Irish President Michael D. Higgins very moved by the British reception
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh say goodbye to President Higgins and his wife at Windsor Castle today Friday.
Irish President Michael D Higgins has flown home after the end of his historic four-day state visit to the UK.
The Queen hosted two banquets for her Irish guest at Windsor Castle and he addressed both Houses of Parliament.
Mr Higgins and his wife Sabina visited Stratford-upon-Avon and Coventry on their final day.
Before leaving for Dublin Mr Higgins said he had been moved by the reception he and his wife had received.
He also told those who were unhappy with the visit to “think of all the things we have in common”.
And when he was asked about the involvement of former IRA leader Martin McGuinness in the visit, Mr Higgins said it was “very important that all those involved participated fully”.
Mr McGuinness, who is Northern Ireland’s deputy first minister, attended the state banquet on Tuesday and joined in the toast to the Queen.
A great Triumph.
The Sinn Féin MLA said his participation in the royal reception was in aid of “conflict resolution and reconciliation”.
The presidential visit was aimed at celebrating and strengthening British and Irish links.
It followed the Queen’s first state visit to the Republic of Ireland in 2011, which was widely hailed as a diplomatic triumph and a milestone in Anglo-Irish relations.
Mr and Mrs Higgins said goodbye to the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at Windsor Castle on Friday morning, before leaving for their final engagements.
They travelled to Stratford-upon-Avon to visit the birthplace of William Shakespeare and the home of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC).
In addition to his political career, Mr Higgins is a well-known poet and author, while his wife is an actress.
President Higgins made a speech about the English language, its role in Ireland, and about the shared dialogue between two islands.
He said: “It is the business of living souls to breathe life into words, and I have no doubt but that our long conversation in a shared language will continue into the far future to breathe new life, and the lightning of our different imaginations, into a common human purpose.”
Approximately 2,000 people turned out in warm spring sunshine to see the arrival of Irish President Michael D Higgins in Coventry.
The atmosphere was joyful as the city’s large Irish population gathered and a cheer went up as the president stepped out of his gleaming car.
He smiled warmly and waved to the crowd, between greeting various city and cathedral dignitaries.
It is a very proud day for Coventry, one that onlooker Bridget Connelly, originally from Galway, thought would never happen.
“It’s fantastic. It was just a dream of mine. He was so warmly welcomed,” she said.
Her daughter, Patricia Southall, added: “Diplomatically there must have been hard work to get here. I’m sure it’ll do a lot of good in the future.”
Mr Higgins was later presented with The Complete Works of Shakespeare, signed by the acting company, and he gifted the RSC a copy of The Book of Kells.
They then travelled to Coventry for a tour of its current cathedral and the ruins of the old building that was bombed during World War II.
They also attended a reception for members of the Irish community at St Mary’s Guildhall in the city.
During his four-day tour, Mr Higgins met Prime Minister David Cameron at Downing Street and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg at Buckingham Palace.
A Gracious welcome
He also attended several events marking the contribution of the Irish community to public life in Britain.
They included business leaders, charity workers and NHS staff.
On Thursday evening, the president attended a concert celebrating Irish music and culture at London’s Royal Albert Hall.
At the event, Mr Higgins thanked the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh for their “gracious welcome and warm hospitality” throughout his UK trip.
He said the preparation they had made for his state visit was “reflective of the true and deep friendship that now exists between Ireland and the United Kingdom”.
Research project reveals Irish towns worst hit by the recession,
It shows poverty rates are double those in big cities
Ireland’s towns are bearing the brunt of the economic downturn, with poverty rates now double that in the bigger cities.
They are also suffering more from unemployment and population loss, and the proportion of households where nobody has a job is one in three compared to one in five in the cities.
The struggles in provincial towns — home to 1.5m people — are revealed in a research project by Teagasc that looks at 302 towns and rural districts with populations or more than 1,500.
It says Bearna, Co Galway, is the town coping best with the recession, while Bunclody-Carrickduff, spanning Wexford and Carlow, fares worst.
Cork has four of the top 10 best performing towns and, together with Sligo, has the largest number of highly ranked towns. But even within counties there are variations. Kildare, for example, has two towns in the top 10 but also two in the bottom 10.
In general, towns further away from cities struggle more, but towns on the very outer edge of city commuter belts have also been hit hard.
Dr David Meredith, the report’s co-author, cautioned against expecting a one-size-fits-all solution, pointing out that some towns had been in long-term decline and needed different approaches from those hit recently.
“These are places that have witnessed long-term economic structural change so they’ve seen the closure of industries, the closure of factories over a very long period of time,” he said.
