Aug 22, 2011
Thoughts on a New Ireland: The Fight for Environmental Justice in Ireland
HRinI is thrilled to host this piece by Dr. Liam Leonard from the School of Sociology, Criminology and Human Rights, IT Sligo as part of the “Thoughts on a New Ireland” blognival.
The fiscal crisis that has gripped Ireland has an interesting subtext in the many environmental justice issues which emerged during the years of during and preceding economic growth. During the last forty years, some controversial infrastructural projects came to be perceived as threats to local levels of health, in addition to creating risks for the environment, or to the heritage of the nation itself. The first of these collective responses emerged in the wake of the attempt to build onshore pipelines on the west coast of County Mayo. Locals objected to this proposal, and resisted attempts by the multinational involved to gain access to their land. As a result, five local men were imprisoned for 94 days for refusing to agree to an injunction that would allow the agents of the multinational access to their property. What followed was a campaign that gripped the nation’s imagination, as ‘Shell to Sea’ protests sprung up across the island and beyond in response to the community’s demand that the gas be processed offshore. The men were released in the summer of 2006, and their campaign for justice continues. The ‘Shell to Sea’ saga has had all the ingredients of a work of a fictional novel, including community members imprisoned for defending their land and families, political interference with an international billion dollar philanthropy project, issues of political policing, unproven allegations about threats of rape and deportation of activists and all kinds of political subterfuge (see L. Leonard 2006, Green Nation, and 2008 the Environmental Movement in Ireland).
The second issue to emerge in recent years was the campaign to save Tara, seat of the ancient High Kings of Ireland in County Meath, near Dublin. The capital city had become home to almost one in three of the Republic’s population, and the pressure on existing infrastructure such as roads became intolerable. Attempts to address the roads’ issue were compounded by the surging rise in private car ownership at a time when transport policy favoured a reduction in investment in public utilities such as rail. A plucky band of ‘eco-warriors’ and academics were mobilized again in response to the state’s plans to build a motorway alongside the ancient site of the High Kings of Ireland at Tara, in County Meath. A re-examination of the state’s prioritisation of tolled roads over public transport resulted when the Irish Green Party entered coalition government in 2007, but the motor way construction went ahead.
Accelerated growth has also led to environmental justice campaigns about waste disposal development. Ireland had fallen foul of European directives on waste management, due to an over-reliance (of up to 93 per cent) on landfill. In order to deal with this crisis, waste policies were introduced with plans for regional incinerators across the country. Communities mobilized in regions such as Galway, Cork and Meath, and in Poolbeg, County Dublin. As a result, the state’s regional waste policy was challenged, as communities began to inform themselves of the dangers posed by the dioxins and furans that are released into the air and food chain from incinerator emissions (See L. Leonard 2011, Community Campaigns for Sustainable Living).
Ultimately, the costs of economic growth have led to greater environmental degradation and an undermining of significant aspects of the nation’s heritage. As the cycle of the economic decline continues, the values and concerns of local communities may provide a new direction for the coming era of austerity.
