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  1. About Us
  2. Who We Are
  3. Board

Our Board of Directors

Our Board of Directors and Trustees are:

  • Phil Kearney | Chair | Joined Board in 2016, Chair since 2019
  • Trish O'Connell | Vice Chair | Joined Board in 2019
  • Stuart McCaul | Secretary | Joined Board in 2019
  • Aoife O'Gorman | Treasurer | Joined Board in 2020
  • Hugh O'Reilly | Joined Board in 2019
  • John Sweeney| Joined Board in 2015
  • Olivia Rogers | Joined Board in 2021
  • Rónán O'Brien | Joined Board in 2021

For all policies relating to the Board, please see the Governance page.

Published: 15th August, 2019

Updated: 9th December, 2021

Author: Phoebe Duvall

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    Our Compost for Nature guide is now available! For years, the garden and landscape industry has been selling us peat moss as “compost.” In reality, this is peat-moss that is nutrient-poor and bad for our peatlands. The good news is that there is another more sustainable way to nurture soil health AND reduce waste - composting!

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  • An Taisce action on Kilkenny cheese factory planning decision

    An Taisce action on Kilkenny cheese factory planning decision

    An Taisce has sought leave to appeal the recent decision of the High Court dismissing its challenge against the decision of An Bord Pleanála to grant planning permission for the development of a cheese processing plant. We've written this explainer on why we've taken the appeal, the planning case behind it, An Taisce's role in the planning process, the wider environmental context on dairy expansion in Ireland, and our view for future development.

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Application by ESB for change of use from museum to residential at Fitzwilliam Street Lower, Dublin 2

Application by ESB for change of use from museum to residential at Fitzwilliam Street Lower, Dublin 2

This proposal by the ESB to close the Georgian House museum at Fitzwilliam Street would represent the loss of a thirty-year-old heritage and cultural visitor attraction and educational resource for the city Read more

Published: 7th February, 2021

Updated: 8th February, 2021

Author: Kevin Duff

Location: 19, Fitzwilliam Street Lower, Dublin

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Following an extended period of review, An Taisce last month (May 2022) made  an application to the High Court to seek a judicial review of the fifth Nitrates Action Programme (NAP) announced by the Government in March of this year. 

The application is rooted in the undisputed evidence of continuing deterioration of water quality in Ireland, where all the indicators are negative and continuing in a downward direction. These figures are damning proof that previous NAPs have failed to meet their purpose which is to enable Ireland to fulfill the objectives of the Nitrates Directive.

In that context, we could not responsibly stand by and do nothing. Our decision reflects the core remit of An Taisce to advocate for choices by, and in, Ireland that provide for a more environmentally sustainable future for the country as a whole. The NAP as proposed simply does not provide the level of protection that is needed for water quality in Ireland. 

The Nitrates Directive – which first came into force in 1991 – is the central legislative framework, emanating from Europe, that protects our rivers and lakes from the impacts of agricultural pollution. It requires member States to devise and implement a Nitrates Action Programme setting out specifically how water quality will be protected from agricultural impact for the next four years. 

The NAP provides a basis for binding regulations over agricultural practice - known as the Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) regulations. The effectiveness and implementation of these measures and regulations is critical given that intensive land use is the principal cause of the pollution of Irish waterways. To date, this approach has not worked, with agriculture negatively impacting on more than half (53%) of Irish waterbodies1.

 In the period leading into the March declaration of the NAP: 

  • An Taisce repeatedly challenged the new measures being put forward by Government in draft documents. Those proposed actions were based on a paucity of evidence that they would be any more effective than previous Nitrates Action Programmes, which the Government themselves admitted had failed. 
  • We also flagged up the legal weaknesses in the environmental assessments for the NAP. 
  • We repeatedly highlighted the scientific evidence which clearly makes the case for more ambitious and far-reaching measures, and far more rigorous assessment. 

To address those shortcomings An Taisce made a number of recommendations in the consultation process for this NAP. In particular we advocated for a NAP that provides for catchment and site-specific measures and assessment, rather than a programme of general one-size-fits-all measures without accountability.

These concerns were not addressed at all. Regrettably, instead of putting in place something that could help halt and reverse water pollution, the government has chosen to sideline the science and the law in framing a weak and inadequate NAP.  

Accordingly, and based on the evidence of an inevitable further deterioration in water quality – which has to be the ultimate measure of what is right here - An Taisce has no option but to challenge this approach. 

This legal step may be misrepresented as some form of attack on the farming community. This application is not against  people or communities. On the contrary, it is born of a longstanding commitment to ensure that the essential ingredients for flourishing rural life and agriculture - i.e. clean water and uncontaminated soil - are preserved for future generations. It is targeting misguided  legal and regulatory structures  that are actively contributing to water pollution and which thus must be challenged.

We cannot ignore the evidence of harm to our water courses by farming activity which has a direct impact on every citizen, and on Ireland’s standing as an environmentally aware and responsible society. 

An Taisce supports sustainable farming and we accept that farmers want to work in sync with the environment. That can only be achieved by working with the evidence and guidance of science, and not against it. 

—----------------------------ENDS—----------------------------

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Registered in Ireland 12469 - Charity No. CHY4741 - Charity Regulator No. 20006358 - EU Transparency Register No. 473905437651-60

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