Niall Sargent 🕵️
@Niall_Sargent
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Reporter @thecurrency | Lecturer @griffithcollege | MAs Critical Terrorism Studies & Investigative Journalism | Fmr Intelligence Analyst |
Dublin
Joined June 2014
The people of Gaza plead daily through our screens to stand up for their lives. Reporters putting their lives on the line to deliver this message now need our support. If their call is not heard, western media will lose what little integrity it has left.
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IDF tells Ireland to remove its peacekeepers from an outpost on the border with Lebanon as its invasion of the country continues. They are not moving.
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Wow. what else can you say. I recorded this after 10 minutes straight filming of crowd passing & they are still going!!!. @FFFireland @saoi4climate @GretaThunberg @think_or_swim @foeireland @whittledaway @CAugustenborg. #ClimateStrike #FridaysForFuture #SchoolStrike4Climate
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Better headline - Young people are taking 'direct action' to protect their future.
Young people across Ireland are skipping school today to strike for climate action, with protests scheduled for Dublin, Cork and Galway city centres.
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Lots of positive reaction for Irish Gov't in comments to my below post on peacekeepers not budging in Lebanon. But don't forget what we revealed this week👇 . The Gov't is still approving dual-use exports to Israeli defence, security & weapons companies.
IDF tells Ireland to remove its peacekeepers from an outpost on the border with Lebanon as its invasion of the country continues. They are not moving.
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Very happy to tell you I have joined @thecurrency. I'll be covering my usual beat of climate, nature & energy, as well as social, planning & legal issues. I'll still be working on investigations, so get in touch & consider subscribing to get some of the best journalism around!.
.@Niall_Sargent is an award-winning multimedia investigative reporter and lecturer. And he has now joined @thecurrency as our new Current Affairs Correspondent to cover areas including climate change, biodiversity loss, food production, and social issues.
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BREAKING: Ciaran Cuffe has become the first Green Party member to be elected to the European Parliament in over 15 years. #EP2019 #le2019 #Greens #GreenWave @greenparty_ie .
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*New*. An Garda Síochana has paid hundreds of thousands of euro to an Israeli cyberdefence company that worked with the IDF to crack thousands of Palestinian phones seized since the beginning of its invasion of Gaza.
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Delighted to win the Investigative Writing award at the @irish_writing #IFWA22 for our @noteworthy_ie investigation into the impact of salmon farming on the natural world. You can read the full series here: 🔗
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NEW: Our data-driven investigation into animal feed shows millions of tonnes of exotic feed with a high climate footprint is imported every years to meet the needs of the dairy sector. Read here:
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Our new investigation into the use of pesticides by public authorities has found that thousands of litres of pesticides – including the controversial glyphosate – are used on Irish roads and forests each year #InTheWeeds
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Requirements to keep land in good condition for grazing livestock or growing crops also see farmers penalised for keeping the likes of ponds, rivers, native woodland, and scrub on their land:
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Wow!!! Over the moon with this one 🌜 . Thank you so much to everyone who spoke to us about the environmental impacts of our decades-old plantation-led forestry model for our #SprucedUp investigation & also to those who helped to fund this important @noteworthy_ie project!! 🥳.
🏆 Congratulations to @Niall_Sargent for recognition of his work at the 20th global @sejorg Awards for Reporting on the Environment. Our SPRUCED UP expose into the Irish forestry model took 3rd Place in the outstanding investigative reporting category🔎.
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🏆 Delighted to get the nod for the investigative award at @irish_writing #IFWA2021 for our expose of poor labour conditions in horticulture 🍄🍓. Thanks to all @noteworthy_ie readers for their support & to @ejcnet #IJ4EU for helping fund this project.
Woo hoo! Congrats to @Niall_Sargent for winning the investigative writing award at @irish_writing #IFWA2021 for his work on the horticultural sector .Thanks to all of @noteworthy_ie’s supporters - you make it happen!
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Very quick 🧵on An Taisce - Glanbia cheese factory saga from climate perspective & how the position outlined by some Government TDs does not appear to align with their climate action rhetoric. Photo: Diane Duane (CC BY-NC 2.0 -
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Wow. This came out of left field. Ireland declare climate & biodiversity emergency! . The vote was due next week but Gov & opposition agreed to accept this evening!. Let's hope action follows. @think_or_swim @CAugustenborg @GretaThunberg @SCCIreland @GeorgeMonbiot @saoi4climate.