“During the boom the people that would have worked in those industries generally got recruited into working in the construction industry, but when the construction industry collapsed we saw the full effect of long-term economic change.
“So it isn’t just the most recent economic crisis that we are looking at here for some of these towns. They have been struggling for some time and the boom effectively masked a lot of the challenges in those places.”
Common difficulties among the towns include the vicious circle of unemployment curtailing spending, which causes local shops to suffer, which results in more job losses.
Another common concern is the “hollowing out” of towns, with people and shops moving to the edges while town centres decline.
Co-author Professor Cathal O’Donoghue said the report flagged serious issues: “One of the reasons for concern is the impact of the crisis in these areas but also the general lack of focus in national policy in relation to these towns.”
He urged communities to get involved in identifying opportunities for their own areas and said local authorities — which lose their town councils next month — faced challenges in leading the charge against decline as they were having to switch from a regulatory role to a development one.
“If you’re moving from a function where you’re doing housing or waste or whatever regulatory things, there is a different mindset. It’s more risk-taking; it’s more solution-finding than management function; and that will be a challenge for local authorities,” Prof O’Donoghue said.
The 20 strongest areas
1. Bearna, Co Galway. 2. Rathmore, Co Kerry. 3. Balraheen, Co Kildare. 4. Bantry, Co Cork
5. Whitechurch, Co Cork. 6. Kilcoole, Co Wicklow. 7. Ovens, Co Cork. 8. Clarinbridge, Co Galway
9. Celbridge, Co Kildare. 10. Dromore, Co Cork. 11. Glin, Co Kerry. 12. Carnmore, Co Galway
13. Carrigtwohill, Co Cork. 14. Collooney, Co Sligo. 15. Ightermurragh, Co Cork. 16. Oranmore, Co Galway
17. Straffan, Co Kildare. 18. Craughwell, Co Galway. 19. Carrick, Co Wexford. 20. Caldragh, Co Longford
The 20 weakest areas
1. Bunclody-Carrickduff, Co Wexford. 2. Robertstown, Co Kildare. 3. Rathkeale, Co Limerick
4. Carrick-on-Suir, Co Tipperary. 5. Abbeyfeale, Co Limerick. 6. Banagher, Co Offaly
7. Gort, Co Galway. 8. Castlelost, Co Westmeath. 9. Kilcommon, Co Tipperary. 10. Carbury, Co Kildare
11. Oldcastle, Co Meath. 12. Ballyshannon, Co Donegal. 13. Cross Roads, Co Donegal
14. Castlecomer, Co Kilkenny. 15. Ballaghaderreen, Co Roscommon. 16.Ballina, Co Mayo
17. Letterkenny, Co Donegal. 18. New Ross, Co Wexford. 19. Lifford, Co Donegal. 20. Ballybunion, Co Kerry
Garda whistle-blower John Wilson loses off duty court claim
One of the whistle-blowers in the Garda penalty points controversy has lost his High Court claim that he should not have been subject to disciplinary proceedings arising from his attendance, while off-duty, at district court proceedings in Cavan.
In her judgment, M/s Justice O’Malley said the court had been told events in this case did not relate to John Wilson’s departure from the Garda.
Mr Wilson, with an address in Cavan town, had challenged findings of May 2012 that he acted in breach of Garda discipline in refusing to say why he attended a January 2012 special sitting of Virgina District Court in Cavan courthouse. That case involved a long-running dispute between neighbours, dating from 2005, in which there were some 90 complaints to Gardai and “numerous” investigations and files sent to the DPP, Ms Justice O’Malley noted.
Garda Chief Superintendent James Sheridan had said he was very concerned Mr Wilson’s presence, while off-duty, could give rise to an apprehension of lack of impartiality on the part of the force with regard to that case.
Mr. Wilson, who retired from the Garda last year having joined in 1982, challenged findings that he, in neglect of duty, failed to promptly reply to the Divisional Officer of the Cavan/Monaghan division concerning correspondence dated January 31st 2012 and March 6th 2012. Sanctions of “advice” and a “warning” were imposed on foot of those, the lowest and third lowest level of sanctions under the disciplinary regulations.
The January 31st 2012 letter asked him to explain why he was at Cavan courthouse on January 12th 2012 in the presence of Walter and Genevieve Smith. On March 6th 2012, he was directed to comply with the January 31st direction.
The Smiths were among four people from both sides of the neighbours’ dispute who were charged with harassment. The District Judge dismissed all charges, with voluntary undertakings given by all the accused and the spouse of one of them, M/s Justice O’Malley noted.
