light bulbs, which are the source of light in the vast majority of ordinary homes, by January 2009.

However Labour party environment spokeswoman Joanna Tuffy has now stressed that the Minister's plans fail to take any account of either the large expense involved in replacing ordinary light bulbs with CFL lights or the possible adverse medical effects of the new bulbs.

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OWNERS of luxury cars are benefiting from tax breaks worth up to EUR27,000 as part of a scheme that cost the Irish exchequer EUR8m in the first nine months of this year.

The initiative allows for a 50% rebate on vehicle registration tax (VRT) for cars and SUVs with hybrid engines that use both petrol and electrical power. Introduced in 2001, it was designed as an incentive to buyers of the Toyota Prius, which is marketed as an environmentally friendly, family car

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It wants all air-freighted food to meet tough "ethical trade" standards.

But Trade and Development Minister Gareth Thomas said he feared the changes could harm African farmers.

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