BREAKING: Dail declares climate and biodiversity emergency. @OisinCoghlan @SCCIreland @ExtinctionR @ExtinctRebelsIE @saoi4climate .
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John Gibbons: By the time Ireland takes the climate emergency seriously, it'll be far too late
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In a landmark ruling, An Bord Pleanála has overturned a decision from Limerick City and County Council that blocked a resident from covering her roof with solar panels.
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Friends of the Irish Environment granted leave to take a case against the Gov't over Climate Action Plan, arguing it will not be enough to meet legally binding targets:
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Looking really good for numbers today in Dublin #ClimateStrike . Great energy and passion from our youth.
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As Ireland recognises Palestine & Israel suspends diplomatic relations, released records show a sharp increase in the export of military-grade computer equipment to Israel with the Government's green light.
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Extinction Rebellion Ireland (@ExtinctRebelsIE) members interrupt Min Bruton speech at Forest Industries Ireland event this morning. Very rowdy reaction but speakers allowed to finish statements on climate and biodiversity emergency and need to 'act like our house is on fire'
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Attention Irish media: Can we please stop using images like 👇 to represent industrial scale peat extraction in Ireland?. Really unprofessional and also dangerous to continue to present this sort of image of the industry
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🎉FULLY FUNDED 🎉. Thanks to a flurry of support, our proposal to investigate if our riverside habitats are under threat from over-maintenance is now funded!. Please get in touch at information@noteworthy.ie with any case studies we should examine 🔎.
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Our latest investigation reveals that at least 3,000km of hedgerow have been cut by local authorities during the bird nesting season over three years at a cost of €1.4 million. Read on for more details:
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Destruction of a popular wetland in the centre of Tallaght is a “punch in the gut” for the local community and biodiversity, a volunteer group of wildlife experts has said. @collieennis @TheKavOfficial @RobGandola @FNDuffy.@HerpSocIreland.
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The level of redactions in FOI & AIE requests to the IDA is really shocking. Latest 👇. An AIE request for emails/meetings with semi-states (Coillte, Bord na Mona & ESB) about potential for wind farms/data centres on peatlands. The black boxes are *fully redacted* records.
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It is now estimated that only 10% of raised bog and 28% of blanket bog are suitable for conservation due to decades of unlicensed industrial exploitation of peatlands. We want to examine how this has been allowed to happen:
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NEW INVESTIGATION. Coming up just after midnight -.Breaking the Banks: 'Vicious circle' of public works 'degrading' Ireland's rivers. Here's a sneak preview of our investigation by @anthealacchia:
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In Ireland, we have 423 sites waiting for designation as special areas of conservation (SACs) like the one below. Yet, to date required conservation measures have NOT been taken at ANY site. The deadline for action for many sites was over 5 years ago.
Some very nice current trail camera footage of Otters at a site in the Lower River Shannon SAC near Limerick City.
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“We have no right to lecture Brazil on clearing their rainforests while we are digging up and burning our own bogs". BIG DECISION today on peat extraction and a big win for @FIEIRELAND after the dissappointment for their team after @climatecaseire ruling. Thread 👇.
BREAKING: The High Court has ruled that new regulations to take large-scale peat extraction outside of the Irish planning regime are inconsistent with European environmental law and must be dissolved #ClimateStrike .
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Today, the European Court of Justice ruled that Ireland broke EU nature laws for failing to protect hundreds of special nature sites. Decision here: We examined this issue in detail in 2021:
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🌍🥛 Milk powder made from whey, a byproduct of the dairy industry, is flooding African markets. We want to examine the role played by the Irish dairy industry and State bodies in creating a market for the product. Support us here:
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Enda is done with choo-choo trains and is now aboard the lobby express for his next gig as another former politician passes through the #RevolvingDoor.
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Department of Environment reports worst progress on Climate Action Plan of any department
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Ireland has one of the lowest rates of tree cover in Europe yet one of the highest rates of plantation forestry of mainly Sitka spruce. In Part One of our #SprucedUp investigation, we examine the environmental impacts of this model:
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Records released to @Noteworthy_ie shows that the State was warned by a senior official in the European Commission in late 2017 that it was not doing enough to ensure environmental risks from forestry “are a thing of the past”.