In her judgment dismissing Mr. Wilson’s challenge, Ms Justice O’Malley said the attendance of a serving Garda, even if off duty, in a public court at the hearing of a prosecution is not something that is, on the face of it, private. The administration of justice in criminal cases is, for the most part, a public matter, she added.
In that context, it was not unlawful to ask Garda Wilson the question: “What were you doing there?” and the Garda authorities had a right to an answer, the extent of which would vary according to circumstances. That did not require a specific provision under the Garda Siochana Act 2007 or Garda Siochana Disciplinary Regulations 2007 as no statutory scheme or contract covers every incident of the employment relationship.
The context here was of “a hierarchical, discipline-based police force” and a lawful demand that a member account for himself has to be addressed, she said.
It did not necessarily follow the information requested must in all cases be given as the conduct in question may fall within a Garda’s private life. In that situation, the member must provide sufficient information so their superiors can decide whether or not to accept that privacy applies.
Garda Wilson never actually said, until the hearing before the deciding officer, that he considered his activities on the day to be private and never gave any intimation there might be grounds for their being private, other than his being off duty, she said.
She did not know why Garda Wilson was in the District Court, the judge said. As that case was being heard in the Garda divisional area where he worked, and being heard by a judge whom he previously probably would have given evidence before, that would be capable of impinging on his role as a Garda and the public perception of the force as a whole.
That was particularly so in the context of a long running neighbours dispute which had given rise to extensive Garda involvement and allegations of bias on the part of other Garda officers, she added.
While attendance at a trial to support a party did not necessarily mean a serving Garda would be in breach of discipline, it was something likely, depending on the circumstances, to call for an explanation, she added. The Chief Supt was entitled to ask why Garda Wilson was present and, having directed him to explain, was entitled to an adequate response.
Instead, Garda Wilson’s first response was to ask what was being “insinuated” about him by a Garda Inspector and that was suggestive of some degree of bad faith by the Inspector, she said. That suggestion was not elaborated upon and instead Garda Wilson began to question the authority of his superiors and “demand chapter and verse” from regulations and correspondence.
The respondents were entitled to consider his failure to deal with the matter more promptly and appropriately amounted to neglect of duty, she concluded.
World cities on the frontline of a climate change struggle
Half of the world’s population now lives in cities – a proportion that’s set to rise to two-thirds by 2050. Yet cities are vulnerable to the worst impacts of climate change precisely because their locations are fixed. As the UN’s climate panel meets in Berlin, how are urban centres coping with the test?
The latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) re-emphasises the vital role cities can play in cutting greenhouse gas emissions. This should come as no surprise, since urban centres are responsible for three quarters of global energy consumption and for 80% of greenhouse gas emissions.
“In a sense, they are the carbon criminals of this world, but they also provide us with really good opportunities,” says Prof Tim Dixon from the University of Reading, UK.
Cities have moved from thinking about how they’re going to be affected to what they’re going to do about it”
One of the ways in which cities can be made greener is through a process called retrofitting. This describes a kind of directed alteration of the built environment to, for example, increase its energy efficiency and reduce energy consumption.
At one level, this might take the form of installing loft and cavity wall insulation, improved boilers, better window glazing or energy-efficient lighting.
But while this already occurs in a piecemeal manner, to be effective, retrofitting must occur on scales greater than individual buildings or even neighbourhoods – there has to be an overarching vision.
“There’s no single blueprint that fits every city. But I think successful visions underpin successful cities,” says Tim Dixon, who is a researcher on the Retrofit 2050 project.
Vancouver on Canada’s west coast stands out as a city that has already ventured some way down this path.
Vancouver has a well-developed plan for retro-fitting and clear targets
The city wants to limit car journeys, ensuring more trips are made by foot, bike or public transport
The Canadian city involved some 120 organisations and thousands of individuals (through online feedback and face-to-face workshops) in the creation of its Greenest City 2020 Action Plan. The scheme has three overarching areas of focus: carbon, waste and ecosystems.
Among the targets laid out in the document is a pledge to require all buildings constructed from 2020 onward to be carbon neutral in their operation.
Vancouver also wants to halve the solid waste going to landfill over 2008 levels and to ensure more than 50% of trips around the city are made by foot, bicycle or public transport – rather than by car – by 2020.
But in the UK, only a handful of cities have climate change strategies taking them up to the middle of this century.
Of these, few set targets for each sector, such as transport, buildings or public lighting, for example.