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Reporters from @rte, @thecurrency, @wereontheditch & @DublinInquirer came out today in solidarity with our colleagues in Palestine & Lebanon. Time for the rest of the Irish media to stand up. It's the bare minimum that all Western media should be doing. #ProtectTheJournalists.
Staff at RTÉ Dublin stand in solidarity with media workers under attack by Israel in Gaza & Lebanon. Killing journalists is also killing truth & media freedom. We join @IFJGlobal in calling for an end to Israeli impunity for killing media workers.#supportpalestinianjournalists
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#SprucedUp: Our investigation into forestry in Ireland highlights continued planting on sensitive peatlands and other high nature value areas despite known biodiversity impacts. Read Part One of our investigation now:
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Great to see @IrishTimes take a stand on biodiversity collapse. Please share. The more popular these articles, the more media will focus to the crisis at our door. And, of course, don't forget your daily dose of environmental news at @GreenNews_ie :-).
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Fine Gael MEP Maria Walsh broke party lines this morning & voted with her “conscience” in favour of a motion that would have blocked #ShannonLNG . She told @GreenNews_ie that any impact from fracking is "something I cannot condone”. More here 👇.
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I am seeing a lot of complaints online about level of mass media coverage of #ClimateEmergency & #biodiversityEmergency . You don't need to rely only on the big publications. Give the smaller guys a voice & follow @GreenNews_ie for a daily dose of climate & environmental news
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🦅 Our full investigation on the Irish #BiodiversityCrisis is out now as we look at the precarious position of our most iconic species & habitats, as well as the State’s poor record on nature protection fuelled by decades of poor support and resourcing. 🔗
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Despite many FOI requests, Irish officials refuse to release details of approved dual-use exports to Israeli weapons companies & its national security apparatus. While ministers say oversight is tight, lack of transparency raises serious concerns.
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Over 20 white-tailed eagles arrive in Kerry as part of wildlife reintroduction project
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Prominent Irish medical groups call on the State to make physical activity & active transport a central part of climate policy. Also, @greenparty_ie motion on public transport spending before Dail today. @IreCyclingFed @dublincycling @EcoEye @EamonRyan.
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**SHEAR FORCE** . Great news!! Our hedge cutting investigation is complete & the first of two articles will be published on @noteworthy_ie & @thejournal_ie just after midnight. Stay tuned in the coming hours for more details! #ShearForce
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Delighted to be shortlisted for @irish_writing Investigative Award for two projects 🥳 . 🐮Trade Off on conditions faced by Irish calves in live export trade: . 🐔Factory Farm on dodgy goings-on in the poultry industry:
Congratulations to the finalists in our Investigative Writing Award - .@katymcguinness .@CorinaHardgrave @Niall_Sargent and.@mhdelaney, Geela Garcia and Louise Lawless for work in @noteworthy. This award is judged by @DanSaladinoUK and kindly sponsored by @drummondhousegarlic👏🏻👏🏻
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My current job is up for grabs if anyone is interested 👇👇👇. Sad to be leaving @GreenNews_ie but excited to join the team at @noteworthy_ie next week. I am very lucky as it's a tough time for media so pls support journalists from local to national. DM me for details on GN job.
The IEN has two new job opportunities!!!. We are looking for:. 📺 Communications Officer / Editor of The Green News . 📜 Brexit Policy Officer (part time). Full details HERE: Deadline: Friday 24th April 2020
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In the first part of our investigation into salmon farming, we reveal that the State has issued licences to several salmon farms to cull protected seals 🦭 #TroubledWaters
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University College Cork has urged its staff and students to join the global school strike against climate inaction this Friday.
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There is evidence herbicides can cause long-term health impacts, yet, they are widely used in public spaces. by authorities. We want to examine the extent of their use & what nature-based solutions could be used in their place:
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Ireland 🇮🇪 in top 50 emitters in the world (C02 only) based on the latest per capita emissions calculations, with levels well above the global average (2020).
CO2 emissions per capita by country in 2020, based on new @gcarbonproject data. #Cop26.#ClimateChange
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New citizens' assembly on biodiversity to meet for the first time today
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Great news following a flurry of support from the public our proposal to investigative the current Irish conifer-led forestry model is fully funded!.
🌲 𝗙𝗨𝗟𝗟𝗬 𝗙𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗗! 🌲. Thanks to your amazing support over the past two days, this investigation is now fully funded and we can start working on it.