But cities such as Bristol and Birmingham have well advanced plans, says Tim Dixon. Bristol’s council has drawn up a Climate Change and Energy Security Framework which lays out a strategy for reducing the city’s carbon emissions by 40% by 2020 from a 2005 baseline.
It has established a £1.2m energy efficiency fund for non-domestic buildings, has embarked on a programme of installing biomass boilers and solar arrays. It is also planning to build six wind turbines at a site near Avonmouth docks, which would produce enough electricity to power several thousand homes.
Out with the old, in with the new: Las Vegas is replacing its street lights with energy efficient LED lighting
Green roofs can also play their part in visions for eco-friendly cities
“Getting the financing right is key. Urban areas have long lives. In 2050, something like 80% of our buildings are still going to be there,” Prof Dixon adds.
“It’s not going to be the 1-2% of new stock that is going to be the key focus. It’s about taking the longer-term view – looking at how to retrofit those buildings, but also how to protect them.
“You can’t unbuild the energy-hungry transport networks, homes and town centres that we’ve got. There’s a huge amount of lock-in. But the challenges are really around how do we develop partnerships within cities, bring together key stakeholders and how do we enable financing to make a difference.”
Indeed, the disappointing take-up for the UK government’s Green Deal scheme looms large in the memory of those who have a stake in greening our cities. Under the deal, householders could borrow money to install double-glazing, insulation and more efficient boilers.
In March 2013, the government said it expected 10,000 people to have signed up to the programme by the end of that year. But by December, only 1,600 households had applied.
“Looking longer term, I’m sure there’s a way the Green Investment Bank could help underpin retrofits at a city scale,” says Prof Dixon.
“We need to think creatively and imaginatively. In an era of austerity, it’s not going to be the public purse that pays for this, the private sector has to be involved, so we have to think about how we can engage them in these kinds of major energy efficiency measures across cities.”
But a balance will have to be struck between strategies aimed at climate mitigation – what we can do to limit or slow further changes – and those based around adaptation – reducing our vulnerability to those effects we can already expect.
David Dodman, an expert on climate change and urbanisation, points out that when word clouds are created from the urban chapters of the earlier IPCC reports, the dominant word is “impacts”, while in the 2014 AR5 document it is “adaptation”.
“Cities have moved from thinking about how they’re going to be affected to what they’re going to do about it,” says Dr Dodman, from the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) in London.
Last year, for example, on the first anniversary of Hurricane Sandy, New York’s mayor Michael Bloomberg unveiled a plan to protect the US cityfrom climate change-related flooding.
By the middle of this century, a quarter of the city – home to nearly a million people – will lie in flood zones, according to data from the US emergency agency Fema. So the proposals call for the construction of permanent levees and portable storm barriers in order to meet the challenge.
New York is an example of a metropolis with the infrastructure, the wealth and the political will to deal with the effects of a changing climate. But David Dodman, an author on the urban chapter in the latest IPCC report, says, large numbers of urban centres in Africa and in parts of Asia are much less well prepared.
“The capacities of those cities [to deal with climate change] are not just to do with knowing what those impacts are, they are much more to do with existing infrastructure, with the financial resources at their disposal, to do with the technical capacity of city governments… and on political governance,” said Dr Dodman.
Not every city need respond in the same way as New York to take effective adaptation steps. Coastal urban areas in the tropics could, for example, seed and protect dunes and reforest mangroves to provide protection against future sea level rise.
Dr Dodman uses the term “soft engineering” for such adaptive measures: “It’s not quarrying millions of tonnes of concrete to turn into a sea barrier, but more about working with the natural environment,” he adds.
The IPCC’s working group 2 report says that cities, and particularly those that are rapidly growing, present an opportunity to meet sustainable development goals. This is in part because their institutions and infrastructure are still being developed and there is at least the potential to shape them in ways that are aligned with green thinking.
However, the report also says there is limited evidence of this being realised in practice.
And as the populations of many cities increase, urban communities are springing up in informal settlements, and these groups are often on land that is at a high risk of climate impacts such as extreme weather, and related events such as landslides.
In some cases, several factors may act in concert to amplify changes. Some of Asia’s “megacities” – Bangkok, Manila and Jakarta, for example – face a high risk of flooding because of sea level rise, but are also suffering from land subsidence.
This is often due to extraction of groundwater – a resource that will be placed under further stress as the world warms – and also because of the sheer weight of the built environment on alluvial ground.
“They’re sinking as the waters are rising,” says David Dodman.
For effective climate change adaptation, as for mitigation, coherent visions for future cities will be key.
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