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🌲 𝗧𝗛𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗 🌲. Our latest investigation on eco-impacts of plantation forestry reveals:. - Planting on peat & biodiversity-rich grasslands.- Concern over environmental assessments carried out.- Need for greater protection of at-risk species.
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Great turnout for #ExtinctionRebellion takeover of O'Connell Bridge today. Letting the Luas through in line with ethos of calls for greater public transport access in Ireland. #InternationalRebellion #extinctionrebellionDublin
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Our latest investigation OUT NOW reveals lack of enforcement of the large-scale peat extraction industry operating without legally-required planning permission and EPA licensing.
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Quite an incredible scene here with around 110 citizens, mainly young students, watching on during closing of @climatecaseire. @EamonRyan is even wedged in there too alongside citizens, student activists and NGO folk. @EnvJusticeUCC @FredPLogue @gavinsblog @MaryCarolanIT.
Loads of small kids squeezing into Court 29 now, seems about right. It’s their future, after all, that’s on the line today .#climatecaseireland.
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Department of Agriculture pressured EPA not to release list of farms abstracting water from rivers. The list, which the EPA refused to release, also contains information on data centres and quarries.
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Double win for the @noteworthy_ie team at #ifwa22 - picked up the Writing on Sustainability Award for this piece on farm subsidies: 🔗 . Thanks for your continued support of Noteworthy which allowed us to conduct this work! 🙏
Delighted to win the Investigative Writing award at the @irish_writing #IFWA22 for our @noteworthy_ie investigation into the impact of salmon farming on the natural world. You can read the full series here: 🔗
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"The only stage the state wasn't involved in was laying the bricks". Another mic drop moment from @killianwoods as he lays out the full scale of the direct State role in where we now sit with housing .
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The Commission is taking legal action against Ireland over alleged failure to fully implement EU rules to monitor construction products. This move will interest families in Donegal and several other counties impacted by the mica scandal.
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While the factory will bring new jobs & a guaranteed demand for dairy farms, there are still serious questions to ask about the long-term climate impact of such decisions & An Taisce is within its right to challenge the decision all the way to Supreme Court if it so wishes.
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Delighted to win Business Analyst of the Year at #SmurfitAwards today for a series of articles I did with @noteworthy_ie last year about the energy crisis in Ireland & rising emissions from data centres. You can read the series here:
A great win for @niall_sargent @noteworthy_ie in the Business Analyst of the Year Category for his portfolio of incisive commentary over the past year #SmurfitAwards
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Seriously RTE? 👇.
First up on #rtept, while many of us chose to vote Green last Friday, are we prepared to pay the price of combating climate change?. In studio @MHealyRae sets his cap against Green TD @cathmartingreen.
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The Green Party has called on the State to redirect funding for greyhound racing to animal welfare and environmental groups after RTÉ Investigates revealed animal abuse within the industry.
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We should know for sure come 10pm Sunday evening but exit polls showing a #GreenWave in both European & local elections in Ireland, and similar shift likely across many EU member states. #ClimateEmergency #SchoolStrike4Climate #EP2019 #LE2019.
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Factual inaccuracies aside, some of the language & tone being used lately to question the bona fides of female Irish climate & biodiversity experts is really shameful. If you see it, be an ally and call it out. (Comments off to avoid any more pile-ons for one tweet at least).
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Harte Peat ordered to cease unauthorised peat harvesting
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Nice to see @IrishTimes pick up on the story that @GreenNews_ie broke on Sunday. Fine Gael accused of attempting to dilute key climate action target
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'Let’s give some parts of Dublin back to the people, it's killing us not to'. Great opinion piece from Cllr @neasa_neasa in @GreenNews_ie on South William Street takeover & what went wrong with yesterday's pedestrian trial at College Green .
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I think they mean the 'seasoned environmental journalist and author of several incredibly detailed and painstakingly researched investigative books' @GeorgeMonbiot. But sure environmentalist label fits a certain narrative. #rtept.
As temperatures soar across Europe, we have a debate about what agriculture needs to do with @TimCullinan_IFA and environmentalist @GeorgeMonbiot #rtept.
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“I implore you to think of the future of the children and for people who are being immediately harmed [by fracking] here in the US". Message from @MarkRuffalo to the Taoiseach @LeoVaradkar today on #ShannonLNG support.
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*New proposal* . Hedgerows are vital to birds and wildlife during the summer, providing space for nesting, food and shelter. Yet, every year, social media is full of photos of decimated roadside hedges. Help us find out why: .
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Colleagues are being targeted and killed as they show the world the reality on the ground in Gaza & Lebanon. Irish journalists are standing up to support them. Israel - stop killing journalists. #Journalismisnotacrime #JournalistNotTerrorist
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Bringing native lynx and wolves back to Ireland could help curb damaging deer, research finds
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Today we hit 3,000 @GreenNews_ie followers since we opened the account last August. Thanks for all the support of those following us who want environmental news front and centre as we face the #ClimateEmergency. Please spread the word & we will have 30,000 fans in no time! :-)
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Disabled people make up 13.5% of the population but represent 27% of the homeless population. We want to investigate the housing crisis facing disabled people left homeless or in unsuitable accommodation. Support this work here:
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“This has been a brilliant example of people power.”. The decision of a thermoplastic company to withdraw application for a plastic factory in Skibbereen was greeted by @SOSkibbereen last night as a “brilliant example of people power”.
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Companies owned by Bord na Móna say they fall outside of the scope of key regulations enabling access to environmental information, limiting transparency on the semi-state’s core operational activity, Noteworthy can reveal.
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We don't have a Gull problem in Dublin . We have a civic behavioural problem. Illegal dumping of household waste (and not for the first time) just off Smithfield Square. Poor guy was trying to eat some sort of sweet stuck to plastic wrapping.
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*New* . As the State condemns Israel’s attack on Gaza, the Department of Defence pays out another €590,000 for services to an Israeli weapons manufacturer whose drones are being used directly in Gaza.
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🐰60,000 hares were legally captured between 2009 and 2021 for use in the coursing industry. Animal rights groups want a ban due to concerns over the welfare of the species. Help us investigate:
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Closed Season: lay down your trimmers and step away from the hedge. @AndrewLRJackson @climatecaseire @Irishwildlife.@BirdsMatter_ie @hedgelayingie.
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Roadside "grass"🤦♂️. This from the Minister in charge of riparian vegetation & Phoenix Park.
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'Immediate steps' should be taken to protect Ireland's hedgerows, committee to hear
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Power Down: How years of policy neglect left Ireland in the shadow of a solar revolution ☀️ . In our latest investigation, we examine roadblocks limiting small-scale solar power & if enough is now being done to hit upcoming EU targets.
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French citizens’ assembly votes to make ecocide a crime with 99% in favour of a national referendum.
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Activists from Cork’s @ExtinctionR /@ExtinctRebelsIE movement held a climate vigil outside the Clayton Hotel yesterday evening while the Taoiseach was in a town hall meeting.
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Big banner for a big movement!. #InternationalRebellion #ExtinctionRebellionDublin #InternationalRebellion
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Irish tillage being squeezed out in favour of renting land to dairy farmers. Noteworthy examines how dairy expansion has combined with years of policy neglect to leave grain growers struggling to survive.
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🦅 The first part of our #EndangeredSpecies investigation examines State failure to protect important habitats and iconic species, including the hen harrier & curlew.
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SPRUCED UP: Our full investigation into the eco-impact of plantation forestry is out🌲. Part 1: Licences still granted on peat soils & concerns over environmental assessments. Part 2: Why communities are appealing forestry licences.
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A fairly unthinkable and incredibly awkward article from @IrishTimes, especially after the commendable step of launching a climate section on the home page.
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While Leo tells the UN and the world about our climate cracking plan to plant 440m trees by 2040, this is what the reality is like on the ground. Serious question to be asked do we really want millions of trees planted for this?.
The Slievefelim to Silvermines Mountains SPA today; clear-felling & replanting of non-native Sika Spruce is not compatible with Hen Harrier conservation. This area also drains into the Lower Shannon SAC. Forestry activities like this require Appropriate Assessment under EU law.
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#ITVTonight investigation to highlight how demand for horticultural peat in UK garden centres is influencing large-scale extraction in Ireland. Tonight at 7.30pm.
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**BREAKING** . Mowi, Ireland's largest salmon farm operator, has been granted a licence for a large 18-pen farm in Bantry Bay after a protracted six-year appeal process and strong opposition from locals, campaign groups and environmental NGOs.
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